The importance of frame rate in video creation

… and what is behind FPS (frames per second).

When you start making videos, you will soon hear technical terms like frame rate and acronyms like FPS. What exactly is framerate and what role does it play? What is the meaning of FPS or frames per second? We will explain what these terms mean and what frame rate or FPS your videos should have for good quality.

What do frame rate and FPS mean?

Do you remember the flip book from your childhood? This kind of flip-off books showed how animation works. Each page contained a single image, and turning the pages quickly made the scenes move.

In principle, video works the same way. All videos are a series of still images. When these images are viewed in a certain order and speed, the impression of movement is created.

The frame rate is the speed at which the images are shown, or how fast you scroll through the flip book. The frame rate is measured in frames per second (or frames per second), or FPS for short. Each picture is a frame. When video is recorded and played back at 24 FPS (the normal rate in motion picture film), 24 still frames are shown every second. The speed at which the images are shown fools our brain into perceiving fluid movement.

Why is framerate important?

Frame rate affects how a video is experienced. Different frame rates give a different impression of the video. Deciding on a specific frame rate depends on how realistic you want the video to look and whether you want to use techniques like slow motion or blurring.

What frame rate is most commonly used?

Movies are usually played at a frame rate of 24 FPS. This roughly corresponds to our normal vision. Videos showing a live event or sporting event or video game often have a higher frame rate. That’s because a lot of things are happening at once, and at a higher frame rate, the video plays smoothly and all the details are crisp. However, if you create animated GIF files, for example, you will select a lower frame rate and forgo the sharpness of detail in favor of a smaller file size.

How do you find the best frame rate?

There isn’t one optimal frame rate that produces the best results for all types of videos. There are also different opinions and tastes as to which frame rate is the best. If you are looking for the ideal frame rate for a video project, then consider the following four aspects when setting the FPS.

The right frame rate for realism

Style/Reality

The frame rate of a video determines how it looks and how it affects viewers. Our natural eyesight plays a major role in this. When we see movement, such as someone throwing a ball or a car driving past, some things are blurred. Ideally, the chosen frame rate should take this natural blur into account. Too high a frame rate will make everything look unnatural and the video will have a certain “soap opera” effect. On the other hand, a frame rate that is too low can cause a video to play choppy and not look particularly good.

24 FPS

24 frames per second (FPS) is the standard frame rate for motion pictures and television broadcasts. It is also the lowest frame rate that can be used for video or film recording, but the movements still look realistic. Movies recorded with a higher frame rate are often played back at 24 FPS. Most feature films are recorded at 24 FPS and played back at this frame rate.

30 FPS

The slightly higher frame rate of 30 FPS is also widely used, especially in TV shows. Although some TV producers are based on the cinema frame rate of 24 FPS, 30 FPS offers advantages, especially for programs with a lot of movement. Sports broadcasts, for example, benefit from a higher frame rate of 30 FPS. The specification of 30 FPS also has to do with older television and electricity standards that were established a long time ago.

60 FPS

Frame rates of more than 30 FPS are mainly used when playing a video in slow motion, for example to show screen sequences step by step. However, frame rates higher than 30 FPS are also sometimes used for content with a lot of movement, such as recordings of video games.

The right recording frame rate for motion

Choosing the right frame rate depends on the movement in your video. Thats is quite easy. The more movement there is in a video, the higher you should set the frame rate when recording. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you produce at a higher frame rate, but a high recording frame rate will make your video smoother and show more detail. The higher the frame rate, the more editing flexibility you have. Here are some typical options:

24 FPS

As previously mentioned, 24 FPS is the minimum speed at which video must be recorded to achieve realistic looking motion sequences. However, if you record a scene with a lot of movement at only 24 FPS, a lot of the movement may look blurry.

30 FPS

Six more frames per second make much more detail visible in movements. The downside: The motion sequences can no longer appear as natural as with 24 FPS and you can get a “soap opera” effect.

60+FPS

You should only record above 30 FPS if you are filming extremely moving scenes, such as video games, sporting events or scenes that you later want to show in slow motion. Video games are recorded at this frame rate because there is a lot happening on the screen at the same time and a larger number of frames results in better image quality. Athletes in action are also recorded with a high frame rate, so that later the most interesting moments can be shown in good quality in slow motion.

The appropriate frame rate for playback

Where are you showing your video? On YouTube or on a TV show? What devices are viewers using to watch your videos? The answers to these questions will determine your frame rate options. Not all devices and distribution methods support arbitrary frame rates. It is best to research this before taking the picture. We now briefly introduce the most popular destinations where most people watch videos.

Frame rate for streaming and internet videos

Video platforms and streaming services are becoming increasingly popular when it comes to video consumption. You too may be planning to upload your videos to a video sharing platform. Most platforms and streaming providers support different frame rates. Lower frame rates suit those users who would not be able to reproduce high frame rates with older monitors or screens anyway. It is advisable to check where you want to show your video and which frame rate is recommended there for uploading and playback before recording or exporting the video. YouTube, for example, specifies the possible frame rates as 24 FPS to 60 FPS, although frame rates of more than 30 up to 60 FPS are only recommended for topics such as gaming, makeup tutorials or sports.

Frame rate for TV

If you’re producing video for TV shows, you should stick to 24-30 FPS. This way the video looks realistic and meets the expectations for television quality. Live shows like the news or sports are almost always recorded at 30 FPS, other TV shows and movies at 24 FPS.

Frame rate for cinema and film projectors

Cinemas and projectors are still popular for watching videos. Again, as with TV shows, the frame rate should remain at 24 FPS. This guarantees the right “cinema feel” and your video will look good on most projectors.

Frame rate, file size and export times

The final two factors to consider are file size and export times. The higher the frame rate, the more frames are packed into each second of video. More images means more information to process. More information means larger files and longer export times. This is especially important to know when uploading videos to online streaming sites like YouTube, Vimeo or Screencast. Higher video quality is desirable, but larger files require better internet connections and computer hardware. Viewers who have older computers or don’t have the best internet connection will not be able to view the videos well.

Finally

Choosing the right frame rate has a decisive influence on the quality of your video when it is played, whether the motion sequences are smooth and realistic or whether motion blur occurs. However, the frame rate also determines the file size of the video and upload times and should be chosen in a user-friendly way.

However, if you consider the four things mentioned here before video recording and editing, you can find the right frame rate setting for your video. By the way, in this demo you can try out which frame rate suits which image material and which type of movement.