Speed ramps and frame rate
A speed ramp changes how fast the whole piece plays, without touching any of your keyframes: everything slides into slow motion, hangs almost still, then snaps back to speed. The frame rate sets how many pictures a second the export holds.
Where to find it: the Speed Ramp section, with Scene selected at the top of the Layers panel. The frame rate is the 30 fps button in the timeline's header.
Make a speed ramp
- Click Scene at the top of the Layers panel.
- Move the playhead to where the slow motion should begin, and click the ◆ by Playback speed in the Speed Ramp section. That keeps normal speed up to here.
- Move the playhead on a little, and set Playback speed lower, such as
0.2. - Move on again, and set it back to
1.
| Playback speed | What happens |
|---|---|
1 | Normal speed |
Below 1 | Slow motion. 0.5 is half speed. |
0 | A freeze: everything holds still |
Above 1 | Faster, up to 4 |
The keyframes' easing shapes the ramp: ease in and out for a smooth slide into slow motion, or Step Hold for a sudden freeze. See Easing and springs.
How a ramp changes your piece
The speed changes when your keyframes play, not where they sit on the timeline. Slow the piece to half speed from the start, and a move keyed at 2 seconds arrives at 4 seconds. Time never runs backward, even at speed 0.
So a ramp also changes how much of your animation fits in the piece. Slow it down, and moves near the end may not be reached before the piece ends. Lengthen the piece, or ramp back up sooner. See Canvas size and setup.
Some things keep their normal speed through a ramp:
- Sound, and videos in the scene
- Film grain, the color grade and film overlays, so slow motion doesn't slow the film's flicker
Tip
A speed ramp sells an impact: rush toward a moment, drop to 0.1 right as it lands, then return to 1. It works especially well with a camera move. See Camera moves and shake.
Frame rate and stop motion
The 30 fps button in the timeline's header sets how many pictures a second your video holds, from 10 to 120. Its menu also has:
- Step preview, to see the canvas play on the same frames the export will.
- Stop motion, which holds each picture for a few frames for a choppy, handmade feel. On 12 animates 12 times a second inside a 30 fps video.
Keyframes are measured in seconds, so changing the frame rate never moves your animation. See Canvas size and setup.