69 Dodge Charger Meets GoProHD

My two favorite things are filmmaking and muscle cars. This video is the first time I have ever made a piece showing the appreciation I have for my 69 Dodge Charger. I mounted my GoPro to 10 different locations all over the car a few days ago. When I went out to shoot it began to rain, but because I was using the GoPro, it didn't hold things up at all. I just shot in the rain. Why the hell not?

Specs:
Shot 1280x720P @ 60 Frames per second
Mpeg4 files converted to quicktime pro res 422 Using Mpeg Streamclip
Conformed frame rate for slow motion with Cinema Tools
Used the H.264 codec for compression for the web using Compressor
Edited the video with Final Cut Pro 4

GoProHD Durability Test

I have played with dozens of cameras over the years. I have worked with the Red camera and Varicam which costs thousands of dollars and are great professional cameras. I have also shot with consumer cameras like the Flipcam and various prosumer cameras over the years. But I have never worked with a camera that has more versatility than the GoProHD Hero.

The TV commercials and hype about this cameras are true. It is incredibly versatile, and can handle all kinds of weather conditions, humidity, and temperatures. I'm still experimenting with it because it is just sooooo much fun. What is most important to recognize about this camera is the quality. It shoots a compressed mp4 file, but once you uncompress the image to quicktime, it is absolutely fantastic for the price. I would gladly pay two or three times as much money for this camera.

So this week I wanted to test the durability of the GoProHD. This video was totally spontaneous, and I don't recommend people trying doing the same thing. This video is for demonstration purposes only; so please don't try this yourself.

GoProHD Slow Motion Test

I have been seeing GoPro commercials on television. I have also seen some of their cool viral videos on youtube. I just couldn't wait any longer and went out and got one for myself. My web series Growing Up Guide Pup requires that I put out a new episode every week, and I am always looking for new tools for my filmmaking bag of tricks. I'm always striving to make the show better and it's visual style is very important to me. The GoProHD Hero shoots 60 fps at 1280x720p. It also is designed for hardcore shooting, including underwater. Since we were planning on shooting our dogs in the pool, it seemed a perfect opportunity to put this thing to work. The workflow required a learning curve as well as the camera itself. It kinda reminded me of learning how to program my watch for the first time. Only two buttons on the body of the camera, and yet their is a ton of programmable functions on the camera.

I put the workflow specs below and the first video I did shooting slow motion.

Specs:
Shot 1280x720P @ 60 Frames per second
Mpeg4 files converted to quicktime pro res 422 Using Mpeg Streamclip
Conformed frame rate for slow motion with Cinema Tools
Used the H.264 codec for compression for the web using Compressor
Edited the video with Final Cut Pro 4