UKC

Hello.

Not much of a poster but long time reader i just wanted to know how many people have tried recording with gopro's while rock climbing. I have edited my first attempt using two go pro's one attached to climber and one on the belayer.

Am looking for feedback and different ways people have attached camera ect.

Won't let me post a link so if you want to see my first take visit dink20099 on youtube and go to video Craigmore - Layback Crack - E1

Thanks
Dave

In reply to dmacmorris: Personally I wouldn't bother filming when Rock climbing - it's generally boring to watch without good production and a few set-up scenarios.

In reply to dmacmorris:

I filmed one alpine ice route with a gopro on my helmet, it was a little boring as I concentrated on not falling off, rather than stopping to check out the scenery. some editing and a few panoramic shots at belays and it turned out alright.

Didn't bother taking the gopro the next trip, and I can't see a rock climbing video being interesting from a climbers perspective.

In reply to dmacmorris: im actually tryin to buy a gopro at the moment for this reason.. if you spend the time you can make great videos.. but i think you really need to edit them with good music rather than sound, snipets of photos of the area /climb etc... and make the movies of big long interesting routes... short bouldery pitches are pretty boring to watch i reckon.. but long exposed routes capture your attention as a viewer ?

In reply to dmacmorris: also i watched your video and still quite liked it... but i think you can really make it seam alot better with a kickass song that goes with it... for example- youtube.com/watch?v=p1PRgfA-Hsc& i think the song makes this video pretty awesome.. and its done with a gopro..

In reply to lachy773: might notice the guy at the belay after abseiling just tied in with a quickdraw on another quickdraw attached to his belay loop..... hmmm not too sure about that one,..

In reply to dmacmorris:
I have discussed this with climbing partner and came to the conclusion that the majority of the time it would be very boring so not worth recording.

So we decided that some sort of voice recognition software was needed to automatically start a 10 minute recording whenever someone says either "watch me here" "tight" "f**k" etc coupled with motion sensors in the legs to pick up a bit of disco leg and start recording as well.

In reply to dmacmorris:

Maybe my first attempt wasnt so bad, check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dso5wlGQGM, i might be tempted to take my go pro out again. Only problem is I filled up a 4gb memory card in 40 mins and 1 and a bit pitches, so none of me leading.

In reply to diddler: nice work man... what did you think of nz? the climbing that is... ive recently got into alpine... im australian and will be heading back that way in about a year.. so nz will be the closest for alpine mountaineering... great video mate

In reply to dmacmorris: I gave up trying to film anything with mine, after a few days of appalling footage despite perfect conditions at Swanage I found the photo every 5s setting

The results
Cheesewring-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qFAPuCRo7c&sns=em

Kenidjack-
youtube.com/watch?v=YeOeT4uddIY&

In reply to dmacmorris: I thought this was a good use of a gopro, check it out around 7mins:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/videos/play.php?i=965

Then again, it's not when he's actually climbing...

In reply to dmacmorris:

Hi Dave

Like yourself I am a recent convert to GoPro so am pretty inexperienced ( especially on the editing software side of things which I found the biggest challenge being an IT philistine!) but I think that GoPro can be an exciting new medium if used properly. Anyway I've had a look at your first attempt and it is a great effort for a first go(pro!) and certainly better than my first bash. Nowadays I try to keep the leader helmet cam shots to a minimum because with my head movement the rock or image tends to "pulse" a lot. From feedback and what I think is more interesting for the viewer is looking down on the second whilst keeping the head still to provide some good footage especially on a spectacular and exposed location such as a sea-cliff for example see 3.40 on the following:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cv6CJ3iD-Q&feature=relmfu
Or better still (like photograpy) when climbing in a 3 you can be detached from the climb and get some pretty cool film see 2.20 or 8.40 in the following:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quo5Uhnv_Rk&feature=relmfu
Finally as already mentioned previously I think music is very important in setting the mood of a film. Anyway good luck and hope this helps!

Cheers
Dave

In reply to dmacmorris:

Keep in mind they can also take decent photos so maybe include these in the vid. Reducing the movement of the camera leads to a better experience for the viewer, so maybe try putting it on a clip stick.

In reply to lachy773:

love it man, lived in franz josef for 9 months last year so managed to get up a lot, and got some pretty hard stuff done in summer and winter. back in england at the mo, but heading back out soon. Also love the rock climbing over there.

In reply to Cheese Monkey: hard;y perfect conditions tho really... poor light overcast against black rock...

In reply to dmacmorris: I think they could be used effectively to give the climbers point of view, but it needs to be coupled with more 'ordinary' filing techniques. Perhaps a long shot that cuts into the head cam when placing a dodgey bit of gear, to show a close up of the hold and to display the panic felt. The close up audio was good too, on your video it was wierd because it almost sounded that some of the comments were recorded separately and added in afterwards.

In reply to dmacmorris:
just ordered a go pro. Its all down to how well footage is edited!

In reply to dmacmorris:

I've used them for making short films, including this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/17352594

The quality of the pictures is incredible for such a small piece of equipment, but as others have said, it's important to use the shots sparingly and have other footage you can edit it with. Shaky helmet cam pictures can get pretty monotonous very quickly. Also the sound you get from them is poor, so if you're serious about making video you need another way of recording quality audio for clips and FX.

In reply to chris_s: like!

Colin Haley used them in Patagonia and his two videos are worth a watch.

vimeo.com/8444961
vimeo.com/10286155

I'd argue the hands on rock shots aren't the most exciting. But having been there, the thought of it is awesome.

Just watched them again. Walking the plank on Mermoz summit is amazing. But what he abseils off give me shivers.

I think that gopro's provide great additional footage for a film but are far from ideal when used as the sole method of capture. I think these guys have got it down well:

vimeo.com/31749372

In reply to lachy773: I do apologise I will make every effort to ensure optimal light for you next time. And of course I will paint the cliff white so we stand out that little bit more. Or maybe we should wear dayglo. If I wanted a professional job I'd pay for it

In reply to Cheese Monkey: wow

In reply to Cheese Monkey: i actually think i miss read your message.. you were happy with the photos? the second video looks good... i thought you were saying with the first video you gave up because you had perfect conditions and it didnt look good.. i was just trying to say that the conditions werent really that great thats why it was bit dark and hard to see.. wasnt having a go... easy brother

In reply to lachy773: No worries, yeah I meant the set up in general, a video of a rock face, the occasional nut and odd swear word was crap. Tried out that setting on a different day and it worked for me, showed some climbing at least. Yeah the snaps aren't great but I'm not really bothered about it. Was trying to show an alternative use that for me (minus the crap conditions), gives a nice result, compared to a video of a rock face 12" away from the camera most of the time.