Instagram has added three new effects to Boomerang: Slowmo, Echo and Duo. With these effects you can play slow, blurry or accelerated videos. You can also trim videos now. This is how the new features work.
Instagram Boomerang gets new effects
The app ironically announced the new features on Twitter. The update comes not a moment too late, because since Boomerang was added to Instagram five years ago, the effect has not been updated. Moreover, the competition does have these effects.
Here’s how to add the Instagram Boomerang effects:
- Open the Instagram app on your iPhone;
- Tap the plus sign at the top left to create a Story as usual;
- Select ‘Boomerang’ in the bottom bar;
- Make your video and after finishing tap the third character from the right at the top right;
- Now choose the new Slowmo, Echo or Duo effect;
- Shorten movie? Then slide the ends of the bar at the bottom;
- Tap “Done” in the top right and “Send to” in the bottom right to complete your Instagram Story.
The three new features work as you would expect. Slowmo slows down the image, while Duo speeds everything up twice. Echo adds a kind of haze to your video, which can sometimes produce a nice result.
Finally, Instagram has added another feature to Boomerang: the ability to shorten videos. This is nice, because now you don’t have to record the video again if it fails the first time.
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Not quite new
The Instagram Boomerang effects are not new. Snapchat has been able to speed up and slow down videos since 2015. TikTok, on the other hand, lets you choose from multiple effects similar to Instagram’s Duo feature. However, Snapchat and TikTok also allow you to add these effects to regular videos, allowing you to be even more creative.