The Rolling Shutter Effect: how to record guitar strings in slow motion
If you’re someone who snoops around on social media a lot you’ve probably come across this video of a guy putting his phone inside his guitar and recording the strings in slow motion. If you went ahead and tried it and it didn’t work; don’t be surprised. But it’s not CGI as well. Then what could this queer thing be?
What is the ‘rolling shutter’ effect?
In regular video capture (global shutters), several images are recorded every second. On the other hand, in rolling shutter image capture each frame is recorded by scanning through the field of vision, either horizontally or vertically.
What is usually an issue faced by photographers and videographers becomes a boon when recording a guitar being played. It slows down just the strings and makes the performance so much more dramatic. I used this in one of my covers (watch it below) and had several people asking me how I did it. Hence this article. It’s very simple actually.
I used a Nikon D5500 to record the video but it doesn’t matter, as long as you have control over the camera’s aperture and shutter speed.
Setting & Settings
Unfortunately there’s no one fool-proof way to do it. The camera settings and the setting (lighting, angle, etc.) are complementary. So the only way to find the perfect balance between them is by the good ol’ method — trial and error. Adjust (increase) the aperture and shutter speed until you get the best shot. These are some things to keep in mind:
- Frame rate doesn’t make a big difference. 24, 48 and 60 fps all give similar output videos.
- Increase the shutter speed. IMO start with 1/1000 and increase in steps of 250 (1/1250, 1/1500 and so on)
- Increasing the shutter speed will make the video darker since exposure time decreased. To compensate, increase the ISO in the settings. Note that a higher ISO will result in not only a brighter video but also a noisier one.
- Another way you could increase brightness is by using studio lights. Place it perpendicular to the guitar. When I recorded this I was in college and couldn’t obviously afford a set of lights, so I used the afternoon sun. It turned out okay, don’t you think?
- The angle your camera is placed at also matters. As you can see, I decided to place it obtusely to the guitar to make the strings look longer.
- It doesn’t work well with songs that need a capo.
- Don’t restrict yourself to a guitar. Think ukelele…kalimba…harp.
Examples
Several artists on YouTube have managed to produce amazing videos using this effect. Here are some examples from the top of my head:
- Careless whisper by AcousticTrench
- This piece played on a Kalimba
- This improv on a 12-stringer
Did you notice something else when experimenting? Leave a comment for all of us to see below. Cheers. :)
