How to Make a Video Slow Motion on iPhone

Part 1. What Is Slow Motion Video on iPhone

Slow motion, also called SLO-MO, is a video effect that makes movement appear slower than real life. iPhones create this effect by recording video at a higher frame rate, such as 120 fps or 240 fps, and then playing it back at a normal speed.

Compared to standard video recording, slow-motion footage can reveal more details in fast-moving scenes and create a more cinematic viewing experience.

Many iPhone models support slow-motion recording, making it easy for users to create professional-looking videos without additional equipment.

Part 2. How to Change Your Slow-Motion Settings on an iPhone

Before recording slow-motion videos, it's important to choose the right resolution and frame rate settings. iPhone allows users to customize slow-motion recording quality directly in the Camera settings.

Step 1. Open iPhone Settings

Unlock your iPhone and open the Settings app. Scroll down and tap on Camera.

Step 2. Choose Slow-Motion Resolution and Frame Rate

Inside the Camera settings menu, tap on Record Slo-mo. Depending on your iPhone model, you will typically see two or three choices:

• 1080p HD at 120 fps
• 1080p HD at 240 fps

Tap your preferred choice to select it.

Understand the Difference Between 120 fps and 240 fps

Choosing the right frame rate depends entirely on what you are filming:

• 120 fps: This slows the video down to about 1/4 of normal speed. It is perfect for tracking moderate motion like running people, jumping pets, or standard cinematic b-roll. It performs better in slightly lower light than 240 fps.
• 240 fps: This stretches the video down to 1/8 of normal speed. This is ideal for ultra-fast action, such as water splashing, skateboard tricks, or breaking objects. Because it captures so many frames, it requires a lot of bright, natural light to avoid looking dark or grainy.

Part 3. How to Shoot a Video in Slow Motion on an iPhone

Once your settings are dialed in, capturing slow-motion footage takes just a couple of taps inside the native Camera app.

• Open the Camera app on your iPhone.
• Swipe left or right across the screen modes above the shutter button until you select SLO-MO.
• Tap the red Record button to start filming.
• Keep your hands steady or use a tripod, as movement is magnified in slow motion. Tap the Stop button when you are done.

Pro Tip: When you play the video back in your Photos app, you will notice that the clip starts at normal speed, slows down in the middle, and speeds back up at the end. You can adjust exactly where the slow-motion effect starts and ends by dragging the vertical bars on the timeline while in edit mode.

Part 4. How to Change a Normal Video to Slow Motion

Many users forget to switch to SLO-MO mode before recording important moments. Fortunately, you can still turn a normal video into slow motion later using HitPaw VikPea.

HitPaw VikPea is HitPaw's AI Video Enhancer, it not only enhances videos quality, also supports adding smooth slow-motion effects to almost any video. Unlike basic mobile editing apps, it provides more advanced controls and AI features.

Key Features & Highlights:

• Universal Format Support: Easily handles a wide variety of input and output formats, including MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, and more.
• Flexible AI Slow-Mo Speed: Smoothly handles 2x and 4x slow-motion frame generation to achieve a true high-fps feel.
• Advanced Output Customization: Full control over your final file, allowing you to manually adjust resolution (up to 4K/8K), target FPS, video format, bit rate, and encoders.
• Real-Time Side-by-Side Preview: Preview your smooth slow-motion effect before saving to make sure the motion looks perfectly natural.
• All-in-One AI Toolbox: Includes additional cutting-edge tools like an AI video enhancer (to upscale blurry footage), video generator, frame interpolation, stabilization, and background removal.

How to Make a Normal Video Slow Motion with HitPaw VikPea

Step 1. Import Your Files

Launch HitPaw VikPea on your computer. Navigate to the Video Frame Interpolation tool in the AI Toolbox, and drag and drop your regular iPhone video file into the program.

Step 2. Choose Your Slow Motion Speed

In the right-hand settings panel, select your frame insertion multiplier. Choose either 2X or 4X to multiply your frame count and slow the action down into a smooth, artifact-free replay.

Step 3. Configure Output Settings

Scroll down to the export settings area. Here, you can customize your target resolution, adjust the container format (like MP4 or MOV), select your bit rate, and pick your preferred video encoder.

Step 4. Preview and Export

Click the Preview button to see a real-time rendering of your slow-motion footage. Once you are happy with how silky-smooth the movement looks, click Export to save the final masterpiece to your computer.

Part 5. FAQs

Conclusion

Capturing slow-motion videos on an iPhone is an incredibly easy way to elevate your everyday videography into something artistic and professional. By mastering your iPhone's camera settings between 120 fps and 240 fps, you can perfectly tailor your hardware to the speed of your subject. And remember, if you ever miss your window and accidentally record a standard video, desktop AI tools like HitPaw VikPea have your back-intelligently generating the missing frames to give you that buttery, smooth slow-mo look anytime, anywhere.