"it's all video, video, video..."

I do love my kite buggying and a flip side to that is like making and editing my kite buggy videos-

Mark Crook on Vimeo

I was having a look at all my kit this morning...

"We had the chance but we were scared. We walked away. WE LIVED OUR LIVES IN FEAR!"

What's the best thing to do when you OBE?

Make sure you get it on video!

Yesterday started off fine I even checked the wind before getting the 10m Ozone Manta out, it was 8-10 knots and was forecast to drop. Hooked in and set off down the lake - all good.

This was my first outing with the Soloshot 2, after reading the instructions a few times (yes I am a man and yes I do read instructions!) I thought it might be a bit tricky to set up - but it was very straight forward and pretty simple to get it paired and calibrated.

I had some good runs with the Manta and the green LED on the front of the Soloshot 2 is really visible, even from a distance in bright sun - so you know it is tracking you. 

The wind did appear to be increasing as I was going sideways a fair bit and a gust flipped the buggy with me in it! Without the hotwire I think I would have been lofted a fair way and then dropped. The best thing was the Soloshot 2 recorded all this...

strewth mate..! from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

Only a couple of minor grazes and bruises!

Best of all I got it on video! 

Ended up playing on the Ozone Access 6m and as forecast the wind dropped! Not the best days kite buggying but a good test of the Soloshot 2.

I wasn't sure how the Soloshot 2 was going to work, I played around with the zoom levels and the positioning of the camera and the RAW footage is great. 

The only downside is my JVC camcorder isn't compatible with the auto-zoom function and the battery top up. But otherwise really happy - if not a little stiff and sore today!

my track

Stuck it...

Last time I used my GoPro kite line mount I a managed to crack it...

I have been sent a couple of new line winders from somebody on the Extreme Kites forum, but decided that before I made a whole new set up I would try gluing the two parts of mine together to see if that would hold it all together and keep the new winders as spares...

Cracked...

I managed to crack one of the line winders that I use for my GoPro kite line mount Monday when buggying,  I did get some good video though...

It is probably glueable, but would rather replace it and maybe build mark II.

GoPro kite line mount

Video - Turn it on...

kite buggying on Lake Walyungup...

Turn it on... from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

Video - a few days on October...

Kite buggying on Lake Walyungup on a couple of very different October days.

a few days in October from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

Pictures...

The weather was pretty hit and miss this morning, I seemed to manage to catch most of the showers!

Some pictures captured from the video...

Equipment checks...

The forecast is still looking good for the weekend. Got everything out this morning to check it was ready to go.

Tyre pressures, bolts tightened, both kites checked, pads, helmet, gloves and harness ready...

Then inside to make sure I have all my GoPro mounts and both GoPro cameras are fully charged...

All good just bring on the wind!

Video - Sideways...

I was playing around with trailers on iMovie and came up with this...

Sideways from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

Video - Aerial, GoPro kite line mount

A video from Sunday using my homemade GoPro kite line mount...

Aerial - Buggying with GoPro Kite Line Mount from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

Movie making...

I love making videos of my and my mates escapades in the buggy...

https://vimeo.com/baldiviskitebuggy

And also enjoy the process of editing the videos using iMovie, choosing the sound tracks and trying to do something different with the footage. I am gradually getting enough stuff together for another epic!

I think the GoPro is great and provides some superb footage and when I get my access I should be able to get some more aerial footage with my kite line mount. But I am getting bored of the wobbly helmet cam shots - unless something dramatic happens (OBE) it all looks the same...

The video I am most pleased with is my Time Shifts video...

time shifts from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

...and for this I used the GoPro mounted on a mini tripod and played around with speeding up, slowing down and reversing some of the clips. I much prefer the perspective of watching the buggy go past, either at a distance or the extreme close-ups as it makes the whole thing much more watchable.

I have been reading/watching some of the Vimeo video school for hints and ideas...

I am going to try and do more of this sort of video, with small bits of helmet, buggy and line mount. This is where the GoPro is limited, with no screen, no zoom. I could upgrade and go for one of the latest GoPro's with WiFi so that I can view it on my iPhone or iPad but think I am going to invest my Christmas money (and for the first time in years I haven't already spent it!) in a HD digital video camera...

For this I am looking at getting a Samsung HMX-F90BP it offers 52x optical zoom (52x! How close to the action can I get!), great battery life, HD and it is small and easy to use. And it is probably half the price of a GoPro! I think I can use this on the tripod or in the buggy (one handed on the bar!) - and am also hoping that I maybe able to get my wife and kids involved in getting some video of me, while I should be able to get some good video of the other buggiers on the lake.

I am also hoping to drop in on the Extreme Kites Kingston meet in January.

So watch out in the new-year for some epic new movies...

Fixed...

After the failure of my homemade GoPro kite line mount. I have now fixed it, I started by cleaning off all the old adhesive pads -

Then have re-glued the GoPro mount with epoxy adhesive, hopefully this will provide a stronger bond

Failure...

Not much wind yesterday and was trying to fly the Ozone Manta 10m with my home made GoPro line mount when this happened...

Thankfully I had the safety lanyard attached - I will have to try some stronger adhesive.

GoPro kite line mount - part II

After my first flight with the line mount and having to edit and crop the picture, I have now got the camera mounted at 90 degrees.

Before...

After...

This means the image only needs rotating and I don't lose any of the quality...

Just crusin' - GoPro kite line mount

Video - just crusin'

A beautiful winters day yesterday, low wind to start with (7-10 kph) which gradually increased as the morning went on (19-20 kph). Flying the Ozone Manta 2 10m on Lake Walyungup. I got quite a lot of use out of the GoPro line mount for some aerial shots...

Just crusin' from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

It was good to get out in the buggy after about 3 weeks of bad weather!

Tidied up...

I have played around with the GoPro kite line mount and made it a bit tidier.

From this...

To this...

I just hope it stays on - I think I need to seriously look at making some sort of secondary safety system!

It's not pretty...

but should do the job - the GoPro is now mounted at right angles so I shouldn't have to crop and rotate (just rotate) so it wont ruin the video quality...

Video - GoPro kite line mount, buggy test

Really low winds this morning and it was a struggle to even get the 10m Ozone Manta to get the buggy moving (none of the video is slow motion - it was just slow!).

The kite line mount worked really well, then used rotate and crop in iMovie to correct the way in which the camera is mounted. This did affect the quality of some of the clips, so I also played around with the size of the crops. Next time I use the line mount I will try the GoPro on r4 (tallest HD video, 4:3) to try and maintain the quality when i rotate and crop.

Overall though, I was very pleased with the results.

GoPro kite line mount - buggy test from Mark Crook on Vimeo.

New GPSr - part 2

The bike mount for the Garmin eTrex arrived at BCF yesterday (the day after it was ordered) and we picked it up this morning...

On the buggy ready for a try tomorrow (keeping fingers crossed for some wind), as only low winds are forecast I should be on the Ozone Manta and will also be able to try out the GoPro line mount...