We take shot duration seriously

 
 

We love storyboards and we believe animatics (storyboards set to timing, music, and audio) are even better. Animatics give a more complete vision of how a story will play out. This is why we are meticulously intentional in how we approach shot duration and playback speed.

 
 
 

Have you considered these basic questions?

Why do we shoot at 23.976 secs?

Why do we tend to shoot most slow-mo at 60 FPS?

What emotion are we trying to create with our slow-motion?

Are we missing out on other creative possibilities by not considering other slow-motion FPS options?

 
 

Time remapping is a creative choice,

and we believe cinematographers should choose

a specific overcranked FPS to communicate an emotion.

While most cinematographers set their shutter angle to 180 deg and forget about it, we believe shutter angle / speed is also a creative choice that should be chosen for a reason.

We’ve developed a technique to keep our Cam Op, Dolly Grip, and 1st AC perfectly in sync every take, for the entire take.

 

Our Process

  1. Determine shot duration with storyboard animatic (description)

  2. Consider playback speed / overcrank

  3. Calculate BPM

  4. Set marks for your cam move (typically 2 to 3)

  5. Playback BPM with SpeakBeat Metronome (8th Note Subdivisions usually work best) over Bluetooth speaker on set.

  6. Execute shots with your crew perfectly in sync every take and become heroes.

Playback speed / overcrank / FPS

What emotion are you trying to create?

  • Natural: 23.976 FPS

  • Take the edge off: 29.976, 32, 36 FPS

  • slow, but not too slow: 40, 48, 54 FPS

  • dramatic: 56, 59. FPS

  • bending time: 60 - 240 FPS

  • Hyper real: 24 FPS, Shutter Speed:

 
 

BPM Formulas

60 / Shot Duration in Seconds * Time Signature

Here’s the math for a 5 second shot:

60 / 5 * 4 = 48 BPM

Time Remapping Formulas

Project Framerate / Overcrank FPS = Playback Speed
1 / Playback Speed = Playback Length
 

Resources

  • SpeakBeat Metronome - 1 2 3 4 by Shiverware (IOS only)

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