GoPro Filming

[gnomeofdoom]

So I picked up a GoPro camera not too long ago after having watched RIT's documentary and asking how they did their filming. (Their documentary can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOI8q23FxdQ).

I first used a chest harness which was neat, except that when people run their upper bodies sway side to side (or at least mine does). This makes the footage really shaky, it led to some neat shots, but in general the footage was crappy. I then build a back rig out of PVC (as I do) and I now have the camera mounted over my right shoulder. The world is still a little shaky when I'm running, but because the shot is looking at me it looks far nicer, kinda like a 3rd person video game.

So I took the rig for a full test run at Ithaca College yesterday and edited a short highlight reel. I'm interested to know what you guys think? I might do similar things at lots of games from now on because I think it's pretty cool, but do the rest of you?

Ithaca hilghlight reel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcn5ajaXlQM

back rig set up I made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOdu1Zl1lic

[Catastrophe]

Not a huge fan of the angle you used (I feel like your head should've been 1/3rd away from the left of the screen, so we get a more central view instead of the far right like in that video) but that could've just been me. Looks really awesome, though. I might have to look into building one and then checking out my school's GoPro camera to film some stuff.

[Bobololo]

I like the backpack angle. I was wondering how that rig made things look and I'm quite impressed with it.
What camera were you using and what settings? The only video I've really made with my Hero2 had some quality issues I didn't like with 720p at 60fps.

[gnomeofdoom]

Not a huge fan of the angle you used (I feel like your head should've been 1/3rd away from the left of the screen, so we get a more central view instead of the far right like in that video) but that could've just been me. Looks really awesome, though. I might have to look into building one and then checking out my school's GoPro camera to film some stuff.

Here's another video I shot with it earlier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeKzmFqP5A This was before I put straps on to secure it, and instead I was using a long piece of rope, it moved around a lot more, but for some reason the angle wasn't as tight. There's play in the pipes, so maybe they got bumped and I didn't realize it had moved the shot tighter. I agree though, I kind of liked having the view with me taking a little more of the screen. It looked a lot more like you were watching Mass Effect or something

I like the backpack angle. I was wondering how that rig made things look and I'm quite impressed with it.
What camera were you using and what settings? The only video I've really made with my Hero2 had some quality issues I didn't like with 720p at 60fps.

Basic GoPro Hero on 720 @ 60fps

The youtube video lost a lot of quality, something about the rendering process killed it, and I could probably rerender it to make it far more crisp again, perhaps with better editing software. I assure you I love the quality I got with those settings in the raw footage.

Also I used absolutely no image stabilizing in the video, all the clips are raw other than my splicing them all together.

The rig I made was from this video, they have a link to the pvc sizes to use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOdu1Zl1lic The only difference is that I don't have a belt for it, I still tied the bottom down, but I did have some difficulty throughout the day without a firm hold on the bottom
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EDIT: Y'know, I think I figured out what was different about the angles between the video in the OP and the video I just shared that I had taken earlier. In the OP vid I'm wearing my molle gear and the hydration bladder on my back is full. In the video I posted of the nerf war, I'm just wearing a hoody, no gear. I bet the bulge on my back tightened the shot.

[Sixth Kira]

I'm in the process of building a full suit of MJOLNIR armour to play HvZ in, and have intentions on mounting a GoPro HD camera on one side of the helmet (it gives a very neat 'first-person' perspective, and the helmet will be mounted stably enough for it not to be a problem when I'm running). All of the videos will be uploaded here. But a quick question - what's the battery life on one of these? I play six-hour day games, and I want it to last all the way through (my mobility in the suit is such that turning it on and off without removing the helmet will be extremely difficult).

[gnomeofdoom]

I'm in the process of building a full suit of MJOLNIR armour to play HvZ in, and have intentions on mounting a GoPro HD camera on one side of the helmet (it gives a very neat 'first-person' perspective, and the helmet will be mounted stably enough for it not to be a problem when I'm running). All of the videos will be uploaded here. But a quick question - what's the battery life on one of these? I play six-hour day games, and I want it to last all the way through (my mobility in the suit is such that turning it on and off without removing the helmet will be extremely difficult).

Under constant filming you should be able to get about 2 hours out of the battery, it will also depend on which settings you're running. I've been running with an 8g card in there, filming 720p 60fps and getting a bit more than an hour on the card. The battery ran out at Ithaca because I left the camera on a bunch while I wasn't filming.

[Bobololo]

I'm in the process of building a full suit of MJOLNIR armour to play HvZ in, and have intentions on mounting a GoPro HD camera on one side of the helmet (it gives a very neat 'first-person' perspective, and the helmet will be mounted stably enough for it not to be a problem when I'm running). All of the videos will be uploaded here. But a quick question - what's the battery life on one of these? I play six-hour day games, and I want it to last all the way through (my mobility in the suit is such that turning it on and off without removing the helmet will be extremely difficult).

Depends on the temperature. I can get around 3 hours out of my battery running 720p at 60fps on my Hero2
Batteries are about $26 shipped from Cali to Atlanta, so they aren't that much compared to some cameras ($99 for my Canon.... which is bull)

[Sixth Kira]

I live on the southern end of mainland Australia, so it's a tad chilly here most of the year around, but it's not snowing or anything.

Anyway, in that case, I'll probably take two batteries and change over between rounds. The main reason why I'm interested in this is because gun cams get very boring, and are usually quite shaky; whereas mounting it on my helmet would grant a legitimate first-person viewpoint.