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Video production - helmet cams, etc

Old 02-26-20, 03:25 PM
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KC8QVO
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Video production - helmet cams, etc

All,

I know there are riders here that have made videos of their trips so I am hoping to gain some insight from you.

I am also hoping this thread might be a general "tips and tricks" thread for those of us that are doing some video production of our trips - to what ever level.

My question at the moment is on helmet cams and footage. I took about a 10 minute video segment and have been playing with playback speed. Because the camera is mounted on the helmet and my head doesn't stay still the footage floats all over the place. No matter what playback speed I use - the footage moving around all over, to me, looks like viewers would have an awfully hard time watching it.

My goal isn't to use the whole 10 minute or so segment, I am only using it as a sample to work with until I can form a process that comes out OK.

At the moment - the only way I can think of to stop the "motion problem" is just that - stop the video and use still frames, then stretch the frame time out to like 10 seconds or so.

What say all? Thoughts? Tips? Tricks?

Since this is my first attempt at an actual "video" on a trip it is somewhat an experiment. To that point - after-the-fact, as I am going through the footage, one idea I do have is to mount the camera on a mast. I am sure the shaking of the ride would still show up in the camera (I don't have one that has very good image stabilization at the moment - maybe in the future), however the mast idea would curb the issue of the footage floating around every which way I move my head. So that may be a "start" in the right direction.
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Old 02-26-20, 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by KC8QVO
All,

I know there are riders here that have made videos of their trips so I am hoping to gain some insight from you.

I am also hoping this thread might be a general "tips and tricks" thread for those of us that are doing some video production of our trips - to what ever level.

My question at the moment is on helmet cams and footage. I took about a 10 minute video segment and have been playing with playback speed. Because the camera is mounted on the helmet and my head doesn't stay still the footage floats all over the place. No matter what playback speed I use - the footage moving around all over, to me, looks like viewers would have an awfully hard time watching it.

My goal isn't to use the whole 10 minute or so segment, I am only using it as a sample to work with until I can form a process that comes out OK.

At the moment - the only way I can think of to stop the "motion problem" is just that - stop the video and use still frames, then stretch the frame time out to like 10 seconds or so.

What say all? Thoughts? Tips? Tricks?

Since this is my first attempt at an actual "video" on a trip it is somewhat an experiment. To that point - after-the-fact, as I am going through the footage, one idea I do have is to mount the camera on a mast. I am sure the shaking of the ride would still show up in the camera (I don't have one that has very good image stabilization at the moment - maybe in the future), however the mast idea would curb the issue of the footage floating around every which way I move my head. So that may be a "start" in the right direction.
If you want to produce an interesting video, helmet mounted one perspective shooting is not the best idea. The problem is you only get one angle to work with and can only fast forward, slow down or chop up the images. That gets boring fast for anyone other than cycling nerds like us.

Most people who shoot video either have a couple of cameras or use a flexible mount like a mono pod, gorilla grip tripod or bar clamp to capture a variety of angles. Then they edit those clips together.

Another tip is to shoot short clips of various angles rather than one long run on clip. It is more interesting and way easier to work with in the editing software. Loading a ten minute 4K clip takes a lot of processor, a much longer clip usually bogs the program down.

Also, what ever mount or location you use, learn what that looks like on the video so you can direct the camera in the right way. A head mount, obviously, follows the head, so you have to move your head in a way to capture what you want. A lot of mtb'rs use a chest mount instead as it's a bit more stable and catches a bar forward look rather than a head down distorted look.

There is a stabilizing feature for some cameras/editing software that reduces wobble but that usually comes at the cost of reduced clarity/definition as well.

Currently, this is the mount I use. It can act as a monopod, wrap around the handle bar and can stand free or be wrapped around a railing or pole: https://www.amazon.ca/GorillaPod-Fle...73434140&psc=1

Last edited by Happy Feet; 02-26-20 at 05:25 PM.
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Old 02-26-20, 09:49 PM
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I video my road rides using a GoPro Hero7 Black using a helmet mount. I take clips of 30 seconds or less during the ride and then join them together after the ride. Usually I use most of the clips but sometimes I don't use them all. The reason for the short clips is to cut down on the editing. I either use the clip or not. I think the camera is usually steady compared to mounting it on my handle bar where it jumped at each expansion joint I rode over. You can see an example at this link
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Old 02-26-20, 10:36 PM
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@texbiker - thanks for the link. There is no way I could keep my head that still...

As to the 30 second clips - the camera I am using is actually a Garmin Dashcam at the moment. It records in 1 minute intervals automatically. Then I can stitch them together. What I have been doing is going through the whole list of timestamp 1 minute intervals to map out the ride by time on a note sheet. For segments that I want to stitch together I will pull 10-20 clips for what ever segment it is. That does 2 things - it lets me organize the list of pertinent clips of, say, 4 "segments" out of the several hundred 1 minute clips (I have ~12 hours worth from my last ride, so roughly 700 clips).

Let me see if I can put a short clip together as an example of what I've got.
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Old 02-26-20, 11:29 PM
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Lets see if this works...

The first few seconds is at 16x and the last minute or a bit more is regular speed. To me, that is way too much swaying of the camera. I guess that is part of video production - knowing how to get the shot and how it is going to appear "on screen". However, I can't confine my head movement to "what looks good on camera" all the time - so thats where I guess I need to work on my mounting options etc.


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Old 02-27-20, 01:48 AM
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Old 02-27-20, 01:51 PM
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@Happy Feet - Ah. Well done, sir. That was under 2 minutes but the mix of techniques in it was very wide ranging - lots of good ideas!
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Old 02-27-20, 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by KC8QVO
@Happy Feet - Ah. Well done, sir. That was under 2 minutes but the mix of techniques in it was very wide ranging - lots of good ideas!
I have lots of longer ones but didn't want to bore you

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Old 02-27-20, 07:23 PM
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The GoPro has image stabilization which offsets some of the head movement. Maybe that would help you.
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Old 02-28-20, 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted by texbiker
GoPro Hero7
that cam has next level stabilization, right?
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Old 02-28-20, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
that cam has next level stabilization, right?
I think so.
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Old 02-28-20, 06:35 PM
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The Bicycle Touring Pro (it’s on YT) has some of the best touring videos I’ve seen. He uses a Cannon something, a GoPro, an Android phone (sometimes), a drone of some sort, a tripod and assorted mounts for the GoPro on the bike. He does not use a chest or helmet mount. He has done literally hundreds of videos of the tours he’s done for the past 5 or more years or so. It’s a business at this point, takes a huge amount of time to document the riding, as well as the editing after. His website details the gear he uses.

https://bicycletouringpro.com
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Old 02-28-20, 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted by KC8QVO
All,

I know there are riders here that have made videos of their trips so I am hoping to gain some insight from you.

I am also hoping this thread might be a general "tips and tricks" thread for those of us that are doing some video production of our trips - to what ever level.

My question at the moment is on helmet cams and footage. I took about a 10 minute video segment and have been playing with playback speed. Because the camera is mounted on the helmet and my head doesn't stay still the footage floats all over the place. No matter what playback speed I use - the footage moving around all over, to me, looks like viewers would have an awfully hard time watching it.

My goal isn't to use the whole 10 minute or so segment, I am only using it as a sample to work with until I can form a process that comes out OK.

At the moment - the only way I can think of to stop the "motion problem" is just that - stop the video and use still frames, then stretch the frame time out to like 10 seconds or so.

What say all? Thoughts? Tips? Tricks?

Since this is my first attempt at an actual "video" on a trip it is somewhat an experiment. To that point - after-the-fact, as I am going through the footage, one idea I do have is to mount the camera on a mast. I am sure the shaking of the ride would still show up in the camera (I don't have one that has very good image stabilization at the moment - maybe in the future), however the mast idea would curb the issue of the footage floating around every which way I move my head. So that may be a "start" in the right direction.
Some editing programs have the ability to stabilize unsteady or shaky video. I use Adobe Premiere Elements. When I use my GoPro, I have it mounted on the bike instead of on my body. I think there is less shake.
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