• Tips for action videos using the GoPro

    Spectacular videos of stunts from all kinds of action sports have been accumulating on YouTube and other video portals over the last few years. Do you also want to film these kinds of videos where your adrenaline level rises just watching them?

    Filming a high-quality GoPro video is not as easy as it looks though. In the following five tips you can find out how to improve your videos.

    The mount

    Videos of breathtaking stunts and daring manoeuvres are no good if what you filmed is shaky afterwards. That’s why the camera mount is the basis for a successful video. What is important here is that the fixture is attached as tightly as possible to the mount so that the image does not shake at rapid speeds and with jerky movements.

    One common problem on the standard mounts for action cameras is the material that they are made of. The frequently used plastic may be flexible and only withstand low stress. Duct tape may help to make sure the camera fits tight in the mount. With this you can also avoid the camera angle unintentionally changing while filming the video. If you would to really make sure that your GoPro does not get lost, you can also attach an arrester cable to the camera.

    The planning

    Naturally the temptation is great to start filming straight away as soon as you’ve bought a new GoPro camera. But take a bit of time to plan your video before you film for the first time. This way you will get a good result and protect yourself from any unpleasant surprises. As there is nothing more frustrating than ending up with worthless videos after your GoPro adventure. When planning you should first of all make sure that the battery is charged and that there is enough memory for the videos.

    To make sure that the filmed clips turn out as you imagine them to be you can test whether you like the set frame beforehand. For this connect your smartphone to the camera using WiFi and adjust it as required. What is important for filming over several days is that the material is stored in between so that all the work was not for nothing in the end.

    Eine Helmhalterung ist ein nützliches Zubehör für die Actionkamera in vielen Sportarten

    The perspective

    Action cameras offer a huge range of different options to create particularly interesting videos as they have a wide-angle lens. The classic video is filmed in the ego perspective where the camera is fixed to a helmet, for example. But how about attaching the GoPro to handlebars to film a mountain bike jump or filming from the highest point of a mast when sailing? There are no limits to your imagination and a variety of shots are what make the video more interesting.

    Beginners should make sure that they change the perspective often during the video to stop viewers from getting bored later. With someone else, for example, you can film mountain bike jumps from an outsider’s perspective, which can make the video even more spectacular.

    The lighting

    One crucial point for filming that you can’t unfortunately influence is the lighting. Sunshine is of course ideal for the image quality but inexperienced video makers in particular should definitely avoid backlight. With this you can end up with undesirable blind spots in the image that make the video useless. Over time you can learn how to deal with backlight or poor lighting conditions, incorporate them into the video and artistically present them as part of the scene.

    With longer films in particular you should make sure that the scenes are filmed in roughly the same lighting and weather conditions: if you end up later with constant changing between sunshine and a cloudy sky it can make editing the clips into a successful video very difficult.

    The process

    After the preparation you can finally get started with the actual filming. To have a particularly large angle you should film in “Wide” mode, which really shows off landscapes extremely well. Shaky images and blurring can also be prevented using this setting.

    If you want to save yourself lots of effort with editing, you should film short clips instead of letting the camera run permanently. If you have filmed a particularly good clip you can find it again quicker and don’t have to click through long sequences. You can find more tips about processing and editing action videos here.

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