Have you ever stopped to think about why slow motion can make a moment feel so
epic? Well, Riad and I spent our Saturday morning exploring just that, roaming around
the university, cameras in hand, trying to figure out what gives slow-mo its magic.
We had everything ready to go. We booked our equipment a few days in advance and
picked it up from MediaCheck on Friday. We chose the Panasonic DC-GH5s because
it’s super portable, versatile, and perfect for the kind of shots we had in mind. We also
grabbed a Sennheiser Lavalier mic so you could hear us loud and clear.
Regarding the camera preparation for slow motion with a variable frame rate, we set our
GH-5 to Movie Mode. We went through the menu and chose the “Motion Picture”
setting, then ‘Rec Format’ and set it to MOV 1080p. Then, we enabled the VFR, setting
our frame rate to 60fps but our recording frame rate to 180fps. This resulted in our
recording being 3x slow motion.
This was actually my first time working on a Mediazone blog! Since I’m still a Studio
Assistant in training, I was excited to be involved in a project where I could take some
initiative and learn hands-on.
Riad and I met up around 11:00 with our gear, a shot list, and a couple of coffees (of
course), and got straight to it. Not everything went smoothly. The wind gave us a bit of
trouble with the audio, but we sorted it out with a wind visor and a little patience. Riad
took charge of the script, and I stepped in front of the lens.
We started off with me explaining what I’ve learned about slow motion and why it looks
so cool. It’s about capturing the action and allowing us to see every tiny detail: like a
footballer scoring a winning goal or the tension in a character’s face during a life-ordeath decision in your favorite film. You also get to witness things the human eye
usually can’t, like a bullet impact in full detail, or a droplet of water bursting mid-air.
Wicked, right?
Next, we got into filming our slow-mo shots. We tried a mix of “boring” and actionpacked ones to really show the difference. For the boring one, I just sat and waited…
which turned out to be as dull as it sounds, especially in slow motion! But when we
switched to the action stuff, it came alive. We filmed water dripping onto leaves, me
jumping like it was the end of a sitcom episode, walking with a dramatic pep in my step,
attempting a cartwheel (key word: attempting), and even a full-on fall onto the grass, all
for the slow-mo cause.
Honestly, it was such a fun experience. Working with Riad on my first blog was a blast,
and I’m already looking forward to more. I learned a lot during the entire process, from
what looks good, what’s boring and how creators in the past have used slow motion to
their advantage, like Daniel Schiffer and his tremendous food edits.
I would advise anyone seeking to create content including slow motion to not be afraid
to experiment and always do a bit of research and find references to help get the
creative juices flowing!
This project also helped me understand the value of clear communication between
creatives — working toward the same goals and effectively getting their ideas across to
create something they can be proud of. For anyone hoping to try out slow motion in
future projects, I recommend looking at different examples from your favorite films and
to shows and finding which niche you want to pursue. And of course, adding your own
special touch! I didn’t expect to enjoy being in front of the camera this much, which
makes me even more excited to get behind the camera and direct next time!
– Alex Athiainitis and Riad Rahhal
If you are a student in the Communications, or Design and Multimedia Departments and want to become part of the Mediazone team, apply today!
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