The discovery of manipulating various aspects of video is advancing in every era. One such advancement is manipulating time duration to create slow-mo. Slowing down a video has advantages in many industries and multiple contexts. For instance, it focuses the audience's attention on a video shot or during a sports match. They also help in comprehending scientific processes during research.
If you also want to experiment with this video aspect, then you're at the right place. This article will provide you with a detailed guide on how to slow down video in After Effects. Along with slow down footage After Effects, you can learn about an alternative. Both video editors are professional when it comes to making a slow-mo. Keep reading the article to learn more about the slow-down clip After Effects.
In this article
Slow your video’s speed with better control of your keyframes to create unique cinematic effects!
Part 1: A Complete Overview of Adobe After Effects
Before learning how to slow mo in After Effects, we want to introduce you to the software. Adobe After Effects is a professional software designed to assist in post-production. Those unrealistic scenes you see in a sci-fi movie are its creation. Users can work with multiple effects categories to create animated scenes and titles.
The software has undergone multiple updates since its creation. With each version more advanced than the previous, users can perform multiple tasks with it. They can add and customize visual effects, 2D vectors, and 3D animations. Following are some of the functions to find along with slow-down footage After Effects:
- Text Animations: Adding text and titles is important for emphasizing a video's key parts. In After Effects, you can personalize titles and introduce animations. You can also create animated logos in this editor for personal branding.
- VFX/Visual Effects: You can add multiple visual effects and presets from its asset's library. The tool also allows users to customize and add an effect to preset. This helps with increasing productivity during video editing tasks.
- Motion Tracking: Do you want to blur out or remove a person or scene throughout a video? With this feature, doing that is a piece of cake. Select the object-to-motion track and play the video from start to end. The tracker will detect the object's motion and add a specific effect throughout.
- Masking: Many video editors offer masking options, but a few offer precision. Precision is very important during masking, and After Effects is a master of that. Along with different masking options, it offers custom settings to bring accuracy.
- Timeline Editing: To see how professional software is, see if it has a timeline panel. Timeline editing is one of the functions that bring accuracy and professionalism. You can cut, align, apply effects, transitions, and much more on it.
Part 2: A Guide to Slow Down Video in Adobe After Effects During Editing
Upon learning about After Effects and its functionalities, let’s move forward. This section highlights the step-by-step procedure of creating a video slow mo. This is a quick and simple method to slow down a video using After Effects. Keep reading the below section for a seamless slow-down clip After Effects:
Step 1: After importing a video, navigate towards the timeline video layer and right-click on it. From the dropdown menu, select "Time" and then select the "Time Stretch" option.
Step 2: In the Time Stretch window, increase the default value of "Stretch Factor." Then click "OK," and this will slow down your clip.
Step 3: To bring precision to your slow-mo, you need to adjust the frame rate of the video. For this, right-click on the timeline and go to "Frame Blending > Pixel Motion" option. Afterward, play your video from start to end and observe the changes.
Part 3: Alternative: Slowing Down Video in Wondershare Filmora with Clarity
Even though slow-down footage After Effects retains video quality, there are certain drawbacks. It is a professional video editing platform used by filmmakers. This means the software must have some technicalities and costs a fortune. Hence, we provide you with a simpler yet professional alternative called Wondershare Filmora. It is a video editing software that offers multiple editing functions and effects.
Wondershare Filmora is an AI-driven software that makes task achievement accessible. Along with multiple features, there are different methods for slowing down a video in it. You can use its Super Slow-Motion feature, Speed Ramping, or a Preset for it. In this guide, we will discuss all these methods with their step-by-step guides.
Methods to Slow Down Video in Filmora
In this section, we will discuss alternative methods of slowing video in After Effects. All the mentioned methods are carried out in Wondershare Filmora. Here is the step-by-step guide to creating a slow-motion video using Filmora:
Method 1. Step-by-Step Guide to Slow Down a Video Manually
Users can employ the manual speed adjustment option along with the automated slow-motion option. The method of accessing this option is straightforward, and here is its guide:
Step 1Initiate Filmora and Import Media
Once you have downloaded Filmora, start it and click the “New Project” tab. After accessing the editing interface, click the “Import” button to download media. From the Project Media panel, drag and drop media to the timeline.
Step 2Access Uniform Speed Option
Once the media is in the timeline, select it and right-click on it. From the options panel, locate and click the "Uniform Speed" option. From
Step 3Adjust the Speed and Preview
A settings panel will appear on the right side of the screen; navigate towards it. Under the "Uniform Speed" tab, adjust the "Speed" slider to slow down your video. If its value decreases, your video will become slow motion. Further, hit the play button to preview and export your slow-mo video.
Method 2. Step-by-Step Guide to Slow a Video Using Optical Flow Option
If you prefer the automated creation of slow-mo, then Filmora offers an AI Frame Interpolation feature. Find the detailed instruction manual for accessing this feature below:
Step 1Look For Speed Ramping Option
After importing media and bringing it to the timeline panel, select it. Then, navigate towards the top toolbar and select the “Tools” tab. From the expansion menu, click on the “Speed Ramping” option.
Step 2Access the AI Frame Interpolation
Continue to select a specific preset for speed ramping. As you select one, locate and expand the “AI Frame Interpolation” section. From the appearing option, select the “Optical Flow” option.
Step 3Render Preview for Results
Once you have enabled this option, navigate towards the timeline toolbar. Search and select the "Render Preview" option from the given icons. Play the video to see the results, adjust, and click the "Export" button to download.
Edit Beyond Basic with AI Video Editing Features of Filmora
This part of the article will highlight some of the prominent video editing features of Filmora. The uniqueness of these features lies in their AI-backed algorithms. You can give directions according to your video, and AI will operate accordingly. Here are some of its video editing features that you’ll come across upon entering:
1. Remove Background
With this feature of Filmora, you can remove the background of your videos and images. The AI-integrated technology preserves the object while removing the background. In addition, you can add a solid color, gradient, or custom background for it.
2. Auto Reframe
Creating reels for Instagram or crafting YouTube shorts has some requirements. To preserve the integrity and visuals of content, it is important to fit a video. With this AI, you can set the required frame resolution. Along with that, it preserves the pixel quality of the video while resizing the frame.
3. AI Smart Masking
Filmora offers multiple mask options to infuse effects and filters to specific parts. However, the V13 upgrade introduced an AI masking feature for improved results. By enabling this feature, you can choose to mask objects or backgrounds.
4. AI Thumbnail Creator
Thumbnails increase video views by evoking the audience's interest in seeing a video. In Filmora, you can employ the AI Thumbnail creator to auto-create thumbnails. It analyzes the best frame out of your video and chooses it as a thumbnail. You can further apply many templates to this thumbnail according to context.
Conclusion
This article has expanded your knowledge and expertise about two powerful video editors. With how to slow down video in After Effects, we introduced you to the software. There is no limitation of features in either software as both bring out the best in videos.
However, we recommend Wondershare Filmora as it is a more accessible alternative. Creating a slow-mo in this software is easier and requires no effort. In addition, you can also access its built-in effects and presets for task productivity.
