Smooth Velocity Edit (Slow Motion) in CapCut

How to Create the Smooth Velocity Edit (Slow Motion) in CapCut (Ultimate Guide 2025)

On social media, particularly TikTok and Instagram Reels, “Velocity Edits” and “Smooth Slow Motion” videos are very popular. These edits instantly add a dynamic, cinematic, and polished appearance to your routine video clips. The finest aspect? With the CapCut mobile app, you can easily and for free create these beautiful effects without the need for pricey desktop software.

This 1000-word tutorial will show you how to make a perfect, lag-free, smooth Velocity (Slow Motion) edit using CapCut’s most potent tools, the Speed Curve (Graph) and Optical Flow (or Better Quality).

What is a Velocity Edit and Why Does it Matter?

A velocity edit is a type of video editing in which the speed of the video is precisely timed to a beat or piece of music. To increase the dramatic effect of the action, it entails quickly switching between slow motion and fast motion (or a sudden slow-down at a crucial moment).

An advanced feature called Smooth Slow Motion (Optical Flow/Better Quality) adds fresh, artificial intelligence-generated frames to your slow-motion video. This produces a butter-smooth, jerk-free effect that gives the impression that the video was either professionally edited or captured with a high-end camera. The key to a fantastic modern velocity edit is this.

Before You Begin: Essential Requirements

A few items are required in order to produce a professional velocity edit:

1. CapCut App: Ensure you have the latest version of CapCut installed on your phone.
2. High-Framerate Footage (Recommended): For the smoothest results, your video should ideally be recorded at 60fps (Frames Per Second). (30fps will work, but 60fps offers superior fluidity).
3. Music (Audio): The trending song or audio you want to use for the velocity edit.

Project Setup and Audio Sync

Accurately timing the video action to the audio beats is the most important step in any velocity edit.

Step 1: Start a New Project and Import Footage

1. Open CapCut and tap on New Project.
2. Select the video footage you want to edit and tap Add.
3. First, select the default CapCut Ending clip (the watermark screen) at the end of your timeline and tap Delete.

Step 2: Add Audio and Mark Beats (Match Cut)

1. Tap Add Audio from the bottom toolbar, then go to Sounds.
2. Choose the audio you want (you can Extract from a video or select a Sound from the library).
3. Tap on the audio clip in the timeline, then select Beats (or Match Cut) from the toolbar.
4. Listen carefully to the song and tap Add beat wherever you want the speed to change, or an action to hit (this creates a yellow marker).
5. After marking all the necessary beats, tap the  (Check Mark). (These yellow markers will now appear above your audio track in the timeline, guiding your speed changes.)

Step 3: Cut the Video According to the Beats

1. Tap on the video clip in the timeline.
2. Move the playhead to the first yellow beat marker.
3. Split the video clip at that marker.
4. Continue to Split the video at every beat marker where you plan to start or end a slow-motion segment. This breaks your main video into small, manageable clips.

Applying the Smooth Slow Motion (Velocity)

We now use the robust Graph tool to apply the core Velocity (Slow Motion) effect.

Step 4: Use the ‘Curve’ Tool (Graph Editing)

The Curve tool, which allows you to manually adjust the speed frame by frame, is the source of the velocity edit’s magic.

1. Select the specific video clip where you want the slow-motion effect to occur.
2. Tap Speed in the bottom toolbar, then select Curve (or Graph).
3. CapCut offers several presets (like Montage, Bullet, Jump), but tap Custom and then Edit.
4. You will see a graph representing speed, marked with five white dots.
5. To Create Slow Motion:
   • Raise the dot just before the action (or beat) to create a fast pace (e.g., 1.5x or 2x).
   • Lower the next dot (where the slow-down should occur) to create a slow pace (e.g., 0.3x or 0.5x).
   • You can add new dots (Add beat) to smooth the transition between speeds.
   • Pro Tip: Keep the segment immediately preceding the slow-motion moment slightly fast; this makes the slow-down look more dramatic and cinematic.
6. Once you are satisfied with the speed curve, tap the  (Check Mark).

Step 5: Apply ‘Better Quality’ or ‘Optical Flow’ (The Secret to Smoothness)

This is the most important step to remove lag and give your velocity edit a “Pro” appearance.

1. After exiting the Curve settings, CapCut will prompt you: “Make it smoother?”
2. You will see two options for Frame Rate:
   • Normal: (This gives choppy, standard slow motion).
   • Better Quality (or in some versions, Optical Flow): Select this option.
3. CapCut will begin “Frame Interpolation” (generating new frames for smoothness). This may take a few seconds to a minute, and only after this process will your slow motion look butter-smooth.
4. Repeat this process for all the clips where you used the Speed Curve.

Final Touches and Export

Polish and export settings are the last steps after applying the velocity effect to every clip.

Step 6: Add Transitions and Effects (Optional)

1. Transitions: Tap the white box between any two clips and add a quick, sharp transition (like Flash or Glitch). Use these transitions very briefly (e.g., 0.1 or 0.2 seconds) to sync perfectly with a beat or the beginning of a velocity change.
2. Shake Effect: To add dynamic energy, go to Video Effects and apply a Shake effect (or similar camera movement effect) to the clip where the beat drops. Set the duration to be extremely short so it blends seamlessly with the rhythm.

Step 7: Color Correction and Sharpening

Your entire video is enhanced by expert coloring and lighting.

1. Select any clip in the timeline.
2. Go to the Adjust tool in the toolbar.
3. Slightly tweak Brightness, Contrast, Saturation (for color vibrancy), and most importantly, Sharpen.
   • Sharpening your image slightly makes the video look higher-definition and crisp.
4. Tap Apply to all to apply these essential color settings across your entire edit.

Step 8: Export and Share

Your smooth velocity edit is now complete!

1. Tap the Export button in the upper right corner.
2. For the best results, set the Resolution to 1080p or 4K (if supported by your device).
3. Set the Frame Rate to 60fps. (This preserves the smoothness of your Optical Flow effect).
4. Tap Export.

Conclusion

You can produce professional-caliber Velocity and Smooth Slow Motion edits directly on your smartphone with CapCut’s Curve (Graph) tool and Better Quality/Optical Flow option. Developing content that stands out and becomes viral on social media platforms requires mastery of this technique. You will quickly become an expert at rhythm and motion in your videos if you continue to practice and try out various speed variations.