Interesting Request... Need Advice Please at DVinfo.net

Aaron J. Yates · January 13th, 2009, 04:41 PM

Greetings all,

I have been contacted by a local government agency and have a strange question. The agency wants to document the use of the river that runs through our property. They want to video the river corridor from beginning to end to be able to see things like land use, quarries, etc. along the route. This sounds simple enough... we'll hire a helicopter and fly the river low enough to get decent shots (about ten miles maybe). We'll use some sort of stabilization system depending on the helicopter.

The interesting part is that the client wants to know if there is any way to "sync" the video with a GPS tracker so that at any point in the video, the viewer can tell where the chopper is located and where it's looking.

I got to thinking about some types of GPS software that allow you to track a route that you've traveled and model it on a map so that you can "play" the route in real time and see the speed, direction, route traveled on the computer screen. I've seen this used for commercial vehicle tracking, etc.

So, do you guys know of any way to use this in cooperation with a video? I envisioned a video version of Google Maps Streetview with the little vicinity map in the lower right corner, only the view would be aerial, looking down, instead of at street level.

Any ideas?

Thanks, and I'll keep the thread posted as we gather more info.

Edward Phillips · January 13th, 2009, 05:27 PM

If the GPS you have as some type of output you could connect that to a 2nd camera and record the GPS readings. You can then sync up in post and picture in picture the GPS onto the main video.

Adam Gold · January 13th, 2009, 06:15 PM

The new Sony consumer minicams have built in GPS, believe it or not...

Tripp Woelfel · January 13th, 2009, 07:02 PM

You could get some PC GPS software with an externally mounted GPS antenna. You could use a product like Camtasia or even whatever the free Microsoft Windows software that lets you record the screen to capture the plot. It's not Windows Movie Maker but a companion piece, the name of which escapes me.

And the Sony cams might have a hard time getting a sat signal through the metal skin of the helo.

Dean Sensui · January 16th, 2009, 01:56 AM

There are some very compact systems that allow radio controlled "first person view" aircraft to provide the remote pilot an on-screen display. That includes airspeed, altitude, compass heading and GPS data.

They can be quite sophisticated and the prices are usually fairly reasonable.

And this is for model airplanes... !

Here's a good place to start:

BLACKSTORK OSD GPS WITH NAVIGATION SYSTEM [BSTORK] - $199.95 :: Hobby Wireless - Super Store - The Best in Wireless System
Eagle Tree – R/C eLogger Telemetry OSD FPV UAV RC Aircraft data logger RC Model Airplane Telemetry Wireless Telemetry RC data logger Flight Data Recorder Model Boat Recorder Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Telemetry Boat Data Recorder Car Data Recorder
Intuitive Circuits, LLC. - Text Inserters and Video Overlay Products

January 13th, 2009, 04:41 PM	#1
Aaron J. Yates Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kerrville, Texas Posts: 75	Interesting Request... Need Advice Please Greetings all, I have been contacted by a local government agency and have a strange question. The agency wants to document the use of the river that runs through our property. They want to video the river corridor from beginning to end to be able to see things like land use, quarries, etc. along the route. This sounds simple enough... we'll hire a helicopter and fly the river low enough to get decent shots (about ten miles maybe). We'll use some sort of stabilization system depending on the helicopter. The interesting part is that the client wants to know if there is any way to "sync" the video with a GPS tracker so that at any point in the video, the viewer can tell where the chopper is located and where it's looking. I got to thinking about some types of GPS software that allow you to track a route that you've traveled and model it on a map so that you can "play" the route in real time and see the speed, direction, route traveled on the computer screen. I've seen this used for commercial vehicle tracking, etc. So, do you guys know of any way to use this in cooperation with a video? I envisioned a video version of Google Maps Streetview with the little vicinity map in the lower right corner, only the view would be aerial, looking down, instead of at street level. Any ideas? Thanks, and I'll keep the thread posted as we gather more info. __________________ kerrvillephoto.com Photo & Video specializing in real estate and events

January 16th, 2009, 01:56 AM	#5
Dean Sensui Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 2,054	There are some very compact systems that allow radio controlled "first person view" aircraft to provide the remote pilot an on-screen display. That includes airspeed, altitude, compass heading and GPS data. They can be quite sophisticated and the prices are usually fairly reasonable. And this is for model airplanes... ! Here's a good place to start: BLACKSTORK OSD GPS WITH NAVIGATION SYSTEM [BSTORK] - $199.95 :: Hobby Wireless - Super Store - The Best in Wireless System Eagle Tree – R/C eLogger Telemetry OSD FPV UAV RC Aircraft data logger RC Model Airplane Telemetry Wireless Telemetry RC data logger Flight Data Recorder Model Boat Recorder Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Telemetry Boat Data Recorder Car Data Recorder Intuitive Circuits, LLC. - Text Inserters and Video Overlay Products __________________ Dean Sensui Exec Producer, Hawaii Goes Fishing

January 13th, 2009, 05:27 PM	#2
Edward Phillips Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 118	If the GPS you have as some type of output you could connect that to a 2nd camera and record the GPS readings. You can then sync up in post and picture in picture the GPS onto the main video.

January 13th, 2009, 06:15 PM	#3
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	The new Sony consumer minicams have built in GPS, believe it or not...

January 13th, 2009, 07:02 PM	#4
Tripp Woelfel Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: North Conway, NH Posts: 1,745	You could get some PC GPS software with an externally mounted GPS antenna. You could use a product like Camtasia or even whatever the free Microsoft Windows software that lets you record the screen to capture the plot. It's not Windows Movie Maker but a companion piece, the name of which escapes me. And the Sony cams might have a hard time getting a sat signal through the metal skin of the helo.