Tips for slo-mo video on a smartphone

The Van Wert Area Photography Club’s 2018 Kick-Off Meeting will be today, Thursday, April 12, at 7 p.m. at 214 S. Race St. in Van Wert. Plans from now until Christmas will be proposed for acceptance and suggestions will be received for implementation. Whynot come and see what’s brewing?

This week’s subject produces the opposite results of last week’s — it speeds up the number of frames per second in order to produce a video of an action in slow motion. This setting would be very helpful to reveal how an athlete could improve his/her motion, how a scientist could observe a reaction, or to simply discover the novelty of seeing something we normally observe at high speed, such as a breaking ocean wave, at a slow speed.

Remember, you may have to do a search for how to do this on your make and model of phone.

Probably the first thing to do when you turn on the phone is to tap on Settings, scroll down and tap on General, and scroll down and tap on iPhone Storage. The next screen will tell you how much storage is still available. This is important to know because as you increase the quality of the video and/or the number of frames per second, you will be informed about the increasing amount of storage that setting will need. Checking is good insurance for success, because if the first shot can’t be saved, and you are not able to repeat the action, failure may cause multiple consequences.

Next is to select your resolution and Frames Per Second. Return to Settings, scroll down and tap on Camera, tap on Record Slo-Mo then select either 30 fps for slow and its multiple options or 240 fps for really slow and its options to select from, and finally, tap on Preserve Settings after making your selection.

Before actually recording, here are some suggestions for the set up.  Have as bright a location as you can because of the fast shutter speed.  Use the tripod, although not quite as essential, for consistent, steady framing, and set your auto focus and exposure.  Practice the shot and settings till you are satisfied with the results.

When all is ready, press the Home Button and tap the Camera icon.  Swipe left or right to position the Slo-Mo directly over the red Record Button. Tap the Record Button to begin and once again when the sequence is done.  The clip will be saved in Photos as a MOV file.  Sound will be distorted & low pitched, so mute the playback.

Next week’s iPhone content will depend on the length of the VWAPC report.