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GoPro Question (in b4 get a real camera)

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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
So I have a question I have had for awhile about GoPro footage. Whenever I see footage from gopros on TV, or in the high end ski edits/commercials (Like the Redbull stuff, or last year in the X-Games when they were using them to show off the course) their footage is crystal clear, and looks fucking awesome. Yet whenever I film with my Gopro (Hero 2), It always looks like shit (and I dont mean my actual filming ability, just the quality of footage.) It does not seem to matter what resolution I use, it never comes out as clean as anything GoPro or redbull puts out. Is this because they generally do not use the protective cases, or is it maybe an issue on the pc/encoding side of things. Any legitimate help is greatly appreciated, I know GoPros are generally frowned upon, but I really do not want to spend 500+ dollars on a nice camera.
Nov 18 2013 11:28AM
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sveinung
Posts: 105 - Karma: 74
i think thats why
Nov 18 2013 1:32PM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
you have to shoot in the right conditions and colour correct and grade it appropriately
Nov 18 2013 2:12PM
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Lou.
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 3,876
They are pumping tons of money into pro grade stabilization color correcting and they have access to the people who actually made the camera so they know exactly how to use it. But with that being said. I have seen people get great footage from those things so it can be done
Nov 18 2013 10:19PM
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Theskiingguy
Posts: 476 - Karma: 2,514
copy and paste of what I said in a diff thread..
"lens gets cleaned before every shot, camera is in protune, and lots of color correction. Stuff on the lens makes any shot look nasty, protune basically triples the quality, and color correction makes every color "pop". So when combined with shooting 1080p, 1440p, and 2.7k, you can get some very similar results.
Sure they might tweak their own camera software very little and use high-tech color correction software, but you can still get very similar results but doing the following and learning how to color correct."
Nov 21 2013 3:37AM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
So how do you enable pro mode, and what kind of softwear are we talking here? Adobe?
Nov 21 2013 11:36AM
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Theskiingguy
Posts: 476 - Karma: 2,514
It'a called protune and under the settings options. Then after you enable it you can change to whatever resolution in "protune" that you want. Heads up, it will cut your filming time in about half (takes up twice the space).

Well you can use basic software like final cut, or premiere or some software like that, but GoPro uses "Davinci resolve" which is a free software that you can download. It's quite hefty so be prepared
Nov 21 2013 1:45PM
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123+ski
Posts: 2832 - Karma: 581
between pro tune and 3 way color corrector, you should be set on the software end. Davinci is cool and free, but it could be a lot to handle if your new to it, so I would suggest 3 way, which comes standard in FCP 7, adobe CS5 and newer (It might be in older ones, just speaking from experience). General tips would be not shooting into the sun to avoid clipping, do what you can to make it stable, get really close, try unique angles, but with something cool. An example would be the bobby brown double cork. Dub 10's are already pretty sweet, and the caster wheel thing is kind of cool, but combine both of those in a way that hasn't been done before and its banger.
Nov 21 2013 5:29PM
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Z-Juice
Posts: 3151 - Karma: 1,504
How does Protune work? Does it really make that much of a difference?
Nov 21 2013 10:02PM
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Theskiingguy
Posts: 476 - Karma: 2,514
Yeah if you read my post before I said it basically triples the quality, which it does..

it turns the encoding/writing process from 10mbps to 35 mbps. Just because something is 1080p doesn't mean it's as good/clear as another 1080p video. Protune is basically the "raw" setting but for a GoPro
Nov 21 2013 11:06PM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
Oh man, you have no Idea how happy this makes me. So using either the Gopro Cinestudios softwera or this davnici one I should be able to color correct and throw together edits better than with the shitty windows movie maker, or do I need to use these programs to color correct and then use a program like adobe. I wouldent mind dropping some cash on a decent entry level video editing softwear, but it seems like everything is either shitty and free or hundreds of dollars and awesome. Is there a say, 50 dollar program for someone who is a bit more advanced than the person needing windows movie maker, and someone who is going to make the next hollywood blockbuster?

Sorry for all the noob questions =(
Nov 22 2013 7:35PM
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Theskiingguy
Posts: 476 - Karma: 2,514
Hahahah no problem. I would use davinici rather than gopro studio if you're serious about color correction.

You could* always get a software online, but I'm not going to promote illegal downloading because downloading the legit thing is always best.

You dont need any special software, as long as you're able to create a timeline of your video you're good (like have everything laid out and final) and once you finish that you color correct it. Because lighting and colors always change in the video its best to be as specific to each individual shot as possible.

If you want something better try the GoPro studio software, they've updated it and it's sort of like iMovie but I would say better (and free). But I would just look around for cheap softwares if you want to buy yours.

Do you have mac or pc? I'll look around and see what I can find
Nov 22 2013 10:15PM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
So your saying I should edit the whole video, then drop it into something like Davinci or do that first?
Im on PC.
Nov 22 2013 11:11PM
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Theskiingguy
Posts: 476 - Karma: 2,514
Yeah exactly! Always edit it first, because that means A LOT less color correction in the end and you can make it more specific for each shot.
Cool, I'll try and find a few cheaper softwares to send you
Nov 23 2013 3:07PM
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DeRizzo
Posts: 3827 - Karma: 3,485
ya...
Nov 23 2013 5:31PM
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40oz.
Posts: 1758 - Karma: 555
Okay so would it be straight to use Windows Movie Maker just to edit the protuned video, then once I have it all edited, drop it in Davinci and color correct the video?
Dec 12 2013 1:28AM
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Theskiingguy
Posts: 476 - Karma: 2,514
Yeah should be fine, would prefer that.
I'm just not sure how well windows movie maker actually compresses things and how much quality you loose using that software. Just make sure you are importing it, and exporting it with the maximum quality you can get.
Dec 14 2013 5:42PM
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40oz.
Posts: 1758 - Karma: 555
I just picked up adobe premier cc instead of fucking with windows movie maker
Dec 14 2013 7:08PM
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elinde
Posts: 1470 - Karma: 3,059
Color correcting is a huge part of it. Protune, of course, for skiing makes it far better, and also you should use a codec whatever software you're using likes; that will help as well.
Dec 15 2013 4:44PM
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buzzlightyear
Posts: 153 - Karma: 292
My sd card won't let me film in 1080p 60 protune so should I buy a nicer sd card or just shoot in 1080p 30. Does it really make that much of a difference?
Jan 5 2014 8:42PM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
buy a nicer sd card. they're cheap and there's no point in paying for a camera only to not be able to use it to it's full potential

in the mean time, shoot in 720/60p over 1080/30p if you're doing action sports
Jan 5 2014 8:48PM
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Lou.
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 3,876
It wont make a difference as long as you don't do ANY slomo. It'll look so shitty if you do
Jan 5 2014 8:50PM
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buzzlightyear
Posts: 153 - Karma: 292
Any recommendations to which micro sd card to get?
Jan 5 2014 9:14PM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
do you just make shit like this up on the spot? 24p footage is smooth, meaning you can slow 30p footage to 80%. herp derp use your brain... (or better yet stop posting entirely)
Jan 5 2014 9:15PM
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NH_OPERATOR
Posts: 1070 - Karma: 2,883
I would say though that most people wouldn't consider 80% speed to be slow-mo. I mean it is obviously slower than full speed but still.
Jan 6 2014 5:47AM
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