What is Frametime? How much Frametime is good?
When you start in the world of video, one of the terms that you are going to hear everywhere is frames per second or fps. So that you are not so lost or so that you can make a decision regarding how many fps a video needs, in this post we explain what framerate is and which one you should choose.
What is frame rate?
To explain what framerate is, it is important that you understand how videos work. If you know, for example, the technique of stop motion animation, it may be easier to understand the video. The videos are made up of sequences of images that, when viewed at one speed, give the sensation of movement.
So what is framerate? Well, framerate is how fast or slow those images are displayed. It is expressed in fps which, as we have said before, means frames per second. So if a video is taken at 10 fps, it means that 10 images will be displayed in one second. The more images you see, the easier it is to trick your brain into watching smoother video.
Human vision is only able to perceive around 10 to 12 fps. Anything over this limit will have a much smoother picture (the standard for many industries is 24fps); however, there are videos that need more or less depending on what you want.
Why is framerate important?
The experience of people in front of a video can change significantly depending on what type of fps is chosen. Choosing an fps is based on an investigation of the product to be captured, if you want it to be more natural or if you want a lot of detail, all these factors are linked to the fps.
For different needs there are different factors to take into account.
How to choose?
As we said before when explaining what framerate is, the style of the video is the determinant of which framerate you should choose. While the industry standard is 24fps, this standard is not a straitjacket, you can go against this depending on your needs.
If realism is what you’re looking for in your videos, you need to think about how we naturally see the world. It is normal for us to see a blurred path behind a moving object, our brain does not process high speeds, so it puts the information that it thinks is relevant. If you choose a video with a very high frame rate, you run the risk of making the image look flat and lifeless and therefore lose the natural effect.
- 24 fps: is the standard for the television and film industry and is the minimum speed for the brain to interpret movement in a realistic way.
- 30 fps: it is used more for sporting events on television, since they need those fps for the fastest movements; although the cinematographic style of 24 fps is already used more.
- +60fps: videos with a high percentage of fps are normally used to create videos in slow motion, because by putting the effect in the video editors, having extra frames will still look fluid, although slow.
30 and 60 fps is what smartphones record today and is what is used for social media formats. 60 fps is also the standard for video games and sporting events, since there are many things happening on the screen at the same time and you want to have a lot of detail without losing movement capacity.
internet streaming
Today’s streaming services support most, if not all, types of framerates. Now, even if your streaming platform supports it, it does not mean that the device is capable of processing and displaying it. There are older televisions and computers that are not capable of reproducing the higher framerates, so keep that in mind when making something for your target audience.
Cinema
For the cinematic experience in movie theaters, production companies are usually required to film in 24 fps, as it has been the standard for many years and is known as the cinematic look.
TV
Like cinema, television also uses 24 fps. However, to this is added the 30 fps. Many TV channels are shown in 30fps when it comes to live sporting events, but when they are shows it usually reverts to 24fps.