how to create bullet time effects?! (progressivly slow down video)

[petermg]

Howdy, I want to know how I can progressively slow down video, even to a stand still, then gradually speed it back up to real time in the same clip. I'm not asking how to make a slow motion clip, I already know how, I'm asking how to make a clip that progressivly slows down, appears to stop, then gradually goes back to normal speed. Anyone know how I can do this? Thanks.

[Zarxrax]

You need a program that is capable of it. After Effects, Vegas Video, and I *think* maybe Premiere Pro, as well as about any professional software should be able to. Premiere 6.5 and lower can not do this. A less than elegant workaround would be to cut the clip after a few frames, then slow the part you cut a little bit, then cut it again after a few more frames, then slow that part down farther, and continue doing that until you get the speed to a standstill.

And slowing down video will look like shit usually. To get slow motion effect in movies they film them with special high speed cameras that capture a LOT of frames per second.

[video]

I think yo probably would like the so called time-slicing effect. So bad news, that you have to set up a huge amount of (still)cameras before shooting the scene, you have to synchronize them. So this effect happens at video shooting time, not at editing time.

look at this article: http://www.photographyblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/worlds_first_digital_camera_time_slice_rig/

So, todo:
buy or rent a huge number of digital cameras (with good optics and remote shooting facility).
apply them to the time slicing rig. engineer a control software.

remember you will need 25 cameras for an one second ts effect and 50 for two seconds.

[ShawnFumo]

The real "bullet time" effect really comes from not not just slowmo itself, but from moving the camera's view incredibly fast. That's what you need that line of still cameras.

There is a way to fake that part of it, but it has severe limitation, especially since most people want to use the technique for action. If you're filming a person and they can physically slow down and then stand still, then it can work. As they're slowing down, you do some sort of angle change with your camera and then stop it as they start moving again. Then in post-prod, you speed up the video in that portion and it looks like time slowed down. You might be able to get away with it in a simple fist-fight (if there were no jackets and such swirling around and nothing moving in the background), but any kind of jumping or falling is out. And obviously the whole thing is kind of a hack, so it'll only half-way decent if it is very carefully done and still won't look as good as the real thing even then.

As for slomo itself, there are some commercial packages that can help you make slow-motion look better, but there's only so much to work with if you weren't filming at high speed to begin with. If your output is going to be progressive, you can bob deinterlace to give you a smooth half speed and go from there, but it'll still look worse the more you approach totally still. Perhaps something usable could be done if you combine with the above technicque...

Shawn

[Msc_Alex]

You could try this (http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorial/Simulating-the-Bullet-Time-Effect-in-Adobe-Premiere/4356) with premiere.

[hendrix]

to make a nice smooth slow motion - shoot in 60i (not 24p or 30p) with the shutter at 1/120 as you will want as much temperal information as possible, in After Effects use the Twixtor Plug-in to give you some smooth ass slow-mos.