A Conversation with the Slow Mo Guys

Photography / Slow-Mo

The Slow Mo Guys Share Their Secrets

How Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy make every day epic with super slow motion.

Gavin Free and Dan Gruchy have racked up over 11 million followers who tune in to watch them turn the ordinary—think <a href="https://www.samsung.com/us/explore/photography/slow-mo/animal-therapy/">dogs,</a> balloons, and watermelons—into the extraordinary with the power of slow motion. We sat down with them to discuss how they get the most out of Super-slow Motion on the Samsung Galaxy S9.

How did you first start making slow-mo videos?

Gavin: I used to be a high-speed camera operator for the British film industry, so I was able to play around with these cameras in our off time. Eventually, I got Dan involved because Dan, to me, was the best person I knew to get banter on camera, and we started a YouTube channel with these incredible cameras that not many people had access to at the time.

Dan: I would say that cameras like these, at the time, were very uncommon. There were only a couple in the country. We were so young, and Gavin was so capable of using [the cameras] because of his job, so it was a cool opportunity that led us to what we do.

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Why do you think your videos resonate so well with viewers?

Gavin: We’re showing the audience something that they’ve seen hundreds of times, something that they can relate to, but at a much, much slower pace. There’s a lot of beauty in the world, even in normal, everyday subjects when they’re slowed down.

Dan: When we slow everyday things down, we’re showing [the audience] something they haven’t seen before. And we’re not just showing them a video; we’re presenting it and going through the experiment with them–showing them the setup, did it go well or did it not, and anything funny that happened. We try to engage people with that as well, so it appeals to a broad audience. So, it’s not just footage–it’s more engaging.

“There’s a lot of beauty in the world, even in normal, everyday subjects when they’re slowed down.”

– Gavin Free

What are moments in daily life that would look great captured in slow motion?

Gavin: I feel like even before you go to work every day, there are so many moments full of emotion. For instance, if you look at a shower, you see droplets of water turn into a stream and into beads of water. Even putting milk into your coffee or watching TV–there are so many aspects of everyday life that you usually ignore that look completely different when slowed down.

Dan: I like that the Super Slow-mo technology is built into the [Galaxy S9], because you could be on a jog in the park or walking your dog and think “I wonder what that looks like in slow motion,” and just whip out your phone and see for yourself. Usually, we have a huge camera that we have to set up and get everything ready for, whereas with the phone, you can just go about your day and capture slow-mo footage without needing to set anything up.

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What tips would you offer users to help them get the most out of the Super Slow-mo feature?

Gavin: I think [users] should be very experimental [with the feature], and make sure that you have a lot of light, since you are taking so many pictures every second. There’s not actually a lot of light hitting the sensor for very long, so a bright environment is very good. And get someone to help you as well.

Dan: I would say that obviously, since it’s a phone, there’s no limit to what you can record in slow motion. You can just record whatever you want around the house, wherever you are. But it’s like Gavin said, it’s all about light. The more light you have, the easier it is.