Though Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug made cinematic waves in 2013 due to Jackson's decision to capture the entire film at 48 frames per second (fps) instead of the general industry standard of 24 fps, it's difficult to fathom frame-capturing rates much higher than that. However, slow motion is only purely achieved by upping that rate, often significantly. But 73,000 fps? That's a head-crunching figure, even for self-proclaimed film tech nerds.
Armed with a Vision Research Phantom v2010 high-speed camera (estimated to cost at least $100,000), America's favorite busters of myths Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage captured a pistol firing a bullet at that exact fps rate. The resulting footage, shown in a clip from Discovery's MythBustersabove, is bizarrely beautiful and more than a bit chilling. In fact, Savage is clearly speechless upon watching the footage of Hyneman's shot, described as "a dance of pressure and fire" that otherwise goes unnoticed by the untrained (i.e. incapable of viewing life at 73,000 fps) eye.
Of course, this breathtaking video doesn't mark the first time the MythBusters team has tackled the art of slow motion. In a now seemingly vintage clip from one of the show's earlier seasons, Savage captured a full-on face slap in (not quite 73,000 fps) slow motion:
