GoPro in a Church -- First Attempt

[Peter Riding]

Chris, can I ask why you haven't simply put the wifi bacpac on the back of the Gopro and enclosed it all with the alternative back housing that comes with the bacpac; and used multiple batteries rather than power cables? The bacpac draws power from the cams battery once it has exhausted its own supply. also using just a Gopro tripod adapter and friction arm might make things quicker and tidier - especially if you find you need to change the shooting position at short notice.

Protune does not have to be difficult. You simply use the free Cineform Studio to convert the native files to easier to digest AVI's for editing in NLE's. The medium setting is fine. Cineform Studio talks to the NLE and the default appearance of the AVI's will be as if you had not used Protune. You can then go back in and kill those settings if you wish so that you are dealing with files that have no noise reduction sharpening etc or edit entirely in Cineform and output MP4's or MOV's as a final product.

Make sure though that you test for lockups in shooting as there seem to have been endless problems experienced by many users especially when using the new app with Protune and the Hero3. I have had the occasional lockup with the Hero 2.

Pete

[Chris DeVoe]

Originally Posted by Peter Riding

Chris, can I ask why you haven't simply put the wifi bacpac on the back of the Gopro and enclosed it all with the alternative back housing that comes with the bacpac; and used multiple batteries rather than power cables? The bacpac draws power from the cams battery once it has exhausted its own supply. also using just a Gopro tripod adapter and friction arm might make things quicker and tidier - especially if you find you need to change the shooting position at short notice.

I do have the Wi-Fi bacpac and the alternative housing on them. I cut holes in both for access to the USB/power port.

I shoot concerts exclusively, and avoid using batteries wherever possible. These cameras are on stage, and running a power cord to where the keyboard or guitar or bass amp is plugged in is not a hassle. I'm shooting at least one two hour show at a time, occasionally two in a row, with no access to the stage cameras, and would never want to rely on any battery pack for that amount of time.

My biggest issue at a show is getting all the equipment packed back up. Battery packs have proven to be very prone to loss.

Protune does not have to be difficult. You simply use the free Cineform Studio to convert the native files to easier to digest AVI's for editing in NLE's. The medium setting is fine. Cineform Studio talks to the NLE and the default appearance of the AVI's will be as if you had not used Protune. You can then go back in and kill those settings if you wish so that you are dealing with files that have no noise reduction sharpening etc or edit entirely in Cineform and output MP4's or MOV's as a final product.

My market demands fast turn-around. Last season, I shot four two hour concerts in two days in two different cities, and finished four 5-camera edits in a week. So I pretty much just drag'n'drop from the SD cards directly onto my hard drive and into Edius. Sync, color-correct and start cutting. Grass Valley's slogan for Edius is "Edit Anything" and it is true. I can mix different formats easily.

I'll probably try ProTune on a date where I only have a single show, and not where I have two shows in a row. I can't wait for the version of App that supports a WiFi network, as I really need access to both cameras at once.

Make sure though that you test for lockups in shooting as there seem to have been endless problems experienced by many users especially when using the new app with Protune and the Hero3. I have had the occasional lockup with the Hero 2.

Lockup when shooting? When the Hero 2s enter service, they will be cameras #6 and #7 at one of my shoots, so hopefully I'll have plenty of other options. Were you monitoring the GoPros at the same time, and did you see the lock-up happen?

[Peter Riding]

Ah, interesting.

I'm tempted to cut into my housings as well as i resent how much they charge for the skeleton housing. However the onboard audio is likely to be much better with the skeleton; not that you would use it but having a fairly clean audio track can matter sometimes when doing a sync with Pluraleyes. PE works great most of the time, the only times I have had problems with it is with some music tracks - for example it couldn't cope with some quite repetitive trad jazz on one occasion.

The initial conversion of Gopro Protune files to AVI using Cineform can be time consuming but it is of course something you can set up in the background. Straight out of the camera the files are likely to choke the computer especially when editing multitrack.

I have had occasional lockups with the Hero 2 but thankfully only once in the heat of battle. I was using Protune and controlling with a Galaxy S3. Tried rebooting, removing battery etc but no good. Then bizarrely it started working again. However the ambient light was too low to get usable results. Oh well!

Pete

[Chris DeVoe]

Originally Posted by Peter Riding

Ah, interesting.

I'm tempted to cut into my housings as well as i resent how much they charge for the skeleton housing. However the onboard audio is likely to be much better with the skeleton; not that you would use it but having a fairly clean audio track can matter sometimes when doing a sync with Pluraleyes. PE works great most of the time, the only times I have had problems with it is with some music tracks - for example it couldn't cope with some quite repetitive trad jazz on one occasion.

I haven't shot any concerts with it yet, but I have edited footage, and the audio from the cameras on the drums was more than good enough for me to manually sync. If I have a problem and wish to drop the audio level, I'm sure a little bit of cloth tape over the mic will do the trick.

The initial conversion of Gopro Protune files to AVI using Cineform can be time consuming but it is of course something you can set up in the background. Straight out of the camera the files are likely to choke the computer especially when editing multitrack.

All my multi-cam edits are done on Edius, using its "proxy" mode, so I'm playing multiple SD files in the programs preferred format. The way its set up, I can switch back and forth between HD and proxy any time. And I've never had a problem getting full frame rate when I'm playing the edited version back in HD with multicam off.

I have had occasional lockups with the Hero 2 but thankfully only once in the heat of battle. I was using Protune and controlling with a Galaxy S3. Tried rebooting, removing battery etc but no good. Then bizarrely it started working again. However the ambient light was too low to get usable results. Oh well!

I suspect that ProTune pushes the hardware to the limit.

[Adrian Tan]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

This shot from a GoPro clipped up in the Chuppah at a Jewish wedding in Finchley Synagogue would not have been possible with a consumer camcorder.

Hey Nigel, would you mind terribly if I stole this idea? Seems like a great angle for stamping on wine glasses.

What perplexes me is how to fix it up there so that there's no risk of it falling on the bride and knocking her out during the ceremony.{1}

Is yours somehow pinned to the actual fabric? Gaffer taped? Gorillapodded to a beam? Or are you using some sort of scissors clamp? (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3569-REG/Avenger_C1000_C1000_Drop_Ceiling_Scissor_Clamp.html)


(Note 1: Jewish ceremonies seem dangerous enough in other ways. At my last one, the bride's veil somehow choked itself around the groom's neck when she circled him.)

[Chris DeVoe]

Originally Posted by Adrian Tan

Hey Nigel, would you mind terribly if I stole this idea? Seems like a great angle for stamping on wine glasses.

What perplexes me is how to fix it up there so that there's no risk of it falling on the bride and knocking her out during the ceremony.{1}

Is yours somehow pinned to the actual fabric? Gaffer taped? Gorillapodded to a beam? Or are you using some sort of scissors clamp?

Look at my pictures earlier in the thread. I have the GoPros in their cases and use three of their mount joints connecting to the tripod mount adapter. That enables me to twisted it into nearly any position. I screwed a very short length of 1/4" threaded rod into the adapter and thread a Nano-clamp onto that.

I used a bit of blue Lock-Tite on the threaded rod going into the tripod adapter, and have the sort of knurled nut commonly found on flash shoe mounts between the adapter and clamp as well.

It is as rugged as all get out and is intended to clamp onto a drum kit. It should work for even the most enthusiastic wedding party.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Adrian

As far as I can remember Nigel showed all the details on another thread here and I have an idea he used a Gorilla mini tripod and simply twisted the legs around a pole to set up the camera.

If I'm wrong, I'm sure Nigel will jump in and correct me ...If you search either here or in the POV cam forum you might find the thread and there is all the footage there too!!!

Chris

[Nigel Barker]

Chris is correct. I use the smallest Gorillapod I could find & then wrap the legs round the fabric & cross piece of the chuppah. It is a great angle for a shot of stamping on the glass. I don't have the WiFi BacPac nor do I connect up a monitor so framing the shot is a mixture of luck & guesswork but I have used this technique at several Jewish weddings now & always got a great shot.

This is the highlights video that still was taken from. It's actually in Finchley Synagogue in North London & the reason the shot looks so good with the GoPro is that the chuppah is under a large skylight so there is plenty of natural daylight. When there is plenty of light the GoPro footage is great but it can look pretty crappy if it isn't bright.

Jen and Neil on Vimeo

[Paul R Johnson]

The go pro range are a one box, auto device that costs small change and capable of amazing pictures. Sure - they don't like low light, they don't like hotspots, but what are people expecting for budget money?

Only a few years ago we were shooting pro video with equipment that didn't like low light, and could manage on a good day 240-50 lines or so? We broadcast it, and used it to great effect - and the material is still out there in the high number sat channels. I seem to remember my Betacam kit costing HUGE amounts of money. The picture quality from the go pros - and I'm looking at the overhead Jewish wedding one in particular by comparison with 15 years ago is stunning! What do people expect from a pocket money camera designed for simplicity and good results?


My Gopro has (or had, because I've lost it somewhere) amazing picture quality for PoV purposes - I mount it on all kinds of gizmos, and rarely have a conventional angle out of it. If you want controlled images, and properly exposed pictures I'd suggest it's the wrong product - but a damn good one.

[Chris DeVoe]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

Chris is correct. I use the smallest Gorillapod I could find & then wrap the legs round the fabric & cross piece of the chuppah.

Is that one of those little things with the legs made of plastic ball joints? If so, I tried one once, and found them to be utterly untrustworthy. I'm going to stick with something that can actually clamp down onto a pole or cross-beam.

[Katie Fasel]

Just a follow up to my original post...Nigel mentioned Neat Video may be able to help...and I had always been meaning to get the plug in, just never have...until now. WOW. It's a dramatic difference, for sure. Probably not usable this time around, but that plug-in is great! Just wanted to share a before and after...

[Gerald Webb]

FWIW, If you really want to FIX some pretty ordinary GoPro (or any other budget cam) footage,
Try this technique-
Canon DSLR Footage 10-Bit Color Space Up-conversion Tutorial on Vimeo
The results are truly amazing.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Katie Fasel

Just a follow up to my original post...Nigel mentioned Neat Video may be able to help...and I had always been meaning to get the plug in, just never have...until now. WOW. It's a dramatic difference, for sure. Probably not usable this time around, but that plug-in is great! Just wanted to share a before and after...

Neat Video can rescue footage that looks unusable. You have to be careful not to overdo it or the image ends up far too soft & people look like marshmallows. The downside is that it takes hours to run. I haven't thankfully had to use it in a while & their latest version may be faster but I wouldn't choose to use it unless I was desperate. The version I have is for Final Cut & now that I am using Premiere Pro I would need to buy another licence for that. have been using Red Giant's DeNoiser as it's part of the Magic Bullet Suite that I already own & appears as effective as Neat Video plus it's licensed for Premiere & FCP. I just had an email that the latest version (1.4) is up to 3X faster as it offloads work to the graphics card.

[Chris DeVoe]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

Neat Video can rescue footage that looks unusable. You have to be careful not to overdo it or the image ends up far too soft & people look like marshmallows. The downside is that it takes hours to run.

And how! I took some footage, a 2 gig file from one of my Canon HF-S100s and it has been running for an hour, and has another four hours to go!

I guess it would be fine if I do a multi-cam edit, then select and process only the clips used after editing (which would be a major pain.) But as part of my regular workflow, it is pretty much unusable.

[Adrian Tan]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

Chris is correct. I use the smallest Gorillapod I could find & then wrap the legs round the fabric & cross piece of the chuppah. It is a great angle for a shot of stamping on the glass.

Thanks very much for the tip.