How to Use Speed Ramp to Create Slow Motion, Freeze Frame, and Reverse Video Effects

Speed ramping is the process of slowing down or speeding up a video for dramatic effect. Think about the last time you saw a sports movie— the film producers probably used speed ramping to slow down the final goal or basket, making the viewer wait in anticipation to see if the team would score or lose the game.

Whether you want to produce films or videos for your YouTube channel, you can use speed ramping to achieve a unique, eye-catching effect in your clips.

PowerDirector offers a user-friendly Speed Ramp tool that makes it easy to achieve results ranging from slow-mo effects to video reversals. Read on to learn how to apply speed ramping in PowerDirector, then download it to begin adding the effect to your videos.

• How to Make Slow Motion Video with Speed Ramp
• How to Freeze Frame with Speed Ramp
• How to Reverse a Video with Speed Ramp
• Final Thoughts

How to Make Slow Motion Video with Speed Ramp

Adding a slow-motion effect to your video is an easy way to dramatize the moment and leave viewers on the edges of their seats, waiting to see what happens next. PowerDirector’s Speed Ramp tool makes it quick and easy to apply a slow-motion effect to any clip.

Your first step is to import your clip and drag it down to the editing track. Next, click on the “Tools” dropdown and select the “Action Camera Center.”

Open the “Effect” tab at the top of the window and click “Create Time Shift.” The time shift border will appear at the beginning of your timeline, and you can drag it to cover the period you would like to slow down within your video.

Once you have adjusted the effect to fit your clip, select the “Speed” dropdown on the left-hand side of the screen. Check the “Apply speed effect” checkbox. You can now use the “Speed Multiplier” slider to adjust the speed during your designated selection. As you make the pace slower, you will notice that the duration of the overall clip increases.

Finally, we recommend checking the “Ease in” and “Ease out” checkboxes to create a smoother slow-mo effect. These will speed ramp your video down from normal speed and back up at the end.

How to Freeze Frame with Speed Ramp

The freeze-frame effect stops your video clip for a few seconds, creating a dramatic pause. Achieving this effect is just as easy as applying a slow-motion effect, as we discussed in the previous section.

You can follow these steps to freeze-frame your video:

1. Import the video you would like to edit into PowerDirector.
2. Drag the clip to the main timeline.
3. Click the “Tools” drop down above the timeline.
4. Select “Action Camera Center.”
5. Click “Freeze Frame” in the left-hand menu.
6. Move the play head to where you would like the freeze-frame to occur in the clip. (You can preview the clip to see where your play head appears within the shot.)
7. Click the “Add a Freeze Frame” button in the left-hand window to add the freeze-frame at the play head location.
8. Adjust the duration of the freeze-frame by inputting a second or minute value. We recommend testing a few durations and applying one just long enough to make viewers pause, but not too long that they lose interest.
9. To add a speed ramp before and after your freeze frame check “Ease In” and “Ease Out.”

If you’re unsure where to add the freeze-frame within your video, here are a few ideas to spark your inspiration:

• At the peak of an action shot
• After you zoom in on an object or figure
• Before a falling object hits the ground
• After the actor presses a button or pulls a lever

How to Reverse a Video

Applying a reverse effect is an effective way to remind viewers how incredible a stunt in your video was. PowerDirector makes it easy to reverse entire clips or small sections of footage with a few clicks of a button.

With your video select open “Tools” above the timeline and select “Video in Reverse.” Your video will automatically flip on the timeline.

If you would like to narrow the reversal effects to a portion of your clip, you can do so by slicing the clip, then applying the “Video in Reverse” effect to the sliced version of the clip.

While a reversal effect could look unique and eye-catching in any video, we recommend applying it to shots of events such as:

• Fireworks
• Backflips
• Bottle flips
• Snowboarding stunts
• Parkour
• Gymnastics

Reversing these clips will invite the viewers to pay closer attention to the actions exhibited in the shots, creating better engagement with your video overall.

Final Thoughts

Applying PowerDirector’s speed effects is a simple yet effective way to draw attention to specific shots in your videos. You can use these effects to:

• slow down a portion of the clip
• speed through a montage or race scene
• apply a freeze-frame to a note-worthy shot
• reverse clips to give viewers a second look

Download PowerDirector today to try out the program’s video speed tools for yourself.