Filming tips

[jonp]

Not quite sure what section to start this in but thought we could share a few tips and ideas making films of our outings etc.

Jon

[Brian]

Ok I'll start then-oh, and by the way, don't look at any of my vids for examples of these tips.
They have all occurred to me afterwards, along the lines of "I should have done that there shouldn't I?"

Keep clips short. Jon says 4 seconds, someone once told me 7.
A polecam can be used: in the boat by extending it upwards to give more of a birds-eye view, or,
in the water (but not whilst underway-the stresses on the pole make it virtually impossible to keep the camera still), or,
by extending the pole horizontally towards the front of the boat at sea-ish level. This gives a good view of your bow at water level.

I watched someones video once that always pointed the bow of the boat, whilst stationary, at something interesting. Repeated clips of this gave a pleasing view.

[Phil M]

The last video we did made the relatively rough sea look completely flat. It was using a go-pro mounted to the console windscreen. Any tips on making everything look more "impressive"?

Phil M

[Razorbill RIBs]

Originally Posted by Phil M

The last video we did made the relatively rough sea look completely flat. It was using a go-pro mounted to the console windscreen. Any tips on making everything look more "impressive"?

Phil M

A headcam which moves as you do? Often noticed how the headcams we have on the Lifeboat always give a more 'dramatic' film than the fixed set on the a frame..... That said, cameras in general mean you cant get away with as much 'artistic licence' about the size of the seas, speed achieved, prowess of your helming etc down the pub afterwards.....

[1eyedjim]

I always find having something fixed in the frame like the side or peak of a helmet helps and make people feel less sick when watching lol

[jonp]

I had one of those head straps but after the first use gave it away. I found it way to shaky to use, any slight head movement translated into footage which made me feel sea sick!!.. I used it above and bellow water.

Phil M, I know exactly what you are talking about in regards to rough water looking calm. Unfortunately one of the great things about the wide angle having such a field of view makes things look further away and smaller. Im not sure of the exact figure but our eyes see roughly the equivalent of 90mm lens on a full frame camera where the gopro is around 10-12mm.

To make the sea look as it does to the human eye you need to shoot with a more magnified lens, unfortunately with this the field of view drops and any shaking is amplified. If you carry a compact camera with a zoom onboard try filming a little from that (not at full zoom) to slot among the other footage from the gopro. The big wave action is normally filmed from much bigger boats, ships or even helicopters where the filming can be done from further away zoomed into a certain rough section.

Here from a recent trip you can see the water looks quite smooth with a little wave in the distance from a mounted gopro, my daughter is photographing the same wave with her compact.


This is how it looks from my daughters camera.


Most compacts have some sort of stabilising built into them, make sure you have it turned on if you give it a try. If someone else is able to drive the boat find a place where you can brace yourself and hold the camera with both hands and just try and get those few seconds of steady footage. A little shaking and movement can add to the effect so don't be to hasty on the cutting (editing).

Ive seen a few videos where people film clips of preparing the boat, the road trip to the boat and so on which all add to the interest. Most of videos I make are for my family in the UK to see so most drag on a little for non family to hold interest in.

Maybe we could include a few links.

Jon

This link is to a bit of footage I did showing the dangers of our local bar crossing even on a calm day, It was filmed with a compact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD8N5025BOM

[tony t]

Originally Posted by 1eyedjim

I always find having something fixed in the frame like the side or peak of a helmet helps and make people feel less sick when watching lol

Go Pro fixed to A Frame every time

http://youtu.be/ujj3ZLa4Z2U


Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

[1eyedjim]

Originally Posted by tony t

Go Pro fixed to A Frame every time

http://youtu.be/ujj3ZLa4Z2U


Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

Yep. That's my plan for the osprey

But on my zapcat it has to Go on the engine lol

[andreworiordan]

I always carry my GoPro's with me, we use head mounts, chest mounts, Drones and have a number of mounts around the boat, we use a GoPro hero 3+ Black and a Hero 4 Black. I made this video from a few trips out last year and was very happy with the results, Everything I have done with the videos is self thought so may not be the best but I did find getting as many different unique angles makes it look great. We use drones too, they give great shots and make it look a lot faster than you are actually going but it is terrifying sending one off over the water but the video is epic! here is a clip from last years season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZYLQZqz2SI

*also if anyone is interested we use a DJI Phantom 2 with H3-2D Gimbal and a DJI Phantom 3 Professional from Copter Shop Ireland, very good to deal with!

[jonp]

Andrew that was fantastic. love the drone footage especially, are they easy to land back on a boat?

Thanks for sharing (will just watch it one more time)

[andreworiordan]

@jonp they are easy enough to fly, when it coms to landing I bring it in nice and close and have it hover just within reach and recover by catching the landing gear, I also take off by holding the landing gear and applying power until I feel it pull enough to take off, that's the scary part! hoping you have enough lift to get it up there and not into the water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZaPdZXlB5Q

and here is one we got of a basking shark last year, I think it was one of the first videos of a basker from a drone...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF1IRirjdvI

[Red Fox]

Brilliant videos...OK puts my video in Rib Gallery (3 ribs have fun on the Mull) to shame...but it was only my second shoot with a gopro and editing.
Shows what can be done with time and forward planning. The drone shots are spectacular...well done.

[jonp]

We currently have huge bait schools out the front of our place with whales and dolphins feeding. The water has gone a little murky to what we normally have but heres a bit of filming my daughter did yesterday, the chop made it quite shaky (still heaps of fun)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDBz1qgC7mY

[Budgie1]

Any tips on reducing condensation? Got the little wafer things that came with camera but they don't seem to work,

[jonp]

I havent needed those even though I often have very large temp changes when getting in the water, are you sure you don't have a small leak. Make sure the camera is dry before putting in the housing, I often to give mine a light blow with a hair dryer inside the housing to make sure its dry before leaving home.

If you do start getting condensation keep the lens facing down until you need to use the camera, the condensation will then form in the back of the camera housing rather than in front of the lens.

Jon

[Daibheid]

Originally Posted by Budgie1

Any tips on reducing condensation? Got the little wafer things that came with camera but they don't seem to work,

Try having the air con on in the car before sealing the camera. Easy enough if you drive to your launch site/boat.

[Budgie1]

Good shout, will give it a go