[Closed] Headcam = Crap

/thread

LIES!

I'll give you the first one but the guys in the second seem to be using some form of engine which is surely cheating?

but is it a good video?

[i]Headcam footage is all sh*t.

Prove me wrong. [/i]

job done.

lol @ the dog in the first clip.

Think footage looks good when out in the open but when going through singletrack etc the light changes and picture quality can lessen the enjoyment a tad

The original post was tongue in cheek.

Of course some of it is good and feel free to keep posting examples to allieviate my boredom / prove me wrong.

What irks me slightly is the massive proliferation of crap headcam footage on the web some of it due to poor quality cameras and some that just makes you think 'why did you feel the need to share that?'

Fortunately it only takes about 5 seconds to work out which camp a piece footage is in.

i find helmet cam footage a bit crap if there isn't a guy infront. it gives you something to focus on and a bit of context (dirt bike vid, for example) otherwise you are just looking at mud as the camera flattens everything out.

can make me feel a bike sick sometimes, too.

i think a vid needs to be a mixture of helmet cam and static shots otherwise i feel ill.

Amazing - none of those people in the promo clip were shit!! 😆

jamescoulson - Member

Amazing - none of those people in the promo clip were shit!!

nah, that's the power of GoPro! buy one now!

edit: 3rd vid. 2:20. best scene so far. oh and the dive before that was shti.

good god. i totally forgot to post this one.

best head cam vid EVER.

A lot of it is in the editing. A 20 minute ride around a wood is dull. A 20s highlight video of the same ride may not be.

i should point out that no harm comes to anyone in that last vid i posted. it says 'accident' but its not like some horrible car crash thing that might happen to you and thus freaks you out.

unless snowmobile hillclimbing is your hobby i guess...

Headcam + guys in front + 3 songs. What's not to like? (720p if you please)

I'd never have considered trying to wrestle a vehicle tumbling down a mountain to a standstill. Hard lads.

Chest cam looks better/you get a better sense of speed.

Very nice footage Euro. Was there at the weekend. Didn't quite manage to complete every jump, but helmet cam is good for when you dont:

That snowmobile one reminded me of this:

Am liking Euro's vid - what is the camera?

I bought a Veho Muvi but the quality is fairly cack and I have not worked out where best to fit it, yet. You certainly need a rider in front for best effect. And a harsh edit...

Cheers Col. Saw that on clip the other site lol. You got back to your feet pretty quick despite the hard landing 8) . That jump is litte tricky to get the speed right first time. I prefer to go little too fast than too slow, but I definately overcooked it first time...

Cant wait to see the rest of your footage. Dying to get backover soon.

edit: Jehosophat it's a Gopro

[i]Euro - Member
Headcam + guys in front + 3 songs. What's not to like? (720p if you please)[/i]

Well to be honest it doesn't do it for me. Awesome looking trail but I've never ridden it so can't relate to it (Innerliethen??) and I don't know anyone riding.

I got bored about 2:30 mins in... Riding not inspiring enough to hold my attention beyond that - don't mean to dis the riding, but it's got to be pretty darn hot to hold your attention if you don't know the riders personally.

All that said, I'd be chuffed if it was me and my mates riding but would prob only circulate amongst ourselves rather than all over t'web.

yeh if we are allowed to say. then i disliked the music.

and the first fella being sat down in all the corners upset me greatly.

I agree. It's a bit like being shown a photo album full of people you don't know. As for the music, well I had to 'borrow' the work library as some sort of virus caused me wipe my hard drive and all it's contents 😥 Also the reason I upload them to youtube/vimeo etc. I lost some really nice footage when the lappy died.

I generally only bring a the camera to places I've never been before. I have an awful sense of direction (still don't know left from right) so they are useful to me to get an idea of where the trails go for the next time.

A couple of helmet cams (and other views)

This hits the spot around 1mins 40 secs...
outside with no safety cable

The golden rules of a 'headcam':
1. Make sure it's mounted very securely, if it rattles you'll get flickering and vibration which will make the video unwatchable. Chest mounted is best. Rattles will also ruin the audio.
2. Mount it as near as possible to the centre of mass, this makes a more stable platform (the same reason the most comfy seat in a train is furthest from the wheels and why you should never sit on the top deck of a car ferry in rough seas!) Chestmount again!
3. Use the highest resolution possible
4. Get a camera with as wide angle a lens as possible/practical. A full frame fisheye lessens the appearance of shake and vibration (ever tried to film the moon on full zoom without a tripod? How shaky?!)
5. Edit, edit, edit. No-one wants to see the inside of your pockets!
6. Music. Don't inflict your questionable tastes on everyone!

Think of the audience. Will they want to watch it? 99% of all the headcam footage out 'there' [b]is[/b][i] unwatchable rubbish, let's entertain each other with awesome movies of the sport we love!

Deveron53 made some excellent points.

For me, the #1 turn off is some random crappy music steamrollered over the whole video. Uugh, I hate that. It's like being trapped inside someones head when they are riding a trail with their headphones on. You are not making a music video, so quit with the bloody music over everything! I want to hear the bike, to wood, the trail, the birds, the wind. Note the top two videos (and other classic trail footage like the cyclocross wood ride one) are all live sound, no overdubbed random rap / rock bullshit.

Woah, steady on! Some people just like having a bit of fun making videos 😕

We're trying to refute the headcam=crap accusation. Fun making does not necessarily mean fun watching! Remember the old 70s sit-com jokes about having to sit through someone's holiday snaps projected in a darkened living room? Well, there is a new, modern way to potentially bore your friends!

Rules?

OK then.

1. Wheelies - CHECK
2. Skids - CHECK
3. Cussing - CHECK
4. Crash - CHECK
5. Fun - CHECK

No music for the purists. 😀

Warning: Contains trails/people you won't recognise.

Where abouts is that Euro? Nice interesting (if wet) looking trail.

Smogmonster, I'm assuming you've posted that as a bad example? It's grim.

Deveron53 - You tell it like it is. The 70's slideshow thing is a good analogy, just because everyone can do it doesn't mean everyone should. The difference now is that you get to share it with the whole world!

Yeah, headcams are rubbish....

Change res to 1080 + full screen...love the edit @ 1:54 when the 'slow' guy gets out of the way and Brian gets his groove on...damn!

Entertainment:

To add to deverons post, most people should learn how to do basic colour correction things. A few minor curves and saturation tweaks can make the footage look so much better than it does straight out the camera. Another thing would be (if you have the software for it) to look into keyframing an exposure adjustment - very useful for runs which involve going from dark woods to bright open areas. You'll be able to stop it from over or under exposing when you first enter/exit each section 🙂

I cocked up the link. But this video has none of the production values _tom_ wishes for. It's not even in HD, but it's bloody entertaining.
Just goes to show that subject matter is everything.

The problem with video is that editing sucks up soooo much time.

It's very off-putting when you come back from a ride with a couple of hours of footage and then have to start editing.

Spin - 😉

That Lopes - he quite quick huh?!

Here's another

woof!

But this video has none of the production values _tom_ wishes for. It's not even in HD, but it's bloody entertaining.

I'm not saying videos without the colour correction etc aren't entertaining, it's just they can be improved a lot with some simple techniques. I actually enjoy watching head/chest cam videos on youtube no matter the production quality so long as it's not blurry to the point of not being able to tell what's going on.. especially if it's a place I haven't ridden before - gives a rough idea of what to expect.

You are not making a music video, so quit with the bloody music over everything!

Hmm...

In many cases I think that's true. But you can't blanket a statement like that, I don't think. All the little films I've made are linked directly to the music. It's what I think works. Edits, cuts and effects linked to the pulse of the music add something to the overall impact. But hey. I like doing it my way. I'm sure anyone who doesn't like the tunes I put on, won't want to watch any films I make.

Unless it's a 20s clip I think music is a must. There's only so much wind noise I can cope with. Motorbikes aren't quite so bad, but still, there's a limit.

It's very off-putting when you come back from a ride with a couple of hours of footage and then have to start editing.

I actually quite like editing riding footage. I kind of get to re-live the ride, particularly the films I've made from holidays to places like BC. It's a lasting memory...

But then I might just be very, very sad. Yes. That's probably it. 🙁

I don't mind doing the editing, I just don't have the time. Self-employment and 2 children don't leave a huge amount.

maxray - Member

Where abouts is that Euro? Nice interesting (if wet) looking trail.

Cavehill Maxy, overlooking Belfast.

I wish I had to 'pooter power to run fancy programmes with swish editing, but my machine can't cope with mpeg4 files so first I have to convert them, then do all the editing in Moviemaker. It's a slow process and I rarely get the time to do it properly( 2 youngkids and a partner who's addicted to Facebob), but actually enjoy cobbling all the bits together. I find music really helps when editing.

This one is also from Inners and personally I think the music makes it

That Chilean vid is fantastic - those gap jumps! 😯

However I don't like the actual footage. Too much pointing at the floor. Too wide an angle makes everything look slow, too narrow makes it hard to watch.

And I now feel sick after only watching a few.

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/198594/

i like this one, and the guy is flat out 😀

The music really makes this - atmospheric, tense, uplifting.

Hahaha Random.

Bongo, that chap is shifting. Course isn't very technical though.. *goes to lookup Hammerfest*

Ok strictly not a helmet cam video but a cable cam instead, have yet to perfect the helmet cam side