{"id":76535,"date":"2022-09-30T08:20:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T13:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=76535"},"modified":"2022-09-30T08:20:06","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T13:20:06","slug":"advanced-look-into-frame-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/advanced-look-into-frame-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"The Surprisingly Fascinating World of Frame Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let’s take a closer look at a few different frame rates and how you can utilize them in your film and video projects.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Frame<\/strong> rate<\/strong>, also commonly described as frames per second<\/strong> (fps<\/b>), is a term used to describe how many still frames we see in a single second. As a filmmaker, it will be one of the first settings you choose \u2014 24, 25, 30. <\/strong>Universally, 24fps is accepted as the norm for a “cinematic” frame rate<\/strong>. 30fps is accepted for broadcast in North America, and 25fps is the broadcast standard in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the one-second sequence below, several individual frames pass each second. To be specific, there are twenty-four individual stills.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Below, we have the shot split into individual frames, each representing 1\/24th of a second.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"24fps<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The question for this segment: Why 24? <\/strong>I find it incredibly useful to know how<\/em> a clock ticks rather than just knowing what it does. Why not 22 or 28.59? Why are we given these exact frame rates to work with? Man<\/strong>y filmmakers opt for 24fps because it is the standard fps for making your films feel “cinematic.” However, cinematic is just a relative term for what we think looks normal.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may recall many articles published in 2013 talking about how The Hobbit films looked like cheap daytime television dramas. This was because it was shot at 48fps, giving<\/a> us an entirely different aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why we shoot at 24fps<\/strong> comes down to many reasons, and from years of reading and research around this topic, there isn’t a specific one. It is a compilation of various factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Humans Perceive Frames<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\"FILM
Image via Shutterstock<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can perceive ten to twelve\u00a0passing frames as distinct individual images. As more images pass each second, the gap between each image shortens, and our brains recognize the images as motion. This was first documented by psychologist Max Wertheimer<\/a>, who coined\u00a0phi phenomenon<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the early 1900s to the 1920s, there was no industry-standard frame rate; there were no rules. It was simply in the best interests of studios to keep the frame rates low<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 the higher the frame rate, the more film had to be used\u2014the more film that had to be used, the more money that had to be spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although greater frame<\/strong> rates<\/strong> would produce better persistence of vision, 16fps<\/strong> became the unofficial standard for silent films. It was enough to create the illusion of motion, and studio execs were not losing cash with every turn of the hand crank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few variations of why 24fps<\/strong> was specifically chosen. In the video below (from Filmmaker IQ<\/a>), John P. Hess<\/a> explains that 24fps<\/strong> was chosen because a new modern standardization of frame rate<\/strong> had to be initiated due to the introduction of sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24fps was chosen because of math<\/strong>; it is an easily divided number, and editors can work out specific time cuts based on the number of frames. Twelve frames would be half a second; six frames would be a quarter of a second, and so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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