Over the last couple of years shooting Real Estate video I have found my movements whether it be on the gimbal, drone or slider have got slower and slower. To achieve this look when shooting with the handheld gimbal the 2 main things I am doing are,
- Shooting in a higher frame rate such as 50p (60p for you North Americans) so that I can use a 50% slow motion effect when editing the footage.
- Doing very slow movements when shooting and sometimes only moving my arms and hips with the gimbal (not my feet) to get this very slow movement.
3 Reasons to Slow down your Gimbal movements when Shooting
- Flexibility – When editing a 2 second shot once slowed down 50% it becomes a 4 second shot you can use and trim to the desired length. Alternatively you can still use the shot at a normal pace and not slow it down at all. You can also edit the pace when cutting the shots either slow or fast to determine the feel to your edits (see examples below).
- The Look – I prefer the slower movements as it gives the viewer more time to take in the detail within the shot and can give a more cinematic or dramatic feel to the shots.
- Shot Selection – When doing such a short and slow movement it forces you to really think about what you are going to shoot, well it cover what you are trying to focus your viewers attention on? Maybe you need to break the scene up into 3 seperate smaller shots or moves? It can sometimes be a challenge to our grey matter but will most often improve our shooting technique.
Same Shots with 2 different edits!
As an example I recently did the job below for a Realtor client and apart from the drone shots was shot entirely on the handheld gimbal at 50fps.
Version 1 -The first edit was the job I delivered to my client.
Version 2 – And this second edit I did for a pacey Instagram version and the only changes I made was obviously the sound track and the length of the shots but everything else was the same in terms of using the slow gimbal moves.
Conclusion
What I am hoping to demonstrate with these videos is that even thou I am making very slow movements you still have the flexibility to use the footage to vary the pace or feel of your edit which you can obviously do with the music and pace of your cutting.
Those are my thoughts on using the gimbal and as always would love to hear your comments below whether you like or dislike the style.
Thanks for this lesson grant and thank you for teaching me. You are an artist and you make great videos.
Cheers Josh
Thank you … everytime I read / see something from you I gain more insight.
The first one was beautifully filmed. The second one was good too, but more demanding to watch.
Looks Great Grant, thanks for the insight
Amazing work. Very well done.
Thank you for the info.
I really like the slower pacing and am not a fan of flash-bang-wallop, fast jump cut, speed ramp though I appreciate it has a place in advertising. That said, the spot on jump cuts to the beat in both videos are a masterclass.
Hi Grant,
I have been following you for a long time and am grateful for all your posts! You are a true professional artist and I have learned many things from you. The videos were, as I would expect from you, stunning! My question is about pacing. I have released videos to my clients with a similar pace as the one you released to your client in this post. However, I have had clients tell me the shot to shot sequence is too fast. More than once, I have had to re-edit with a slower pace. They prefer a longer duration per shot. In my humble opinion, I would have to agree with my clients. The slightly longer shot enables the viewer to take in more of the room characteristics rather than feeling they did not fully embrace the shot. However, the longer the per shot duration, the longer the overall length of the video. With a home like the one you displayed, the time could well exceed two minutes which is probably the maximum length for a real estate video.
Even though Instagram provides for a much shorter attention span, I still feel the Instagram video was over the top too fast. Instagram also provides for longer form videos which, if the viewer is interested, will continue watching.
Your thoughts?
Many many thanks!
Mark
Pacing can be tricky especially if you are cutting to the beat of your music track. I too have a client who likes the shots slowed down and one way I have down this is to add dissolves between the shots. I have sent the edits back to this client after she asked it to be slowed down and not actually changed the duration of the individual shots but just added 15 or 25 frame dissolves and the client was happy.
Wow! You inspire me!
Hmmm. I really like the first one, the one the client got. 2 second clips that lead to 4 second clips. I find it difficult to find music with a one/two beat and you scored on that as well. As to the slow movements, I completely agree and it is my own personal battle. I try for it but also get swept away in wanting to show the whole space in one clip. Nice to know that there is so much more to master as my time to master it dwindles.
As for the second one, if this type of video has to be made, you did an amazing job. But personally the speed, the pace, the jump about speed ramp in the approach, drove me crazy along with the music so I had to stop it before my brain exploded. But then as I alluded to above, I am an old fart and prefer the slow and leisurely. I remember shooting a tungsten mining operation high in the California Sierras where I was shooting film (no digital then) on a vibrating metal sorting station high above the ground hand held at 1/4 sec shutter speed and the art director kept snapping his fingers to move it along. I had to resist the urge to shove him off the railing. I hate to be rushed especially by a finger snapper.
But clearly there are different audiences to be catered to these days, and putting my personal preferences aside, I think both videos have their place when it comes to today’s marketing and you hit both on the head here. And I do like the slow gimbal moves, more like what we all did with a slider just without the cumbersome tripod and rail. I have been shooting at 60 fps for a long time for all the reasons you lay out. Except for low light conditions when I find I get less noise shooting at 30 fps BUT I also have to train myself to move physically in slow motion since I can’t slow down the slips in editing. Considering I always seem to be rushing when I am shooting, that is a challenge.
So thinks for bringing up this topic. I think it is a valuable approach to consider.
Thanks for sharing! Amazing work and inspiring insights!