Slow Motion FX

Sassylola wrote on 12/22/2023, 8:11 AM

Using Vegas Pro 21 Version 208. Intel 13900K, Zotac Amp Extreme 4090, using latest studio driver. Latest Intel driver for IGPU.

I made my annual family Christmas Movie and I used Vegas Pro's Slow motion FX. I set the playback rate to the event to 0.50. I tried different quality settings. I did not use adjust event length. When it was rendered you can see ghosting from some of the people when they are clapping their hands. This is seen on Youtube, and also when viewing the rendered event on my PC. It was rendered using Voukoder, H.264 (Nvidia NVENC) good quality settings. I never thought of it until now, could it be because of the render using the Nvidia settings? I should have tried H.264 without using the Nvidia setting?

The event that was filmed was just my family sitting around the dinner table on Thanksgiving day (USA) I shot it with my Sony AX 700. I shot in 4K 30fps. That camera only shots in 60fps in HD mode. But my Galaxy S23 Ultra shots in 60fps in UHD. I just slowly panned around the table. I also tried ctrl and stretch, but the ghosting was not as bad, but it was still there. The ghosting is when people are clapping their hands in slow motion.

So somebody said that changing resample mode in project settings to optical flow helps?

I just want some advice for future reference on how I can get a good slow motion effect. Be it my filming techniques, or using different settings in Vegas.

Just a few thoughts on using Vegas. At random times I had Vegas not responding, and had to use task manager to close down Vegas. This seemed to happen when I was using a Vegas hub clip with a Vegas titles and text over the hub clip. The text was a straight clip no motion. Other times it would not respond if I previewed in 4K. I was using mostly 4K clips from my Sony AX 700 and Galaxy S 23. I usually edit in sections. I will edit a family event, render that to ProRes. Then edit another family event and render that to ProRes. For my final render I bring in all of the ProRes files, put them together and make the final render. The ProRes files plays great in Vegas. Smooth playback in preview window. I completed my project and overall was happy. I just saved more as I was going along.

I know that Magix is working on a newer video engine that will be released sometime next year? I look forward to that. Thanks.

Comments

3POINT wrote on 12/22/2023, 8:50 AM

Ghosting of moving objects is caused by the resampling method. When slowing down exactly 0.5 of original framerate, normally NO resampling is needed. To make movement looking smoother you could use optical flow for resampling, but this method is also not perfect for fast movement like clapping hands.

3POINT wrote on 12/22/2023, 9:11 AM

Example of different resampling methods used for creating slomo, not always gives optical flow the best result:

3POINT wrote on 12/22/2023, 9:26 AM

I just want some advice for future reference on how I can get a good slow motion effect. Be it my filming techniques, or using different settings in Vegas.

For creating slow motion effect, film at highest possible framerate. Filming in 25/30 fps is no good start for creating smooth slow motion (as you can see in my 25fps sample). Film at least at 50/60 fps and slow down to 0.5 speed by importing those files at project framerate, which should set to 25/30 fps. Forget about slow motion fx in Vegas.

Sassylola wrote on 12/22/2023, 3:44 PM

3POINT, thanks. that example you showed with the bird, optical flow to me looked the worse.

I was thinking of selling my AX 700 on Ebay. Sony has discontinued it. To my untrained eye my videos taken with my S 23 Ultra looks just as good as the AX 700. I know the Sony has the 1 inch sensor. I purchased the Hohem iSteady M6 Gimbal for my S23 and have been getting some nice looking videos.

I just need to practice my camera shooting skills, and find the right settings in Vegas for a good slow motion.

3POINT wrote on 12/22/2023, 11:17 PM

To my untrained eye my videos taken with my S 23 Ultra looks just as good as the AX 700. I know the Sony has the 1 inch sensor. I purchased the Hohem iSteady M6 Gimbal for my S23 and have been getting some nice looking videos.

I just need to practice my camera shooting skills, and find the right settings in Vegas for a good slow motion.

The problem with using smartphones for video is that they are recording with variable framerates, which is difficult to edit by NLE'S, including Vegas. Installing a third party camera app, with constant framerate recording, can solve this issue.

As said before, to get most smooth slow motions, you should record at the highest possible framerate, which is mostly not possible in UHD resolution but in HD.

A good replacement camera for your gimbal supported S23 or Sony AX700 is the new DJI Osmo Pocket 3, which has a 1 inch sensor with gimbal and is able to record UHD with 100/120 fps, which gives the possibility to create UHD 0.25 slomos.

Sassylola wrote on 12/23/2023, 5:07 AM

Yelandkeil and 3POINT, Thanks