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Solo Third Person Filming While on the Water
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mamero



Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Posts: 380
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:28 pm    Post subject: Solo Third Person Filming While on the Water Reply with quote

In the interest of self improvement I am curious if any of you have solutions for 3rd person filming while on the water. I have a Go-Pro and Flymount which is useful for mounting anywhere on the clew or mast. Very useful but, there are times I would really like to see my performance in the third person as someone on the beach would see. I am working on gybes and this perspective could be quite useful. Whenever I sail I am either sailing solo (other people may be around but I do not know them) or, the people I am with are also out windsurfing which does not really work. In an ideal world I could just put a camera on a tripod and leave it on the beach. In realty, the camera rig would either be stolen, knocked over by gusts, or have seagulls standing and pooping all over it.

The first idea is to find a clear camera case and somehow secure it to a fixed object with an unobstructed view of the sailing area. The challenge with this is that the object you secure to could be so far away that you would like like an ant on the water.

The second idea is to park my vehicle pointing at the sailing area and use a dash cam type of setup. Again, distance from the sailing area is an issue. My usual sailing spots do not accommodate parking with a clear view of the sailing area from inside the vehicle.

The third idea would be to purchase a drone with auto tracking. These are getting much cheaper. This would be excellent for filming but there are serious liability issues (correct me if I'm wrong) if you are trusting a drone to just follow you around while sailing with no one manning the controls. Furthermore I don't know about the idea of using a drone in wind and over water. If it's windy enough for a good session it's perhaps too windy for a drone (piloted or auto).

So what can one do or is what I'm asking unrealistic without assistance from a second person?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've thought and often commented about third party observation and/or videoing for decades, and have very frequently been ordered in this forum to provide videos of my sailing.

After I get through laughing at the latter, I try once again to figure out how to achieve that without consuming too much of my time or ANY of anyone else's time. Even the face to face request from an international professional videographer to record my sailing was too much to accommodate, as he insisted it had to be done at his convenience and venue hours away. As you say, it's just too freaking much to ask of us or others, and the hazards and realities of tracking drones don't really help ... yet. I also fully agree that POV camera footage, even from the boom or mast, just doesn't define the action clearly enough for instructive feedback. There are just too many variables to interpret it clearly, at least for me.

I suppose one could lay out LOTS of cash to buy high-end long-range equipment and pay a pro to operate it for a day -- and HOPE you pick the right day -- but it would be cheaper to fly or drive to a destination venue and pay a famous instructor to teach you. But, then, I've wasted a lot of money and time in least three tries at that, to no avail. I HOPE that's improved since trying it in Corpus, the Gorge, and Hawaii. Assembling wind, competent instructors, and the right gear on a set timetable is even more difficult than it sounds.

We've all said and heard it said countless times: "I'm gonna learn to carve planing jibes next season." Got news for ya: it's gonna happen when it happens. For some, that means one day; for others, 10 years. I've seen MANY WSers give up on WSing altogether after many years of saying, "I'm gonna learn to carve planing jibes next season." Have fun, keep trying, get in every moment of TOW possible, try all the ideas and sources you can find, and one day (for some) or one season (for some people) it will click. I went from 1% success -- if that -- to occasional 90% success days literally overnight, followed a year or two later by frequent 90% days, aided by three changes: a different technique, easier-jibing gear, and MUCH more aggressive attempts.

Hang in there.
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joethewindsufa



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1190
Location: Montréal

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i remember looking for the same thing - before drones

now searching is more difficult for this unless one excludes drones !!
(self tracking drones may work - if there are NO kites !!!)

there are still options out there - none of which i have tried - yet ...

http://icrowdnewswire.com/2017/03/08/pivot-follow-camera-mount-wearable-tracker-auto-tracking-technology-captures-amazingly-smooth-panning-action-shots-camera-smartphone/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV-xvxP3DHA

sometimes if someone follows you, it looks pretty good too !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a25upXOWkQ

matt pritchard does this too

https://vimeo.com/175182256
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mamero



Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Posts: 380
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A fellow windsurfer on another forum recommended a Soloshot 3. It looks cool and certainly would do the trick but man it's PRICEY. It also could be hard to prevent anyone from stealing it while you are on the water. Perhaps the theft thing can be sorted out somehow.

Here's a couple youtube vids of it in action.

https://youtu.be/ca6KJ88wguI?t=10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KTaDUlq3z4
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mamero



Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Posts: 380
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

joethewindsufa wrote:

now searching is more difficult for this unless one excludes drones !!
(self tracking drones may work - if there are NO kites !!!)


Good point! Drones wouldn't work. Kiters, other windsurf sails, and sailboats would be major collision risks.

A land based system is the way to go.
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mamero



Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Posts: 380
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe I should just mount a go pro with a gimble to an inner tube and tow it behind with a rope. Laughing
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah did you check the recent 360 videos?
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westender



Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 1288
Location: Portland / Gorge

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get a sailing buddy to follow you around with a helmet cam.

Last edited by westender on Sun Jan 06, 2019 3:27 pm; edited 5 times in total
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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A reasonable quality following drone is what you want, unless there are
kiters near by. Set the height just above the top of your mast and out
in front and to one side of you by like 40 feet and you shouldn't have any
windsurfer interference. It's an expensive proposition though, since
something that will stay in the air and is waterproof in sailing conditions
is going to cost you a minimum of $1500.

Or, you can do like Mike says and get some lessons. Definitely cheaper
initially.

There's always the long pole. I use a 3rd Person Shooter rig
for Gorge video, but the objective is different (see the 1st 7 seconds here
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&ar=2&video_id=puLKIWU4SXM).
A 5 or six foot boom arm might get it done, but I'm thinking one crash
would probably destroy the thing (and you would crash while learning)

-Craig
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Or post your jibes gopro vids here?

I agree with the others, get filmed by someone else and film them. Try to jibe as close to shore as possible both ways.

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