I normally take stills photograps.
But last weekend I took some video of sone jet skiers, and really enjoyed the movenent and dynamics of shooting in video mode.  And I was amazed by the footage I capured.
So today I was inspired to visit some sites where I hought  that movement would add someithing to my shots, and that I could actually produce a decent video film.  However I nealry lost P3 on 4 occasions in the last 3 days.
These were due to concentation on the video side of things and maybe lack of concentration on the saftey of P3.:
1. First tme, over the sea recordig jet skiers.  The Phantom was covered in seawater.
2 Today I nearly flew into the ground trying to capture low level shots, not realising that the ground was comming up to meet me.
3. Again, today I nearly smashed into a lighthouse not realising how close I was.
4. Today flying though a gate in a wall nealy cost the P3, I had only inches to spare.
All the above were avoidable and I only took the risk because I was trying to get closer to the action.


So my thinking is that if you want exciting, moving pictures, then you take far more risks than the stills photographer.
Respect to the moving pictures community.  I feel very lucky to have survived so many risky situations in the last few days .   I'll be back to shooting stills next week!!

i think thats why we see so many films with edited clips strung together, creates great effect but practically its because the in between shots are just flying to the right location etc

i've played around with reversing clips to create a more interesting composition - flying backwards seems more excited to me than fowards.

To do a good video does not mean you need to include the whole process of getting there, all you need is the few seconds of vision you want to show in your video, the rest is garbage, planning video shots is very important, for me it sometimes takes weeks of planning the shots before i go out and venture in it.

I know what you mean. I often get myself thinking while shooting a video "Wait! ... was the tree I need to avoid to the left or to the right?"

I can be scary sometimes but at some point, you will get better sensing surroundings. Take it easy and step by step you will get more confident.

Editing is a must for videos. First you need to get shots right, second you want to get the colors right. The Phantom 3 camera is very limited. This process it not simple to get "perfection".


Latest:


It all depends on the day/location but lately I can use about 1 minute of video for each 5 minutes recorded. Editing, goes about 2 hours per minute of movie. It all depends if I already have a song, amount of shots, etc.

Cheers!

Edit: Post was too big.

Paniza Posted at 2015-10-1 03:37
I know what you mean. I often get myself thinking while shooting a video "Wait! ... was the tree I n ...

Did you use an ND filter for these shots? Thinking about getting one, maybe a graduated 16-8 and then either a 4 or 8? suggestions?

Don't give up! You can capture video at a higher resolution and crop in to the action... best to be safe

ksunsingh Posted at 2015-10-1 01:28
Did you use an ND filter for these shots? Thinking about getting one, maybe a graduated 16-8 and t ...

Yes I did use ND filter. ND 16 Pol on this case.

After few months of using home made ones, I decided to get the 6 pack Polar Pro.

Very happy with them. Quality is there and not much heavier than the original filters.

Life is a lot easier now. All I have to do is to point the phantom to the shot, get the EV number and apply the appropriate ND. Unscrew old out, screw new one in.

With the home made, I had to unscrew, change the filter, clean and screw it back. Nightmare to keep it clean.

With that said, I believe ND 8 is the most useful for most regions.

Now you know why the Inspire can use two controllers; one for flying, and one for the camera.  It is hard to think about moving an object through 3-dimensional space while at the same time concentrating on video composition.  I mean, they even use opposite sides of the brain.

But don't give up.  As many have already noted, practice safe flying and create the exciting video action in post production by combining cleverly edited video clips with appropriately paced music.  This will give you the illusion of dare-devil flying while allowing you to fly another day.

HunterBrooks Posted at 2015-10-1 18:49
Now you know why the Inspire can use two controllers; one for flying, and one for the camera.  It is ...

I am an experienced flier, have over 125 flights, but the last 3 flights when concentrating on the video capture I nearly totalled it 4 times by trying to take action shots.
I think that Hunter understands this, and cites the Inspire when 2 people are involved as the best solution.
I will continue to take video, but not go for the low and fast, but more the sedate and safe.