GoPro Video

MarkBarbieri

Semi-retired
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
6,172
http://vimeo.com/25642610

Using a couple of GoPro Hero HDs in a 3D mount and a Nikon D90 in an underwater shell, we made a little swimming video today. We rendered a 2D version because it is quicker and easier. Most of the footage is from the GoPro 3D setup, so I’ll go back and make a 3D version later.

The shots are all from our backyard and are primarily centered on the pool. I wanted to do a mixed shoot with lots of above water and underwater shots. A lot of the above water shots were done using a slider mounted on a tripod. The in water shots were almost all done handheld. They turned out surprisingly well. I anticipated having to use a lot of “warp stabilizer”, but I don’t think I’ll bother. While it works amazingly well, it also takes an amazingly long time to render.

I did take a few shots underwater with a tripod. Those are the shots of the kids swimming over the camera. It took a minute to psych myself up to bring my tripod under water. I think that almost every photographer has a deep-seated fear of mixing water and gear, so even when it isn’t rational, it still takes a bit of getting used to.

I didn’t do much post production work on the shots. The underwater parts had curves applied to increase contrast, a white balance adjustment, and an increase in saturation. The above water shots are straight from the camera.

I shot the GoPros in r3, which is ultra-wide 720p60. I wanted the high frame rate so that I could get smooth slow motion effects. The D90 video was shot at 24fps. I didn’t even think about the frame rate on it until we were done shooting. I’m not sure what the choices would have been.

I'm enjoying the heck out of the little GoPros. They lack of an interface on them makes them a bit of a pain to set up. The lack of an LCD makes framing difficult (as is obvious from some of the shots). Those drawbacks aside, they are fun little cameras. The image quality is great for their size and cost.
 
Mark - That is so cool! You still have the best toys....and I'm not just talking about your photography gear.

Thanks for sharing.


princess::upsidedow

ps. If you keep this up, you're going to have to remove yourself from the "Retired" list. :rolleyes1
 

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing.

I hope the supermodels you contracted to appear in this video received union wages and didn't sell out for a burger or a dog on the grill...

I know I would have...

~ Marlton Mom
 
what settings did you use to capture? 30 fps or 60 fps?
Then what editing program did you use to bring it into.

I have a gopro for my autocross events and I think the 3d version would be cool mounted under the front bumper.
 
what settings did you use to capture? 30 fps or 60 fps?
Then what editing program did you use to bring it into.

I have a gopro for my autocross events and I think the 3d version would be cool mounted under the front bumper.


I had the cameras set to r3, which is 1280x720 at 60 fps. I edited the video in Premiere Pro CS5.5.
 
How did you get the boom shots at the beginning of the video?
 
How did you get the boom shots at the beginning of the video?

I used a Konova slider. It's a track with a sliding mount. I mounted it to a ballhead on my tripod and then mounted another ball head on the slider. The result is that I can smoothly slide my camera about 1 meter in a straight line during a shot. When done with some objects in the foreground and others in the background, their relative motion adds a sense of depth and interest to the shot.
 
First off, I loved it. You know it was amazing so I don't need to tell you that. You've never posted anything but stellar photo's or video. The slider is really cool too!

My question is, who else are you working with! At first I was thinking it was just you and your wife but than I saw one scene where your wife is walking outside the pool and you are in there with the scuba gear. Was that Steve Spielberg working the camera on the slider?

Seriously, very very nice! For our last Disney vacation I picked up a waterproof P&S to use in the pool and we had a blast with it. It's just a small $150 toy but I was surprised at how much fun it was taking pictures and video with the kids both in and under the water. Granted it doesn't take my photography UP a new level but more OUT to a different perspective. Yesterday I picked up a D5100 to replace my D5000 (sold it.) After a quick search for an underwater housing and finding out that it costs more than my 5100 body plus the 18-250 lens put together, I think my wife would prefer I stay with the P&S for now :lmao:

Thanks for posting that video. It serves as a good benchmark and inspiration for those of us who are just starting to poke our heads into the realm of video to see what is going on. :thumbsup2
 
Awesome, Mark. I've been slowly trying to get into digital video, but it is so intimidating... a whole different ballgame from digital photography.
 
...My question is, who else are you working with! At first I was thinking it was just you and your wife but than I saw one scene where your wife is walking outside the pool and you are in there with the scuba gear. Was that Steve Spielberg working the camera on the slider?...

The guy with the diving gear and the large camera (a Nikon D90 in a diving housing) is a friend of mine from work. He uses the camera for underwater photography and this was his first time to shoot video with it. The video from it didn't look all that good, but that's probably a combination of his not tuning the camera settings (he shoots RAW, not JPG) and my not being very good at video grading.

I was the guy that swam by at one point holding the little GoPros in front of me. I'm also the guy up on the waterfall working the tripod/slider rig.
 
The guy with the diving gear and the large camera (a Nikon D90 in a diving housing) is a friend of mine from work. He uses the camera for underwater photography and this was his first time to shoot video with it. The video from it didn't look all that good, but that's probably a combination of his not tuning the camera settings (he shoots RAW, not JPG) and my not being very good at video grading.

I was the guy that swam by at one point holding the little GoPros in front of me. I'm also the guy up on the waterfall working the tripod/slider rig.

Gotcha.

Still, I loved the whole thing. That slider is really cool. I love the perspective it adds to the scenes during the intro. That seems like it's a must have when it comes to doing the 3D rendering.

Question, when you do the 3D rendering will we be able to view that on our laptops if we have 3D glasses or would we need a PC or TV that actually supports 3D rendering?
 
Gotcha.

Still, I loved the whole thing. That slider is really cool. I love the perspective it adds to the scenes during the intro. That seems like it's a must have when it comes to doing the 3D rendering.

Question, when you do the 3D rendering will we be able to view that on our laptops if we have 3D glasses or would we need a PC or TV that actually supports 3D rendering?

There are lots of ways to do 3D. The viewer needs something special to see it in 3D. I'll probably publish it in two 3D formats. One will require those red/blue 3D glasses. The other will be a side-by-side 3D image which will require a 3D monitor or TV. I wrote a thread about some earlier 3D experiments here.
 
That was very cool. I've been lusting after the GoPro cameras, but I'm not going to buy one until I can come up with a good reason why I need it. :rolleyes1
 
I find good reasons every time I turn around. I used them this morning to record the kids going down hills on their Xootrs. My older son used a helmet mount and I clipped one to the deck of my Xootr. After that, I set one up in front of a target and recorded my son using his new throwing knife. They are so handy that you can find all sorts of uses. The downside is that with only two buttons and a tiny screen, the user interface is challenging.
 
Very nice! Yeah, didn't look like you need warp stabilizer at all. It's nice to instantly see the level of skill associated with smooth camera movements.
 
I've got an 8mm on my T2i, which gives about the same angle as a GoPro I think, and I love it! If I got a GoPro, I think I'd have it mounted to me at all times. :)
 


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