Uploaded May 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The two best ways to convert high frame rate video (120fps and 60fps) in both Adobe Premiere Pro and FCPX. The gear I use to film smooth slow motion kit.co/rayortega/sony-a6500-vlogging.
0:00 Intro/slow motion samples
2:00 Premiere Pro slow motion tutorial:
7:55 FCPX slow motion tutorial:
Music by PremiumBeat.com.
License this music: bit.ly/1BJbspm
Tracks:
Time Flies by Soulish
Best Life by Soulish
A great way to get super smooth slow motion video is to shoot at a high frame rate (60fps, 120fps, etc.) and then convert those clips into slow motion inside your editing software. Premiere Pro CC and FCPX make this an easy process and both provide more than one way to turn your footage into slow motion.
I shot all this footage at 120fps on a Sony a6500 amzn.to/2rvbIXg (see below for complete gear*). When filming for slow motion, make sure to set your shutter speed at 2x your frame rate. So in my case, the shutter speed was 1/250 because that is the closest setting on my camera to double 120fps. If you are filming at 60fps then your shutter speed would be 1/120.
Beginning with Premiere Pro, I first used the "Interpret Footage" option which will convert the entire clip into whatever frame rate you specify. In my case, I told Premiere to assume each clip was 24fps. Then, when played back on a 24p timeline, the 120fps footage is slowed down to 20% of its original speed giving us super slow motion. To do this, go to your clip inside Premiere, right-click and select "Modify - Interpret Footage - Assume This Frame Rate" and type in the frame rate you want.
A couple interesting notes. One, it doesn't seem that Interpreting Footage effects your native clip. The original clip that I shot was still full speed when played from it's folder. However, you may want to duplicate your clips before using the Interpret option for a couple of reasons.
The first reason, in case the clip is permanently changed you'll still have the original. The second reason is that you can then use the original speed along with your slowed down clip inside your timeline in cases where you want some parts of your edit to be full speed and others to be in slow motion.
The other method inside Premiere, is to right-click on your clip and select "Speed/Duration." Using this option, you can slow down your clip by any percentage you want. However, whereas Interpreting footage does the math for you, slowing down your clip to the frame you want, if using Speed/Duration, you need to know some math in order to get the full benefit of all the frames you shot. The equation is simple: frame rate of your sequence (24p) divided by the frame rate you filmed at (120fps) multiplied by 100 equals the maximum percentage you can slow down your clip which in this case is 20%. 60fps on a 24p timeline would be 40%.
Another interesting note which I looked hard to find: it doesn't seem that there is any technical difference between using Interpret footage and Speed/Duration at least from a quality standpoint. Either method, all things being equal, will produce the same quality of slow motion.
In Final Cut Pro X, you also have two options for converting slow motion. The first is similar to Interpret Footage but even easier. Put a clip in your timeline, navigate to the retiming options then select "Automatic Speed." Again the math will be done for you and your clip will be slowed to it's maximum percentage.
The other option in FCPX is to enter your own percentage just like in Premiere. In FCPX you would again go to the retiming options and select "Custom." Then enter the value you want to slow down your footage to. This is another case where you would need to use the above equation if you don't know how far you can slow down your footage before quality loss.
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INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/podcasthelper
TWITTER: twitter.com/podcasthelper
🎥 🖥 GEAR USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO 🎤 🤘 (affiliate links)
► Sony a6500: podhelp.me/Sonya6500bodyZon
► LENS: Sony FE 28mm F2: podhelp.me/sonyfe28f2BH
► Adobe Creative Cloud podhelp.me/CC1yearBHdownload
► Final Cut ProX
► IkanVK7i 7" monitor (discontinued) podhelp.me/ikanvk7i7BH
replaced by: podhelp.me/ikandh77BH
► Transcend 65GB SDXC card for 4K podhelp.me/Trans64U3zon
► Tascam DR-10L: amzn.to/2vymx07
B&H (check both for sales): podhelp.me/TascamDR10LBH
► 32GB micro SD podhelp.me/SanDiscMicroSD32GBBH
► Aputure 120D keylight: podhelp.me/C120dZon
► Aputure Light Dome Mini: podhelp.me/LightDomeMiniZon
*all links should be considered affiliate links. Using these links helps support this content. I always encourage you to shop around for the best prices at the time you are viewing this. You can read my ethics statement via thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics. Thanks for the support!
The two best ways to convert high frame rate video (120fps and 60fps) in both Adobe Premiere Pro and FCPX. The gear I use to film smooth slow motion kit.co/rayortega/sony-a6500-vlogging.
0:00 Intro/slow motion samples
2:00 Premiere Pro slow motion tutorial:
7:55 FCPX slow motion tutorial:
Music by PremiumBeat.com.
License this music: bit.ly/1BJbspm
Tracks:
Time Flies by Soulish
Best Life by Soulish
A great way to get super smooth slow motion video is to shoot at a high frame rate (60fps, 120fps, etc.) and then convert those clips into slow motion inside your editing software. Premiere Pro CC and FCPX make this an easy process and both provide more than one way to turn your footage into slow motion.
I shot all this footage at 120fps on a Sony a6500 amzn.to/2rvbIXg (see below for complete gear*). When filming for slow motion, make sure to set your shutter speed at 2x your frame rate. So in my case, the shutter speed was 1/250 because that is the closest setting on my camera to double 120fps. If you are filming at 60fps then your shutter speed would be 1/120.
Beginning with Premiere Pro, I first used the "Interpret Footage" option which will convert the entire clip into whatever frame rate you specify. In my case, I told Premiere to assume each clip was 24fps. Then, when played back on a 24p timeline, the 120fps footage is slowed down to 20% of its original speed giving us super slow motion. To do this, go to your clip inside Premiere, right-click and select "Modify - Interpret Footage - Assume This Frame Rate" and type in the frame rate you want.
A couple interesting notes. One, it doesn't seem that Interpreting Footage effects your native clip. The original clip that I shot was still full speed when played from it's folder. However, you may want to duplicate your clips before using the Interpret option for a couple of reasons.
The first reason, in case the clip is permanently changed you'll still have the original. The second reason is that you can then use the original speed along with your slowed down clip inside your timeline in cases where you want some parts of your edit to be full speed and others to be in slow motion.
The other method inside Premiere, is to right-click on your clip and select "Speed/Duration." Using this option, you can slow down your clip by any percentage you want. However, whereas Interpreting footage does the math for you, slowing down your clip to the frame you want, if using Speed/Duration, you need to know some math in order to get the full benefit of all the frames you shot. The equation is simple: frame rate of your sequence (24p) divided by the frame rate you filmed at (120fps) multiplied by 100 equals the maximum percentage you can slow down your clip which in this case is 20%. 60fps on a 24p timeline would be 40%.
Another interesting note which I looked hard to find: it doesn't seem that there is any technical difference between using Interpret footage and Speed/Duration at least from a quality standpoint. Either method, all things being equal, will produce the same quality of slow motion.
In Final Cut Pro X, you also have two options for converting slow motion. The first is similar to Interpret Footage but even easier. Put a clip in your timeline, navigate to the retiming options then select "Automatic Speed." Again the math will be done for you and your clip will be slowed to it's maximum percentage.
The other option in FCPX is to enter your own percentage just like in Premiere. In FCPX you would again go to the retiming options and select "Custom." Then enter the value you want to slow down your footage to. This is another case where you would need to use the above equation if you don't know how far you can slow down your footage before quality loss.
SUBSCRIBE youtube.com/thepodcasterssstudio
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/podcasthelper
TWITTER: twitter.com/podcasthelper
🎥 🖥 GEAR USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO 🎤 🤘 (affiliate links)
► Sony a6500: podhelp.me/Sonya6500bodyZon
► LENS: Sony FE 28mm F2: podhelp.me/sonyfe28f2BH
► Adobe Creative Cloud podhelp.me/CC1yearBHdownload
► Final Cut ProX
► IkanVK7i 7" monitor (discontinued) podhelp.me/ikanvk7i7BH
replaced by: podhelp.me/ikandh77BH
► Transcend 65GB SDXC card for 4K podhelp.me/Trans64U3zon
► Tascam DR-10L: amzn.to/2vymx07
B&H (check both for sales): podhelp.me/TascamDR10LBH
► 32GB micro SD podhelp.me/SanDiscMicroSD32GBBH
► Aputure 120D keylight: podhelp.me/C120dZon
► Aputure Light Dome Mini: podhelp.me/LightDomeMiniZon
*all links should be considered affiliate links. Using these links helps support this content. I always encourage you to shop around for the best prices at the time you are viewing this. You can read my ethics statement via thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics. Thanks for the support!
