
The reason for the standardization of the frame rate was the sound, because frame rates were and still are, used to sync the audio and video tracks.įrame rates higher than 24fps were commonly used even before the invention of the television in the 1950's, which used 30fps as an industry standard. In the late 1920's the industry standard frame rate was set to 24fps, and today almost a hundred years later, nearly all movies are filmed at this frame rate. However, in videos with lower frame rates movements appears jerky, while the characters move at unnatural speeds.

The human eye can see as much as 10 or 12 images per second and process them separately, while 16fps is already perceived as a movement. Maintaining the permanent frame rate manually is not easy, which is why frame rates were much slower in the early years of cinema, as they varied between 16 to 24 fps.

If you increase the number of frames per second the figures in the shot will appear to be moving slower, while if you decrease the frame rate the characters in the shot will move faster, like in the early Charlie Chaplin movies.Īs a matter of fact, during the period when Chaplin made his first silent movies, all cameras were cranked which means that the camera operator had to roll the handle in order to start recording. This means that you can choose the number of stills that are displayed in one second. A frame rate is simply the frequency at which independent still images appear on the screen.
