Speeding up or slowing down a video shouldn’t be a challenge.

While these are simple changes that could significantly boost your videos’ performance, the questions remain: how to speed up a video and how to slow down a video?

Well, we’re here to help.

But before we tell you how to add fast-motion or slow-motion effects, first, let’s understand what video speed is and why it matters while creating impactful videos.

What is Video Speed?

The rate at which a video is captured is its speed. The frame rate is technically known as frames per second (FPS). It means how many individual images or frames are captured in a video per second.

To learn more about video frame rate, check this guide: What is Video Frame Rate and Why Should You Care

Now coming back to video speed, let’s say your camera captures videos at 30fps. When you slow this frame rate, you get a slow-motion video, and by speeding up the frame rate, you create a fast-motion effect.

We’ll now learn about both of these transitions. Let’s dive right in!

How to speed up a video

To speed up a video, simply use Wave.video’s online video editor and follow the steps mentioned below. It’s easy, you’ll see.

Step 1 – Sign up or log in to your Wave.video account

If you haven’t already, sign up on Wave.video for free. Otherwise, log into your account if you already have one and begin your video-speeding-up process.

Step 2 – Click New Video

Next, click “+ New Video” at the top-right and select “Upload a video” from the options.

Step 3 – Upload your video footage

Now, browse your computer, select the footage you want to speed up, and click “open”.

Step 4 – Edit video

Once you’ve uploaded the video, click the three dots on the video preview and select “Edit video” from the drop-down.

In the video preview dashboard, click “Edit video” to speed up your video.

Step 5 – Speed up your video

Click “Speed” on the right-side toolbar, under the “Video” tab. To speed up your video, choose your preferred speed index from the drop-down menu, which is “1” by default.

Depending on how fast you want your video to be, select the speed index from 1.25 up to 2.

Step 6 – Publish

After you’ve learned how to speed up a video and completed the process using Wave.video, click “Publish” on the top-right and choose “Video” from the options to render and download/publish.

Reasons to speed up a video (+ Examples)

Before tying sped-up videos to your video marketing strategy, see where they fit in. Here are a few reasons why a sped-up video may be a great choice:

To show a long process

Viewers are rarely interested in long-winded processes. If you have recorded a long process, convert it into a visual summary to generate viewers’ interest. You can reduce your video’s running time by pushing the long process down to a couple of minutes. And it works great for cooking videos!

Check out this one by Show Me the Yummy for inspiration.

To fit a video within a set time frame

Sometimes a video is too long to be engaging. You can speed it up to shorten the duration or speed up slower scenes that you don’t really want to cut out of the video.

To increase the production value of your footage

Add some style to your video by combining sped-up footage with slow shots. Vloggers often speed up their videos to improve their videos’ production value.

Like this “clean with me” video by WhatsUpMoms:

To tell a story

Okay, so storytelling wins customers. So if you’re into it, try increasing your videos’ speed. Not only will it convey information faster, but it also gives a better viewing experience.

And what better way to tell a story than to predict the future with sped-up/timelapse videos?

For example, this one futuristic video by MELODYSHEEP:

To create a comedic effect

Can you recall those Charlie Chaplin movies? Well, the motion in old silent films was usually sped up to make the footage comical. You can try that too when it comes to adding a comedic effect to your videos.

Oh, and on that note, we couldn’t help but share this one:

How to slow down a video

Adding that slow-motion effect to your videos is as easy as speeding them up. Well, you can thank Wave.video later. For now, let’s check out the steps on how to slow down a video using our slow motion tool:

Step 1 – Sign up or log in to your Wave.video account

Sign up for free on Wave.video or log into your account if you have one.

Step 2 – Click New Video

Hit the “+ New Video” tab at the top-right and choose “Upload a video”.

Step 3 – Upload your video footage

Next, browse your computer and select your footage. Then, click “open” to slow it down.

Step 4 – Edit video

After the video is uploaded successfully, click the three dots on the video preview and select “Edit video” from the drop-down.

From the video dashboard, again choose “Edit video” to slow down the speed.

Step 5 – Slow down the video

On the right-side toolbar, click “Speed”. Finally, slow down your video by selecting your preferred speed index from the drop-down menu, which is “1” by default.

Based on how slow you want your video to be, select the speed index from 0.75 up to 0.25.

Step 6 – Publish

Once you have reduced the speed of your video, click “Publish” on the top-right and select “Video” from the options to render and download/publish.

Reasons to slow down a video (+ Examples)

Slowing down a video clip works fantastic when it comes to adding an artistic effect or giving that close-up in time. But there are many other reasons to slow down your video. Listed below are some of them:

To emphasize details

Be it a sports clip or an action scene, using the slow-mo effect can help emphasize details that viewers may otherwise easily miss.

That said, almost everything looks great in slow-mo.

Don’t believe us? Watch this video by Legendary Shots and see it for yourself:

To add suspense

Slowing down videos often helps in building suspense. So, if you want to hook your audience for a little bit longer, consider reducing the speed of your footage.

To show a skill

Want to show a skill or tell your audience about your unique style? Use the slow-motion effect to represent the talent you’ve got, just like Nathan Adrian’s freestyle stroke depicted in this video by SpeedoInternational:

To observe nature’s wonders

Mother Nature is wonderful. And slow-motion can help capture its wonders. So, the next time you are in awe of a natural phenomenon, capture it in detail using slow-motion for some amazing footage.

For instance, Pecos Hank shows us how a tree catches fire after lightning strikes it. Catch the slow-motion footage of this natural phenomenon here:

To focus on a science experiment

Love science and experiments? Use the slow-mo effect while recording them and capture even the minutest details to take your videos to the next level.

Here’s a video by The Slow Mo Guys you must check out:

Changing Video Speed – Tips & Tricks

Creating those gorgeous and aesthetically charming video clips with cinematic effects isn’t impossible. Well, not as long as you know the tricks of the trade.

Here are a few tips you must follow to create cinema-quality fast-moving or slow-moving videos:

• Don’t overdo it: Whether you’re speeding up or slowing down your videos, don’t be generous. Use the effect only when it’s necessary to avoid losing its charm.
• Resist overcranking: While slowing down your footage, the slower, the better doesn’t always hold. Make sure the shots are slowing down without seeming overtly weird. Play it subtle to get that cinematic feel.
• Use audio: Add your soundtrack or use Wave.video’s library of royalty-free tunes, sounds, and audio clips to create those perfect sped-up or slow-mo videos.
• Add narration: You can always use your voice to enhance your fast-mo or slow-mo videos. Record a voiceover to add narration, especially if your video has a lot of scratchy audio.
• Keep the background clean: While picking a background for your video, make sure it isn’t too busy or distracting. Speeding up or slowing down a video requires excellent viewer attention, and a clean background makes that possible.
• Use text: Give your viewers a flexible watching experience by captioning your fast-mo and slow-mo videos.
• Preview: Before you publish your finished work, check the edits by previewing your shots. Ensure that the branding is on point and the effects are added correctly, mainly if you have used speed ramping.

Go ahead, speed up or slow down your video with ease

Whether it’s learning how to speed up a video or understanding the process of how to slow down a video, this post is all you need to get going.

Master video editing with Wave.video and level up your video quality without sweating out.