Filming your Hunts and Adventures

WV Hunter

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
116
Location
West "By God" Virginia
I like to video family events and enjoy editing as a hobby. My system is pretty basic and I do ok with it but I have thought of upgrading. Right now I have a GoPro Hero HD and Canon HV20 and I edit with iMovie 08. I keep saying I am going to start filming our hunts and start getting outdoors and filming more even in the off season. Now that my kids are a little older I can take them camping, fishing and do a little hiking and I'd like to capture this and make some movies both for memories and for posting to youtube. I'd like to make the videos a little more professional looking but I am not sure what I can do without sinking a lot of money into a lot of newer stuff.

For those that film and make quality videos, what equipment and software are you using? I've seen some great pictures and videos on this site that look professionally edited and I would like to know how I can put together a better package.

Here are a couple of non hunting videos I have made of the family to give you a little perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-4i8yz_7J0

Here is a video I made about 3 years before. You can see how much the kids have grown :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqS7B72win8

Any pointers are appreciated.

Thanks,
WV
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2012
Messages
725
Location
San Luis Valley, Colorado
WV,

I'm doing the same thing (trying to make better videos).

Read this book: How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck by Steve Stockman. It's a very short book and tells you how to shoot and edit great videos. Easy stuff.
 

Lukem

WKR
Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
642
Location
Nebraska
I'm by no means an expert, have no training, and use similar gear as you have, but I have 3 bits of advice, (so take it for what it's worth... :) ). First, use a tripod, a steady shot is essental for good video. Second, when you see another video and see a shot that you like from a different perspective, angle, type of action, etc., figure out how they got that shot. Lastly, have an idea of what you want your end video to look like while you're filming. Most people just film and then hope to have good footage to edit into a video. You have to think things through and get the shots you want and need to make a good end product.
 

bobhunts

WKR
Joined
Jun 16, 2012
Messages
964
Location
Colorado Springs,Co.
I hope maybe you can give some advice to me regarding the Go Pro. Ideas? Where to mount.. head strap etc..I'm going to Alaska for Moose this September and bought one but have yet to use it. I had to download the instructions and have not done anything other than that.
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2012
Messages
725
Location
San Luis Valley, Colorado
Personally, I would use short shots from a Go Pro to show 1st person perspective, but I would use a lot more footage from my camera (DSLR, mirrorless, or compact camera) for my movies.

You can attach a Go Pro to a tripod, but even then, the footage isn't as good as other systems. The Go Pro does excell for those short action shots.
 

Lukem

WKR
Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
642
Location
Nebraska
My favorite use of a GoPro is on a pole. Take 3' of conduit, hammer the end, get the right sized bolt and locknut, drill a hole and attach with a camera tripod mount. Then you can get whatever perspective you want.

Be creative in where and how you mount the GoPro, that's where the best footage comes from, few of the videos produced are just a standard head/chest mount. Most of the time the headstrap and chest don't show what the person is doing, they just show their perspective and often (particularly the headstrap) too shaky to get really good footage.
 
OP
WV Hunter

WV Hunter

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
116
Location
West "By God" Virginia
WV not to put you on blast but your muzzle looked like it was pointing right at your buddies quite a bit. 😬

While it didn't look safe, my bolt was open until a second before I shot. You can hear me close it. He was still in front but he was clear of my muzzle. When we were within 100 yards of the dogs via GPS we had a little powwow on gun protocol. I was thankful nobody was loaded up when we were running thru the alders. That would be an accident waiting to happen.
 

Logan T

WKR
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
380
Location
Montana
I'm a little late on this thread but I'm doing the same thing WV. I have a Canon XF 300 that we film hunts with. I'm far from experienced with editing, but we have run the camera a lot in the past 2 hunting seasons and like Lukem said get a tripod, and get a good one. We used a pretty descent standard tripod with a normal head attachment, and it was steady only when whatever we were filming was not moving. You really notice how jerky the film was when you plugged it into a TV. I got a new tripod with a fluid head and it is amazing, no matter where or how fast something is moving the film is completely smooth. Other than the camera I think the tripod is the most important piece of gear for it.

I have a pretty new set up, I just got a new 27" Imac. A lot of people use Imovie to edit, they just plug their camera directly into the computer and edit using that. My camera won't do that yet, so I have to get a new program for editing. Final Cut Pro is what a lot of people use, but it is pretty spendy. I am going to bite the bullet with that though, editing on that program is super easy. There are some other programs you can find and download online that can serve the purpose, but my image quality never turns out HD how it should.
 
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