Fast Motion (Technique)

Fast motion is the opposite of slow motion, in which the action shown on screen appears to be moving faster than the normal speed. This is done by filming the action at less that normal speed on the camera and then playing it at a normal speed.

This technique allows the audience to see actions or events that would usually take a long time to happen, or it allows the viewers to see actions or events in a manner that would typically bore the viewer if played at a standard speed. It can be used for a tense scene as it can help raise the suspense of the scene, however it can also be used as a comedic effect and placed alongside music.

Below is an example of fast motion, in this clip it is used to show the abilities of a superhero, to be able to move faster than any human. This scene also has a comedic effect however this may be because it is obviously sped up. The scene is from Supergirl (1984). Due to it being sped up, the clip is only 10 seconds long, however if the footage was not sped up, the woman wouldn't seem like much of a super hero and the viewers wouldn't want to sit there and watch Supergirl write a letter in normal speed as it would be too time consuming and they would get bored.