GoPro Video Editing/Software, Tips etc

[Flymac]

Ive been hoping to finally start putting together some of my GoPro videos I've been recorded...but have been bogged down trying to figure out the quickest/easiest way to edit the massive videos and such...I'm kind of stuck...looking for input or quick cheats/software people are using?

Typically I'll record say a 2 hours flight or so...so Gopro splits it up in the ~12min video segments..

I want to be able to put these all together in 1 video, and then speed up most of the flight, normal/slow play at interesting points, freeze frame, etc...I'd say pretty normal, not too complex stuff.  Frustration of what I'm running in to:

• GoPro Studio seems it was king of user friendly editing and doing these basic features...but no longer available
• New GoPro Quick can merge the videos...but SUPER basic functions of only up to 1 minute video, can pick "highlites" but cant control anything more
• GoPro Splice...also merges the clips together, but can only do 2X speed, and cant pick specific segments, only the full video clip...also only on IOS vs managing large files on the laptop...

I've experimented trying to use some of the other free, more advanced editors:

• Davinci Resolve seems like a nice one...but has pretty high system reqs I dont meet (i7, 14GB Ram, etc)...so it wont run
• Filmora - still trying to figure it out...but then leaves a watermark on exported file...

Ugh! Just want a quick, easy way to do basic edits and enjoy some cool videos!  

What are people using?  @gsxrpilot how did you edit that Burning Man video for example where you had multiple segments of fast fwd, slow play, stills, etc...which seemed to be from a long flight that also would have been broken into multiple files.   

[gsxrpilot]

@Flymac I use iMovie which comes with a Mac. But I also have used GoPro Quick. I'm certainly not all that good at editing video and often wish someone would just do it for me ;-)

 

[jaylw314]

50 minutes ago, Flymac said:

Ive been hoping to finally start putting together some of my GoPro videos I've been recorded...but have been bogged down trying to figure out the quickest/easiest way to edit the massive videos and such...I'm kind of stuck...looking for input or quick cheats/software people are using?

Typically I'll record say a 2 hours flight or so...so Gopro splits it up in the ~12min video segments..

I want to be able to put these all together in 1 video, and then speed up most of the flight, normal/slow play at interesting points, freeze frame, etc...I'd say pretty normal, not too complex stuff.  Frustration of what I'm running in to:

• GoPro Studio seems it was king of user friendly editing and doing these basic features...but no longer available
• New GoPro Quick can merge the videos...but SUPER basic functions of only up to 1 minute video, can pick "highlites" but cant control anything more
• GoPro Splice...also merges the clips together, but can only do 2X speed, and cant pick specific segments, only the full video clip...also only on IOS vs managing large files on the laptop...

I've experimented trying to use some of the other free, more advanced editors:

• Davinci Resolve seems like a nice one...but has pretty high system reqs I dont meet (i7, 14GB Ram, etc)...so it wont run
• Filmora - still trying to figure it out...but then leaves a watermark on exported file...

Ugh! Just want a quick, easy way to do basic edits and enjoy some cool videos!  

What are people using?  @gsxrpilot how did you edit that Burning Man video for example where you had multiple segments of fast fwd, slow play, stills, etc...which seemed to be from a long flight that also would have been broken into multiple files.   

Easy -- Upload your raw videos to YouTube.  Then you can edit them with their web-based interface.  I have my camera set to break up video into 10 minute files so that it doesn't take hideously long to upload.

Free, not so easy - ShotCut is an open-source video studio editing platform.  Powerful, but like many open-source projects, not so easy to learn...

[bob865]

There is also Windows Movie Maker if you're windows based.  It's not native anymore, but a few google searches and you can find it.  I'd put it on the upper end of basic.  It's definintely not a high end software, but it will splice together video, allow you to cut and paste, speed up, slow down, adjust audio, etc. 

With the exception of the music which youtube added this video was shot with a contour roam 2 mounted to my tail tiedown and put together with Move Maker.

 

[jaylw314]

1 minute ago, bob865 said:

There is also Windows Movie Maker if you're windows based.  It's not native anymore, but a few google searches and you can find it.  I'd put it on the upper end of basic.  It's definintely not a high end software, but it will splice together video, allow you to cut and paste, speed up, slow down, adjust audio, etc. 

With the exception of the music which youtube added this video was put together with Move Maker

 

That's interesting that you get the video "jello" effect even with the tail mounted camera.  I would have thought there would be no vibration back there.

[bob865]

9 minutes ago, jaylw314 said:

I would have thought there would be no vibration back there.

I just assumed it was the wind shaking the camera.  Mooney's are fast, ya know.  

[gsxrpilot]

1 hour ago, jaylw314 said:

That's interesting that you get the video "jello" effect even with the tail mounted camera.  I would have thought there would be no vibration back there.

The amount of vibration often is dependent on the type of mount used and how "long" the mount is. Or how far the camera is away from the airplane. I try to keep mine as close to the plane as possible. 

On another note... I was wondering if the gear was ever going to get stowed.

[Skates97]

4 hours ago, jaylw314 said:

Free, not so easy - ShotCut is an open-source video studio editing platform.  Powerful, but like many open-source projects, not so easy to learn...

I tried Davinci Resolve and really liked it, except the fact that it would constantly crash despite having a system well above specs. I also used Windows Movie Maker but there were some things I wanted to do that it wouldn't do. There are a number of other's that I have tried as well but I have finally settled on ShotCut. There is a bit of a learning curve but once you get the basics (you will be doing most of the same things with all your videos) it is really easy to use. There are good tutorial videos so anytime I wanted to learn something new I would just watch a video and play around with it.

If you are looking to add any more cameras I have been very happy with the Apeman Cameras. I really can't tell a difference in the quality between my GoPro Hero 3+ and the Apeman Cameras. 

Apeman Bundle - $50 and comes with a camera, a case, mounts, and two batteries. The batteries provide about 1:15-1:30 of constant recording time which is much better than I get from the GoPro

Apeman Camera - $36 and comes with a camera, mounts and one battery

Battery Charger - $14 and comes with two more batteries.

For $100 you could have two cameras, mounts, five batteries, a case, and a charger.

[jaylw314]

19 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

There are a number of other's that I have tried as well but I have finally settled on ShotCut. There is a bit of a learning curve but once you get the basics (you will be doing most of the same things with all your videos) it is really easy to use.

Well, unless you're a Luddite

[eman1200]

Movie maker. Basic, easy, free.

[Yetti]

Sony Movie Studio -   You would just add all the various files and "cut" from one to another.  But srsly dood no one want to watch a 2 hour video of flying. 

Ask yourself this:  "What do I want people to feel at the end of my video?"  Powerpoint or whatever you are creating

Pro tip from the drone world.   Velcro the fuzzy side makes a poor man's vibration damper.

Pros edit in the camera.    Start the shot 30 seconds and then roll some tape after and then shut if off.

The editing rule is about 30 minutes for one good minute of on air video.

[gsxrpilot]

24 minutes ago, Yetti said:

Pros edit in the camera.    Start the shot 30 seconds and then roll some tape after and then shut if off.

I've never had any luck with editing in external mounted cameras. They can be controlled by WiFi or Bluetooth but that so severely reduces the battery life as to make it only useful for capturing takeoffs. 

[ArtVandelay]

Another pro tip, multiple cameras provide diversity of shots making videos more interesting, and don’t have prolonged shots from 1 angle.

Apeman is a fine camera, but it’s app leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[jaylw314]

49 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

I've never had any luck with editing in external mounted cameras. They can be controlled by WiFi or Bluetooth but that so severely reduces the battery life as to make it only useful for capturing takeoffs. 

If you're brave, you can mount the camera with an external battery to extend it's endurance beyond 90 minutes. 

Also, many cameras film natively at 720p 30 fps, and then interpolate to get 720p 60fps or 1080p 30fps, which is a fancy way of saying they are lying, cheating bastards.  As such, you may as well film at 720p 30 fps which will save power since the camera won't need to recode it to a different size and framerate.

[gsxrpilot]

1 hour ago, jaylw314 said:

If you're brave, you can mount the camera with an external battery to extend it's endurance beyond 90 minutes. 

I get over 2 hours pretty regularly with my GoPros just using the internal batteries. But all coms are off, no pro-tune, just video.

I have GoPro Hero 3's, Session 4's and a Session 5.

 

[81X]

On 8/29/2018 at 4:33 PM, gsxrpilot said:

The amount of vibration often is dependent on the type of mount used and how "long" the mount is. Or how far the camera is away from the airplane. I try to keep mine as close to the plane as possible. 

On another note... I was wondering if the gear was ever going to get stowed.

The "Gear up!" anticipation was also killing me!  A true nail biter for Mooney Drivers!  

[apenney]

I did this short clip with 2 gopros and a cell phone then edited in Adobe Premiere Pro - I use their subscription based service because we use the other adobe products quite regularly so it works well for us.  I import all the footage into PremierePro.  You can just insert all your clips into a sequence so its one long sequence and edit from there.  There is another video I posted on MS using an cable for intercom audio that also serves as a charging source cable to the USB port in the panel to keep the gopro going indefinitely.  Don't laugh too hard at my overly dramatic presentation!  

 

[bob865]

16 hours ago, 81X said:

The "Gear up!" anticipation was also killing me!  A true nail biter for Mooney Drivers!  

Haha....Cut me a little slack, I was a brand new mooney driver then.  (That was literally my 6th hour in the plane)  It comes up much sooner now.  

[81X]

6 hours ago, bob865 said:

Haha....Cut me a little slack, I was a brand new mooney driver then.  (That was literally my 6th hour in the plane)  It comes up much sooner now.  

I was the same way back when I first got my Mooney.  Besides, it's better to put the gear up too late than down too late

[eman1200]

here's a vid I edited in movie maker.  absolutely nothing special about it, but you can see I just clip stuff out to try to shorten the video a bit:

movie maker

and here's a goofy one I did using iMovie last Halloween.  it's "a little" trickier than movie maker but once you do one and you get it, it's easy to do.  I did this one entirely on my iPhone:

iMovie

a long time ago I used the gopro editing software and found that to be easy as well, but I haven't used it in a long time.  hope this helps.

[ilovecornfields]

2 hours ago, eman1200 said:

here's a vid I edited in movie maker.  absolutely nothing special about it, but you can see I just clip stuff out to try to shorten the video a bit:

movie maker

and here's a goofy one I did using iMovie last Halloween.  it's "a little" trickier than movie maker but once you do one and you get it, it's easy to do.  I did this one entirely on my iPhone:

iMovie

a long time ago I used the gopro editing software and found that to be easy as well, but I haven't used it in a long time.  hope this helps.

So that’s how you get the tiedown ropes off! Seems quite efficient.

[apenney]

@eman1200  did you record your intercom audio directly into the camera or into another device such as a phone?

[eman1200]

3 hours ago, apenney said:

@eman1200  did you record your intercom audio directly into the camera or into another device such as a phone?

I went the super high tech route and stuffed a lapel mic inside the earpiece of my headset.  I know, I know, but it gets the job done.  get yourself one of these (make sure the connection is right for your camera):

lapel mic

plug it into the gopro and stuff the mic end into your earpiece (take the foam thing off first).  this way it'll record everything you hear in your headset.  you can hear my videos, not professional quality but certainly good enough for the cheesy youtube videos I do.  you can usually get a few of them for a coupl'a bucks, this way you have backups if (when) they break.

 

[jaylw314]

56 minutes ago, eman1200 said:

I went the super high tech route and stuffed a lapel mic inside the earpiece of my headset.  I know, I know, but it gets the job done.  get yourself one of these (make sure the connection is right for your camera):

lapel mic

plug it into the gopro and stuff the mic end into your earpiece (take the foam thing off first).  this way it'll record everything you hear in your headset.  you can hear my videos, not professional quality but certainly good enough for the cheesy youtube videos I do.  you can usually get a few of them for a coupl'a bucks, this way you have backups if (when) they break.

 

This adapter might be easier... $35 and it has a pass-through so your headset is unaffected

 

[eman1200]

1 minute ago, jaylw314 said:

This adapter might be easier... $35 and it has a pass-through so your headset is unaffected

 

'easier'?  no, not at all.  on top of that cable you also need something to actually record the audio.  on top of that, now you need to sync your audio with the video.  so no, while not 'easier' (also not difficult), this, paired with a good audio recording device, will probably get you much better audio.  however, not even close to 'easier'.  if you're looking for higher quality, your option is clearly the better option.  if you're looking for cheap, easy and acceptable audio, lapel mic all day.