CINEMATIC SHUTTER SPEED for Video: Who Cares? (side-by-side comparisons)

Video creators often throw their camera on aperture priority mode and call it good enough. However, this can really jank up your footage.
This video explains why it's so important to consider shutter speed (also called shutter angle) when shooting video footage, and especially why it's important for cinematic footage.
"Tutorial: Shutter Speed for Filmmakers / PART II" by Media Division:
• Tutorial: Shutter Spee...
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[@jleavett]

Finally. Someone has explained this in a way my brain can comprehend. Thank you so much you have removed lots of confusion and frustration around this subject.

[@confettihunterminus1]

Came here to say this haha

[@vaniaadit]

What do u choose? Double the frame rate or no?

[@alejandroolivas3476]

I was gonna start my comment saying "finally" as well. X2 will suffice...

[@AdventureExploreDiscover]

Like most other people commenting… I FINALLY understand what shutter speed actually does. You did a great job explaining this. THANK YOU!

[@gohumberto]

The simple graphic explained perfectly what is going on. Thank you.

[@spenson89]

I’ve watched so many videos on shutter speed and this video finally explained it in a way that clicked instantly. Thank you!

[@The_Daliban]

Really great video! One quick note: you should absolutely shoot with a 180degree shutter to get natural looking footage, but only up to 30fps. When you shoot 60fps and deliver in real time with a 180 degree shutter you'll get the more frantic look(60fps/125th). Instead for 60fps footage you should shoot with a 360 degree shutter (60fps/1/60th) to get the most natural looking motion blur. Motion blur isn't corelated to the relation between fps and shutter. Try it and grab a still. thank me later👍

[@timetraveler_0]

Exactly, the key point of the video is incorrect. Shutter duration in isolation defines amount of motion blur, not the ratio with fps.

[@BogacErkan]

That's the info I've been searching for quite a time... I plan a 4K 60 fps video and I want the propellers of the plane to be blurred. Thank you.

[@The_Daliban]

@@BogacErkan i recommend 1/60 if you deliver 60fps. Try it before you go on the shoot and see if you are happy with the result. Hope it helps🙏🏻👍🏻

[@BogacErkan]

@@The_Daliban Thank you very much. The event is tomorrow and we will be welcoming a WWII Spitfire into an aviation museum. I am very familiar with how to photograph these but the facility asked me to take a video as well. I, actually my son, will use a Gopro 8 mounted on a gimbal and I couldn't decide which shutter speed to use. After your video the concept became clearer and I will go for a 1/60 shutter. Seems it would be cloudy day and I think I won't have any problems. Thank you very much for the tip.

[@chiverenos]

Brilliant explanation! I've been doing photography for 15 years, and never knew why you would want to change the shutter speed on Video! Now, I've bought a 4K drone and will probably be getting into some video. Thanks to this video, I will not be producing overly crispy footage. I also know the value of ND filters for video as well (to keep the shutter speed down). Thanks mate!

[@Robertsson]

this is THE BEST way to explain shutter speed for dummies. I can't believe that you only had 550 likes.... now it has 551 likes. Good intro, good examples, nice outro music. keep it up!

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@ExtraTerrestrial4k]

why have i only just learned this. im nearly a year into my uni film course and no ones explained these things this clearly. ty

[@jaywalker.]

Wow, I just randomly found this dude, and I love him. Subscribed.

[@RealJamesArcher]

This dude loves you too! ❤️

[@KevinHolik]

Greatly explained video on an important aspect of capturing video! I know it was a tricky thing to grasp when I was starting and didn't know why my footage looked off. Thanks for a simple, straightforward and easy to understand video!

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thanks, Kevin! I've definitely had my share of weird-looking footage over the years as well, so I'm happy to be able to pass this tip along!

[@MatsuXL]

Dang I’ve been shooting wrong this whole time! This cleared it up and was explained very well!

[@-Hustle]

I'm a little worried about the shutter speed of 4000 in 4k with my Sony zve10 Can it do any damages to shutter ? I mean something is moving 4 thousand times in one second that's why I'm worried about it

[@MrRuelP]

Hi. I checked your playlist and most of your videos are under under 10 minutes - the reason I am now subscribed to your channel. Please keep it short and sweet whenever you can. Thank you.

[@PitNeex]

Thanks for the comparison shots ! Everyone talks and explains and... Math 😝 this made it very easy to comprehend 🙏

[@Miababe007]

Istant subscribe!! I feel like that was literally perfect!!!!! You taught me everything I needed. I can tell you are a true expert because you don't just throw out random terms - you break it down and really show us. Thanks for your content. I'm glad I stumbled across your stuff. :)

[@RealJamesArcher]

Glad it helped!!

[@Leinader]

Such an amazing music in the end of the video! Thanks for the tips! Watching your videos is like reading a blog post about all these valuable information, but within a such didactic manner that you're able to deal with!! I have discovered your channel from a collab you did with "Dunna Did It" (which I saw randomly as suggested video) and I gotta say your videos are top quality, I hope you grow as fast as possible! One tip, though, is to vary the angles of your camera DURING the video, so you add an extra surprise element for whoever is cautiously watching all the valuable information you're sharing! Providing unexpected elements into your video will hold even more the viewers' attention! Your scripting is awesome though, very nice way of storytelling!

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm a bit constrained due to family/house logistics, but I'll work on mixing up those angles!

[@Leinader]

@@RealJamesArcher It's just a tiny suggestion, because I believe that even changing the camera position within your already existing desk setup for different scenes of the same video would already implement the surprise element for the viewers. Your videos aren't only informative, they're entertaining to watch. A lot of information released in a light manner, without overwhelming the mind, because of your awesome storytelling.

[@manilasilverfox]

Thank you for making it short and sweet.

[@jaimininorath5760]

Loved how simple this was and the diagram really brought it home for me. Thank you very much! As a fairly new shooter (on a full frame and manual setting camera) its reassuring to me that i can move the shutter up to what seems like 1/100 and still be in a fairly safe space. Glad to know i am lean on this added onto a higher aperture and with a polaries (that isn't working as hard as an ND filter would) on a really sunny day.

[@louis_2k.]

This is the best shutter-speed-explaining video i've seen

[@Jazonet]

Very good explanation with frames coverage by shutter opening time. Leve it! Thanks!

[@raccoons_stole_my_account]

Thanks, this was the first time when I actually understood the nature of what the rule is about.

[@zurkie]

Great video James thank you for your time explaining all of this.

[@TheGamingChad.]

personally, high shutter speed for me, the most important thing to me is to preserve as much detail as possible

[@Smokingpineapples]

Thank you for an informative video that isn't 25 minutes long

[@fotografkennethlund]

Touché !

[@wolfenergy4859]

Oh shit ! You just giving the answer of my big confusion. Thanks a lot

[@tinplater]

Great video...good humor and you didn't spend 20 minutes giving us 4 minutes of information! Thanks!

[@issman]

By far, the best explanation. Brilliant work mate

[@_kurjala]

Very nice video. I watch car racing and have noticed that some cameras located around the track look smoother than others, and this is the exact reason! The smoother cameras have that creamy shutter speed which looks nice with fast motion and helps blur the background a bit more under fast motion.

[@simoneblax]

this is pure gold

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thanks, Simone!

[@FourGuysGuns]

The most informative and the answers/demos I needed.

[@omeryakar4551]

Exlampes are perfect. Thanks a lot!

[@MultiBeatX]

Love the way you explained these general principles in a easy way to understand🙏🏼

[@martinohlidal8245]

Best explanation of this topic I've ever seen!

[@StijnGZ]

Thanks, I needed a clear, no nonsense explanation!

[@vivianmom82]

simple, short, and clear. thanks

[@mb3_media]

Jason bourne fight scene was a amazing analogy lol

[@JoshGUITARofolo]

Perfect explanation video. Loved the rhythm and all the useful examples. Thanks so much, man.

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thanks for watching! 🙌

[@MobiusCoin]

Damn, that was a perfect explanation.

[@ValNanovsky]

Great explanation. Simple, concise, clear.

[@lawabidingcitizen1-e7f]

Great explanation. Thank you.

[@Asiaddicted]

That’s excellent, it finally makes sense, thank you !

[@nicolereyes9632]

Thank you so much James for this shutter speed explanation.

[@RealJamesArcher]

Nicole, thanks for watching! Glad it was useful.

[@gabsofter]

learned so much from this. thx

[@boyvsdreams]

To the point video. Thanks a lot man

[@jlu]

1:09 Thank you! This diagram explains everything super well!!n

[@matthiasjager1097]

Great video! Easy to understand, even for beginners.

[@j.michaelphotography4883]

Great video. I've been falling the rules and never understood why

[@rupertmtb]

Excelent explaination with samples, kudos to you!

[@ashish9459]

just wanted to thank you for this awesome explanation you did very well

[@AlphasAnthelion]

Super Video. Many thanks man, we are now weirdos together. I feel so much weirdoer now. 😂

[@mxfe]

Underrated video. Really good examples.

[@MrAntpre]

Best explanation I ve seen. Good job

[@masago7507]

Oh my god this helps so much thank you

[@legowtham]

Exactly what I was looking for.... Thanks 😊

[@KorayKüpe]

Clear explanation for beginners. Thanks!

[@pletsmakecoffee]

Appreciate the examples. Thank you!

[@rodrigobelinchon2982]

Clear and to the point. Bravo !

[@TheDeathRow]

easiest explanation, now all I need is an ND filter for my camera lens so I can finally shoot with depth of field in a bright sunny day without ruining my F/stop or my shutter speed 🥲 (I'm a sub)

[@khaledmohamed6811]

amazing. it was helpful Thanks

[@andymarsal]

well made mate 😎

[@Pfagnan]

Excellent James thank you!!

[@user-bv7jc]

well... the wedding... it did turn into a Jason Bourne fight scene... but for reasons unrelated to my camera config... 😢

[@stefandesu]

Thanks a lot James, that was super helpful!

[@SammySlamDance]

Man, even in the examples I just like higher shutter speed. Guess I like it to look intense

[@LifeSurfingDude]

beautifully explained, very good job!

[@TheGQstyle]

Very helpful

[@thepanel2935]

*_Please help..._* I use a Canon DSLR (the Canon 1Dx Mark II) to shoot video. I am in Australia, where we use the PAL system. It runs at 24fps and I use a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second. My videos are outputted (from a Canon .MOV file) to a MP4. The video clips always looks a little choppy from time to time, like some of the frames are missing, resulting in a subtle 'jerky' or dis-jointed' look. Is this normal? Should I use a faster shutter speed, like 1/50th? Or a slower one (like 1/25th) to smooth out any jerkiness? Help!

[@RealJamesArcher]

It's hard to know without more information, but it sounds like the framerate could be changing somewhere along the way, maybe between what you're shooting and what you're editing. If you check out my video about framerate, bitrate, and resolution, it may have some clues for you.

[@thepanel2935]

@@RealJamesArcher thanks for your input. I think I've figured it out... I use 1920 x 1080 25fps PAL files from my Canon DSLR camera and I was rendering / outputting them as 16Mbps *_24 fps_* MP4 files. Switching to *_25 fps_* MP4 files seems to avoid those jittery stutters!

[@valterguazzellimacario]

congrats on this video

[@tender3066]

Sweet!

[@FreeTheDonbas]

I'm intrigued. I wonder if 50fps coupled with a shutter speed of 1/150 would produce the crispiest image while side-stepping the staccato motion.

[@kk-qu1zc]

As long as I don't have to follow the "record everything in 24/30fps because I'm stuck in the old ways for no reason and I'm poor to not afford more storage for high fps recordings" guy.

[@waasnoode986]

Kewl thanks 🙏🏽

[@Itsbretthowell]

your videos are so helpful

[@ThatSimplePanda]

really great video!

[@davidarvy3662]

Guatemala?? Nice

[@ConexaoEdenProducoes]

Best aproach on weirdos! Thanks4sharing, Neat content! 1 weirdo subscriber to you brow!

[@frozenwalkway]

great video thanks bro

[@MrRuelP]

The point of the video is - use a SS that will best achieve your visual goals. Simple.

[@notnikola]

gREAT WORK!

[@colewilliams3437]

Can someone please clarify this for me? The only way a shutter speed of 1/120 for 60fps will have a “normal” looking motion blur, is if you slow that 60 down in post to 24. Same with shooting under 24fps at something like 12fps with a shutter speed of 1/24. The only way that motion blur will look “normal” is if you speed that up in post to 24fps?

[@colewilliams3437]

Like you can’t just shoot in 1/120 60fps and deliver in 24fps and leave that footage at the speed it was shot in and except it to match the same motion blur as if you were to of shot in 1/48 24fps?

[@NoWheelDrive]

Hey James, thank you for this video and explanation! I recently took my Nikon z6 camera out to film some cars parked at the car meet. Totally stationary objects. But since it was outdoors and it was a very bright sunny day I had to lower my shutter speed to like 1/1250 while setting ISO to Auto to make sure some parts of the cars (that were in shadows) were still visible. Unfortunately, I don't have a ND filter yet. I'm still thinking which one to get. Please could you make a similar video about how to shoot slow-motion videos.

[@RealJamesArcher]

Thanks for the feedback! In a situation like that, shooting in a compressed profile (like LOG) can help as well because it'll let you capture everything and then stretch it back out when color correcting so you can hopefully preserve the highlights and the shadows. It can get a little noisy sometimes but works pretty well when you get the hang of it. I do want to do a video on slow motion (thanks for the suggestion!). One quick tip is to increase the shutter speed so it's about half of the (faster) framerate. So if you typically shoot 24fps at 1/50, your slow motion might be 60fps at 1/120 or 120fps at 1/250. That way the shutter's open about half the time, which should create roughly the desired motion blur, even in slow motion. Hopefully that helps!

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@RealJamesArcher Thank you for reply! During last 2 weeks I build my rig and got a variable ND filter. I started shooting at 24p at 1/50 shutter speed. Everything is nice, but after investing in all that stuff I recently decided to try doing photos and then stitching it together like in my recent video here on YT. The reason is the weight of the whole rig. My back really dies after several hours of carrying a rig in my arms when I'm doing run and gun shooting at a local car meets. And when I just do photos it saves me a lot of energy and I really enjoy doing photos. I may do videos with my rig but normally at car meets all cars are stationary, thus I don't really need to shoot video clips, so photos work well in my case. Here is how I stiched my photos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3q4i2Rmfb91eLM

[@PhillipRPeck]

Awesome explanation and graphics. Creamy is such a weird word

[@RealJamesArcher]

Haha it truly is, but weird words are the best!

[@TeazyEdits]

Thank you so much, got Footage to cut from someone external, and I was wondering why it feels so jittery when I slow down the clips. Now I know whats up. He is constantly moving the Camera on a Gimbal, I cant use the slowmotion which is kinda sad.

[@eliasvargas.]

Very useful video

[@mxprogression]

Brilliant video , so shooting in 60 fps I can go higher then the recommended double of 120/125 on shutter speed ?? Thanks

[@julianpickens3114]

If I shoot at 60FPS what’s the recommend shutter speed to get the fast jittery look like a action movie scene

[@ChoicesHabitsAttitudeLuck]

as long as the shutter doesn't drop double my frame rate i will still shoot in aperture priority. turning your nd filters continuously takes away your focus on what you're doing

[@janestarr79]

is there any way to make some thing that’s already been shot creamy appear crispy?

[@relaxingbliss]

Great video. very easily explained, you have a new friend Forever :) :)

[@BENBARAK123]

good one thank you a lot

[@mrmarylandrealestate]

So if I want to shoot at 60fps and want it crispy, do I shoot at 1/120?

[@Spindonesia]

well explained~

[@ZZBandera]

спасибо, очень хорошо объяснили!

[@v4led]

Why is no one saying this??: shutter.While recording video on dslr your shutter curtsins remain open and the camera electronics takes over. If you are recording at 24 fps then the camera electronics reads and refreshes the the sensor memory 24 times a second without actually operating a physical shutter.

[@RobJaeger]

forever...

[@mattlocdproductions]

New weirdo subbed

[@markrodriguez9442]

I see the difference on the globe.

[@HarkohFilm]

On the Sony FX6 there is also the option 'no shutter' what is the use of this and how does it relate to your explanation of slow and fast shutter speeds?

[@Drunken_Hamster]

So... I don't wanna type a wall of text _for now_ so I'll just say you're technically wrong on the methodology of choosing a shutter speed. The reason we have motion blur is because there isn't enough information at lower frame rates for our brains to process perfectly smooth motion. That's why it's around 1/50th of a second for shutter speed. The thing is, even 1/60th starts to look at little choppy, and god forbid you go anything over that. Outside of that, once we get up to 50fps and more, there's enough information (frames) for our eyes to process perfectly smooth lifelike motion, so we can run a full frame shutter speed at that point and it will look good when played back in real time. The only time you want to maintain the shutter speed ratio as a *rule* is when shooting high frame rates with the intention of slowing them down. At the very least, I believe this to be true for digital cameras, due to their "instant" full frame shutters and "binary" sensor action, as opposed to the VERY analog way a physical rotary shutter, chemically reactive films, and geneva drive mechanisms work. ALL of that contributes to a very analog and variable application of motion and light to the final image compared to a digital camera's "instant" and "perfect" capture and reproduction. Damn, I posted a WOT, anyway... PS: You can test this by shooting 30fps 1/50th and 50fps 1/50th in their respective matching timelines and compare it to 25fps 1/50th. The motion blur will look the same, but you'll have more information to work with on the higher framerate shots, so it'll still look smoother, but much more natural and distinctly lacking the soap opera effect everyone hates with typical HFR and MFR(30fps) filming. Heck, try it on 60, 75, 100, and 120, too, just for shiggles.

[@oddballmedia]

Great video, thanx. What would you say shutter should be, if i shoot action/sport at 60fps. Is it better to go heigher than 120?

[@RealJamesArcher]

"Better" is relative. 😄 I'd start at 120 and increase from there if needed to achieve the look you want. (Motion blur can help things look faster, while lack of it can make things seem more energetic/frenetic. Just depends what you're going for.) Also, keep in mind your camera's sensor and processor limitations. Lower settings can sometimes result in better footage because the camera's not straining as much.

[@oddballmedia]

@@RealJamesArcher great info. Thank you 👌

[@jcbevacqua]

Let’s being weird together! :)