Shutter Speed Variations in Film

Unlike picking out different techniques used in animations spotting changes in shutter speed within films isn't something that my eye is quite clued into yet, aside from the obvious in slow motion shots.  During our earlier cinematography class where we experimented with filming in different shutter speeds was the first time I think I had ever really paid attention to this.

So this research is actually really beneficial to me in developing that.  But because of this, I was limited to looking at films that others had already identified as using high shutter speeds, and watching any clips I could find the would let me pick this out.  Some examples I found included Saving Private Ryan (1998), Gladiator (2000) and  The Descent (2005)   


Saving Private Ryan uses an assortment of shutter speeds to create different effects.  Many of these can be seen in the clip below. 

A high shutter speed was used for many of the explosions, which added extra clarity to dirt and debris.  This was intended to add a little more realism to the footage.

"I used a 45-degree shutter on the explosions, and a 90-degree shutter on most of the running shots. But we alternated at times. Sometimes the 45-degree shutter would appear too exaggerated and the 90 turned out to be better. But for extreme explosions like this, where we really wanted to practically count each individual particle flying through the air, the 45-degree shutter worked best" (Spielberg, cited by cinemashock, 2012)

Saving Private Ryan. (1998)

On some forums I found that people often associated a high shutter speed with horror films.  This actually makes a lot of sense to me when I think back to our in class exercise, as when the shutter speed increased I noted that the footage seemed to become more unnatural looking as it also increased in clarity.  In hindsight this really would lend itself to a horror film by creating that same unsettled feeling with the audience to  enhance the narrative.

The Descent (2005) uses the high shutter speed in this way.




The other main purposes I found for using a high shutter speed was to enhance action shots, and reducing motion blur.