Go Pro Video Editing and Posting

i read the sticky about posting images and videos to this site, but i had a question:  What are the best methods to get video off a GoPro camera and post videos?  Looking for a short step by step outline for a brand new GoPro user.
 
Does one just put the raw video footage file on YouTube or Vimeo and put a link on here? 

Do people use editing software (what would be recommended) and export finished mini-movies (what format? MP4?) then post to YouTube or Vimeo or other host?  How big are the posted files for a minute of video?  Does the editing take a long time?

And how about resolution?  What GoPro mode is best for kayak fishing?  1080p 60fps with wide angle?

Thanks,
Barb

I edit my videos with software rather than posting raw. I use Serif Movie Plus X5 HD.  It is cheap and easy to use for editing out the dead time. (http://www.amazon.com/Serif-MVPX5USMBRT-MoviePlus-X5-HD/dp/B004JQDHA6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369369855&sr=8-1&keywords=serif+movieplus+x5 ) I try to keep my videos under 3 minutes.  For some reason, I can watch 3 or 4 videos one after another with no problem if they are no more than three to four minutes.  But, if I see a video is 10 minutes, I rarely will watch the whole thing (unless it is cats or puppies doing cute things  ).  It is probably my ADHD kicking in.  Or, maybe my marriage is all the commitment I can handle. 

I don't have a camera that does the 60 FPS at 1080 but by older GoPros will do 60 FPS at 720 so that is what I choose.  It works great for pulling still frames from the video. Just play the video in Quicktime, pause at the frame you want (you can advance frame by frame with the RW FF buttons) and press Control C to copy the still frame. Then paste it in your photo editing software.  I use The Gimp because it is free and awesome!  But since it is a powerful tool, it can be a bit intimidating upon first use.

When I am done editing. I upload the video to Youtube or, to my SmugMug account if I only want certain people to view it. Then I post the link.

Others may have better advice than me and are much more talented than I am at making videos. I am sure they will chime in.  Your computer may also have adequate software on it.  Mine didn't which is why I purchased the Serif software.

As usual it depends. I use power director series. It's intuitive. 100 bucks. You'll want editing software. One of the huge advantages of a gopro  is with an extra SD cards and batteries you can record every minute of your trip.

You get some GREAT footage.

I think for basic editing the supplied gopro software supposedly works ok. Unless its a killer clip, I think people's attention span is under 2 minutes. Probably one. So the more footage you shoot, the better chance you get something Good. The more you shoot, the better editing software you will need.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lots of great questions. I prefer to edit my footage just a little the upload it to YouTube and post the link. I'm using a MacBook Pro with iMovie software to do my editing. It's the easiest most effective editing software I've used.
And I typically shoot in 720 as it looks great and doesn't take up as much room on my camera. It's also quicker to upload to YouTube.

Run at the highest frame rate possible on the videocam you are using, be it 720p60 or 720p120.  Why?  If you ever have something that would look good in slo-mo, the higher frame rates will give you better slow-mo.

-Allen

Run at the highest frame rate possible on the videocam you are using, be it 720p60 or 720p120.  Why?  If you ever have something that would look good in slo-mo, the higher frame rates will give you better slow-mo.

-Allen

Soooo true!  I could care less about 1080p - I wanna see it again in smooooooth sloooowww-moooooooo.....!!! 

Depending on what operating system you have for your computer,  it probably has a built-in video editing program.  I use the free program on Windows 7 and I have no complaints.

Does the GoPro require a class 10 card to get smooth HD video at 120fps rate?  Or is it OK to step down to a class 6?  I was curious if the class 10 requirement was just for 3D? 

I agree with the 1-2min clip duration!  And the slow-mo feature looks fun to play with, good tips.

I have the Hero 3 white edition. My computer is old-ish and can't handle the raw data if the footage is filmed in 1080. The preview is always choppy and that is annoying! I don't want to shell out the dough for a new computer! Thanks to this thread I just figured out that I should try lowering the resolution. At 720 30fps it runs smooth. Part of me is upset that it isn't running at its full potential but then I remind myself that it's just  video of me fishing. It doesn't have to look absolutely amazing. At least for now...I guess 720 will have to do until I can justify buying a new computer.
As for editing software...Windows Movie maker seems easy enough. I'm not an idiot but I'm not completely tech savvy either. I had no problem figuring out how to edit some clips and have music playing over it.

To pipe in about the length of video. I love the videos that go for 10 minutes! Kayak fishing videos are about the only thing that I can sit still for. Plus they help me get through the work day 
So I encourage the lengthy YouTube uploads!

I have the Hero 3 white edition. My computer is old-ish and can't handle the raw data if the footage is filmed in 1080. The preview is always choppy and that is annoying! I don't want to shell out the dough for a new computer! Thanks to this thread I just figured out that I should try lowering the resolution. At 720 30fps it runs smooth. Part of me is upset that it isn't running at its full potential but then I remind myself that it's just  video of me fishing. It doesn't have to look absolutely amazing. At least for now...I guess 720 will have to do until I can justify buying a new computer.

You should see if your computer can accept a discrete graphics card.  That would make it a ~$40 fix.

Yeah man, if you upgrade the video card it should work better.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

A more powerful video card may help HD video playback, but not video editing, where performance is determined by the CPU and RAM. When you preview video you are editing within the editing program, it may be choppy because the CPU is processing the video "on the fly". If you have an older computer, you may be able to edit your videos more easily by using a lossless intermediate transcoding codec. In plain English, a transcoding codec is a form of video that makes it easier to edit on lower powered computers. CineForm used to be the go-to intermediate codec until GoPro bought them. Good news is CineForm Studio is free, so if you have an older computer and are having problems with editing your GoPro footage, I would start there. Even if you don't like the GoPro editing suite, you can probably use it to convert your videos to a format you computer can handle.

A more powerful video card may help HD video playback, but not video editing, where performance is determined by the CPU and RAM. When you preview video you are editing within the editing program, it may be choppy because the CPU is processing the video "on the fly".

Partially true, but not entirely.  Part of the encoding/decoding algorithm resides in the CPU, but a large part can be farmed out to the GPU.

The CPU is alway processing the video on the fly when viewing.  In the video editing case, you may be decoding 2 streams for splicing so your CPU may be that much more bogged down.

With respect to memory, generally speaking, one HD stream can be done in <16MB of memory.  But that's the capacity aspect of things.  Older systems may not have the necessary bandwidth.

-Allen

I have thought about upgrading the video card. When I've asked my computer nerd friends for advice they all say it might not help and buying a new computer would be my best bet. None of them have offered to help pay for one haha.
I find the editing to be fine with Cineform... My problem is with the play back. It's really frustrating to try to find the good clips when the footage is skipping constantly. Lowering the resolution has corrected that issue for now. So I'm excited about the camera again. Thanks for the advice, I hope a video card upgrade will be enough to handle the high res video I would like to shoot. I really hate to spend cash on a computer when I would rather buy fishing gear!

My advice for anyone looking into getting a camera. Get bigger or multiple SD cards and spare batteries. I left my go pro on rather than dealing with the remote. The fishing was slow right up until my battery died. Once it was dead it was hard to keep a fish off! And then suddenly whales! I was bummed that I missed all the good footage. Go figure. That might fall under the DAMHIK thread.

Anyway, thanks again.

What are the specs on the computer you are running?  What processor?  What frequency?  How much memory?  What graphics card?  Etc.

-Allen

I will have to get back to you on that. I'm at work right now! It's an old Dell I got back in 08. I realize that is pretty vague.