How To Create A Slow-Motion Photo Booth (And What it Can Add to Your Business)

January 24, 2014

By Laura Brauer

One of the hottest, of-the-moment wedding photography upsells is the slow-motion photo booth, made popular by production company Super Frog Saves Tokyo’s August 2013 viral video. Set up like a traditional, portable portrait studio, a video starring the bridal couple and their guests dancing, motor-boating their lips and slapping each other’s faces is either slowed down or sped up and then edited into a fun, three-minute, slow-motion film to be enjoyed for all time.


That one!
Quang + Ellie: Slow Motion Booth from Super Frog Saves Tokyo that started it all.

“It was innovation born from laziness,” says SFST producer Blaine Ludy of the original idea. “We knew that it would take a couple of months to complete the full-length wedding video, so we came up with the booth as a way to give the couple something relatively quickly. That being said, this project takes at least two people during the shoot and about 20 to 30 hours of post-production.”

Since the phenomenon of SFST’s initial film (which rendered the company more than 6,000 inbound leads to produce similar videos), a YouTube search leads to a bevy of other photographers who are slowing things down with their own methods.

“I have done several of these at high-end wedding receptions and have a number of them booked already for 2014 weddings,” says Maura Coleman-Murray of Creative Films in Kansas City, Missouri. “We’ve had a couple corporate clients interested as well for their holiday parties and grand-opening-type events. The edited video has great value in marketing and could very easily be used online and to promote a firm or brand.”


One of Creative Films’ Slow Motion Videos

Max Surikov of Maxim Photo Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, has had similar interest from clients: “We’ve got five planned for next year, and once people realize the possibilities of slow motion, I’m sure we’ll have more.”

Murray says Creative Films charges between $3,000 and $3,500 for a slow-motion booth and video, while Surikov tacks the charge onto his traditional photo booth setup ($850 for the edited video), which is delivered to clients on a USB drive and then shared.

Although SFST used a $30,000 RED EPIC camera to create the buzzed-about film, Ludy asserts that a quality slow-motion photo booth and video can be made on a budget that’s less than $3,000, including equipment costs.

Maxim Photo Studio uses a Canon 5D Mark III at 60 fps and 720 p in HD, Photoshop’s Premiere Elements to edit and export, and Adobe After Effects to render and bring it back to an exportable file. Creative Films, which uses a Sony FS700, records in true slow motion and then speeds up the footage in post “to create extra energy for the edit” in Final Cut Pro. Renting equipment cuts costs even further, and then it’s just about the hours and time spent on location and editing.


One of Surikov Studios’ slow motion videos.

SET UP

Equipment:
*A camera that can shoot video at a minimum of 60 frames per second, or one that shoots in true slow motion.

“The original was shot at 160 fps, and now we’re doing some at 200 fps,” Ludy says. “If you’re doing something on a budget and a 60 fps camera is all you own, use it, but I highly recommend shooting at a higher frame rate or using software to slow it down.”

*A tripod
*A backdrop or blank wall
*Side lights to illuminate your background and subject
*Two overhead keylights to eliminate shadows


How to do a Slow Motion Booth on a Budget
from Super Frog Saves Tokyo on Vimeo.

Camera Settings:
Video resolution: 720 p, NTSC 120 fps
Field of view: Narrow or wide (depending on client’s preference, but narrow is more flattering)
White balance: Manual
Protune: On
Spot meter: On

Max Surikov uses constant lights from Photoflex; Ludy suggests Konova Pro 900 LED lights. He also recommends renting gear you don’t already own to bring down costs.

Post-Production Software:
Twixtor, Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere to slow down the frame rate of your image sequences (search the Web for free tutorials on post- production actions).

SLOW-MO TIPS


Light is Everything
“You’re shooting sometimes as fast as 1/4000th of a second to slow the motion down to 1/5th or 1/10th of the original frame rate; without the proper amount of light, the video will have warping,” Surikov says. Ludy agrees: “You can also shoot outside [to cut costs],” he says. “but it looks pixelated if you’re not using a lot of light.”

Prop Preparedness
Glitter, silly string and water are crucial elements to create hilarity in these videos, but Surikov makes the point that venues often have limitations as to the abuse they’ll allow on carpets and walls, so it’s important to check in with them before setting up. “We bought Nerf guns, water canons and boxing gloves for our next shoot,” the photographer says. “We’re going to tape the area off with plastic so if anything spills we can pick it up and throw it away.”  

Score it Safely
The song selection is almost as important as the film itself, but be certain to use music with permission. “We use Marmoset, which has a collection of royalty-free songs that are pretty good and can cost as little as $100 to $200,” Ludy says. “We’ve used local artists also; usually people are nice and will [let us use their song] for a small fee.” Other royalty-free music sites include Triple Scoop Music and Song Freedom.