Workflow advice with mixed Frame Rates

[The_LindsayLife]

Hello! I can see this has been asked previously in multiple variations however I am still a bit confused with how best to set up FPS and subsequent workflow when editing in APP. 

As a hobbyist I create Travel vlogs from our family trips. Think driving, landscape panning, kids action, drone footage etc. Sometimes I might slow down some action, or waves or something, or kids jumping, sometimes I speed up driving scenes, walking etc. Very basic editing at this stage. 

I initally thought it was best to film at 120fps so as not to get choppy driving footage however understanding now that maybe 60fps might be sufficient and a better balance between smooth action and potential slow motion? 

Is it best to then set the sequence up to as what will be exported? 30fps? Or set sequence to 60fps and export to 30fps? I'm finding chopping preview at high FPS which is making it hard to edit. (render can be done but to time consuming). 

If I do shoot anything at 120fps , is it ok to drop it into the 60fps or 30fps sequence and then apply a slow motion effect and PP will sort it out, or do i need to set this up in a seperate sequence and export? Then re-add in to the 30Fps sequence?  

I understand the theory but confused how to practically apply it. If you have read this far, thank you! 

My few videos I have had a go at can be reviewed here: The Lindsay Life - YouTube 

[The_LindsayLife]

I should add, none of our footage is scripted, planned and is just real world recording so I need to be able to work with that practically when editing but ability to be creative with the chaos of videos captured from different sources to make a video out of it. 🙂

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi,

Thanks for the question. I'd shoot at 60 to get a nice balance of good footage with the ability to slow it down a bit if need be. When you get to some b-roll where some super slow mo might come in handy, shoot that stuff at 120. That's how I approach things. See how it works. Good luck with your channel!

Thanks,
Kevin

[The_LindsayLife]

Thank you for replying! That does make sense. May I please just sense check that if I am going to export at 30fps I should maintain anything recorded at 60fps to only a -50% slow motion max to keep it looking smooth?  

[JonesVid]

As a fellow 'video hobbyist' I'm producing similar travel videos, albeit probably a bit more senior in years than yourself,  I'm creating videos of worldwide travel in our early retirement.

Nearly always these days I am creating these in 50 fps 4K UHD H265  throughout apart from situations that dictate slo motion which are often taken when you have a bit more time. This is good for faster moving subjects.

All source material from three cameras is that format and input to my Premiere 50fps timeline.

So more or less in line with what Kevin has suggested.

From time to time I have used 24fps throughout, mainly for creating wedding videos for friends, where you want to create a more 'film' feel, especially used with an anamorphic lens.

In time I would like to move to capturing ProRes from day one for editing but this requires investment in plenty of storage. My new Panasonic Lumix camera can now do that in body, but the iPhone 15Pro  still requires external USB storage for ProRes.

[The_LindsayLife]

Thank you for your reply! Ok great to know my research is starting to sink in and I'm understanding this world a bit better. It's all very confusing as before I started mucking around with travel vlogs and editing, everything was in automode. LOL. Sounds like a great time and awesome you are able to make videos out of your adventures! If you have a YouTube channel I'd happily say thank you for your time to reply with a like or a follow. 🙂 

[AidanEdits · Accepted solution]

@The_LindsayLife 

Ultimately, which frame rate to shoot in just depends on how slow you want your slow motion to be. Check out this video to get an idea of how slow your footage can be at 60fps vs 120fps. However, anytime you want smooth slow motion you need to make sure your Sequence frame rate is less than the frame rate of your footage. Here's a general guideline for your situation specifically:

Slowing down 60fps footage:

Bring footage into a 30fps sequence. Adjust speed of clips in the timeline -- but don't go lower than 50% speed or it will start looking choppy. Once you're done editing, export the Sequence at 30fps.

Slowing down 120fps footage:

You can bring your footage into either a 60fps or a 30fps sequence. For a 60fps sequence, don't go lower than 50% speed or it will start looking choppy. For a 30fps sequence, you can set the clip speed as low as 25%. 

Slowing down both 120fps & 60fps footage in the same project:

Set Sequence to 30fps. Slow down 60fps footage up to 50%. Slow down 120fps footage up to 25%.

[The_LindsayLife]

Thank you! That's an awesome very clear and helpful reply! Appreciate it.  🙂