Whats the deal with helmet cams?

[barleyfarmer]

Back in the 90's my buddys didn't understand what the big attraction was going sledding in the mountains!So I go out and buy a camera bracket that clamped on the bottom of your helmet to hold the camera.I use my new 'small' video camera to make sled videos when we went.You want people to take a double look just go by with a 3 lb camera bolted to your helmet!!!Took some practice but it made some good videos and made all my buddies into sled heads wanting to go to the mountains!!Oh and when you played in the trees with a camera bolted to your helmet you do get pulled completely off your sled!!lLOL!!!

 

[Mikew5j]

I take video for the same reason people take pictures, to preserve memories. Like my daughter first sled ride. That stuff is priceless. I agree that editing is the key. You can easily end up with hours of boring stuff.

 

[moyiesledhead]

I don't think it's a fad. It's just another way to add to the fun.

I just finished putting together a 28 minute video of our last 2 seasons and we've all watched it dozens of times now. We watch ourselves more often than the commercial videos, of which we have quite a few. I didn't do it for youtube or facebook....in fact you wont see it there because I used music I wanted to hear, not what I could legally display. Between us we have 4 helmet cams and my one good camcorder. You can't make a complete video with nothing but helmet cam footage and have people watch the whole thing without rolling their eyes. Most of what I put together was short pieces of helmet cam combined with longer sections of camcorder.

A little advise if you're going to tackle something like that though. Tell the people with the helmet cams to go through their video and only give you the good stuff. I bet I spent over 200 hours going through other peoples video to pick out the 10 - 15 minutes of good helmet cam footage I actually used. I'm not gonna do that again!

 

[teeroy]

I've always been a AV freak. used to pack around a full size VHS camcorder when they first came out for consumer use back in the 80's whenever we were biking or sledding. got my first helmetcam ten years or so ago, a viosport that required you to pack a video camera around to connect it to. since then I've acquired 3 more, and have a couple thousand hours of footage in my library. of that, there is probably 2 hrs of stuff I would call "worthy". I prefer the solid mount footage, camera attached to the sled/bike....lots of people get vertigo watching POV footage.

I have nothing against them, but the go pro looks like a dildo on top of a helmet.

 

[Showtime]

I agree may many of the posts in here, the main reason i am currently shopping for one is A) to prove to buddies that couldnt make the trip that the snow was literally over the windshield and B) No-one wants to stop and take video of the next guy, everyone wants to be shreading the perfect pow or hitting the perfect jump. As others mentioned i'm also not a huge fan of this footage but at least it gives me a chance to video myself whenever i want.

 

[Himark]

Memories!!

another thing....capturing on video what MOST people on this planet will never do:

sit on top of a mtn
eat lunch with great friends lookin out over mtn tops
havin a 150+ hp between under their feet climbing 1000's of vertical ft


i can go on and on. people that dont ride, dont get what we do or why we do it. i like to get that on film. i also like to laugh....and some of the ch!t we do is damn right funny!

i have nearly 1.5 viewers nearly 1000 subscribers to my you tube page. guess what, im not that good of a rider. middle-low pack, out of our riding group. i ride with guys that if they had even 50 days a year to ride, could be considered pro riders.

i also make money from youtube. about 100 bucks every 2 mths give or take, depends on views. nice little throw back.

i will continue to film for i have FUN doin it. LOVE looking back at the retarded ch!t we do. and the SOUND...."BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!"

 

[takethebounce]

I don't think it's a fad. It's just another way to add to the fun.

I just finished putting together a 28 minute video of our last 2 seasons and we've all watched it dozens of times now. We watch ourselves more often than the commercial videos, of which we have quite a few. I didn't do it for youtube or facebook....in fact you wont see it there because I used music I wanted to hear, not what I could legally display. Between us we have 4 helmet cams and my one good camcorder. You can't make a complete video with nothing but helmet cam footage and have people watch the whole thing without rolling their eyes. Most of what I put together was short pieces of helmet cam combined with longer sections of camcorder.

A little advise if you're going to tackle something like that though. Tell the people with the helmet cams to go through their video and only give you the good stuff. I bet I spent over 200 hours going through other peoples video to pick out the 10 - 15 minutes of good helmet cam footage I actually used. I'm not gonna do that again!

You can actually use many songs of your choice now. What happens is if they determine there is 3rd party content which has a copyright infringement they still allow the video to be published and available but will show some advertising beside the video clip. Or they can say that the 3rd party content is band. You can simply google the songs of your choice and many times determine if you can post them to yourtube - if you wanted to be able to share to the public.

Matched third party content present:

What should I do?
No action is required on your part. Your video is still available worldwide. In some cases ads may appear next to your video.

What can I do about my video's status?

Please note that the video's status can change, if the policies chosen by the content owners change. You may want to check back periodically to see if you have new options available to you.

Under certain circumstances, you may dispute this copyright claim. These are:

• if the content is mistakenly identified and is actually completely your original creation;
• if you believe your use does not infringe copyright (e.g. it is fair use under US law);
• if you are actually licensed by the owner to use this content.

 

[Himark]

thanks take the bounce...i had no idea of this. i got vids that were takin off years ago because of the copy laws. i havent had music to a vid in years...lol

i mostly prefer this anyhow. i rarely edit too. what happened...happened...LMAO. i have a ton of vids on youtube of me breakin down, gettin stuck, hittin trees. like fawk i care. id like to see unedited versions of pro riders...it would be awesome.

i have since found out by usin my helmet cam, i talk to myself. i also have a pretty decent temper and a wide vocabulary of profane words....lol


like this one:

story- went down in a bowl that took 2 hrs to get out of. over 40 runs (2 guys), 4 stucks. there wasnt a TRACK in this bowl...what you see in this vid is ALL us..LMAO

Made it Out - YouTube

embarrasin as fawk, but its still talked about to this day...LOL

M8 HCR Tree Smash - YouTube

 

[Himark]

and my favorite dumbass moment:

Crash 2011 - YouTube


dislocated shoulder, tore muscles in my neck/back/ribs. i took the whole: "when in doubt, throttle out" a little too literally...lol

 

[Steve D]

Thanks takethebounce, I haven't posted anything to youtube yet because I figured it'd just get pulled. Good to know.

That said, I still have a pile of editing to do to all of my footage I've accumulated so far this winter. It can be a big job in itself but it goes quicker the more you do it and learn to not to be afraid of chopping up your footage.

 

[Himark]

Thanks takethebounce, I haven't posted anything to youtube yet because I figured it'd just get pulled. Good to know.

That said, I still have a pile of editing to do to all of my footage I've accumulated so far this winter. It can be a big job in itself but it goes quicker the more you do it and learn to not to be afraid of chopping up your footage.

that and taking much shorter vids. i found when i was trying to edit, longer vids took so LONG..lol. now i am trigger happy. on/off much more throughout the day. way easier to edit and just better vids too.

 

[Steve D]

And I should add, my footage is getting music to all of it... I've had this persistent cold for the last two months so every couple minutes in my footage you get to hear *schnork* *shhhrk*

Probably the worst flaw I've found with having the liquid image goggle camera...

 

[fnDan]

it's all about capturing the fun and sharing it with friends. I've never posted anything on youtube. We get together and watch the videos or we watch them as soon as we get back to the hotel.
I've got 2 of the older bullet cams that connect to a mini DV camera. Trying to figure out what to do with them now that I have the Drift.
I think if you really want to get good footage you need to set up a shot and let your friends know. That way I get the satisfaction of getting a good shot, which makes editing more fun, and your friends get great shots of them riding.
I plan on shooting guys in our group and limiting the helmet cam footage cause I look left and right so much I'm close to throwing up after a few minutes. I'm going to try putting the camera on my shoulder to see if it's better.
I have fun trying to figure out how and where to mount the camera. Found a cool DIY mount using a spring clamp so I can clamp it on the front bumper. My version has a pin so if it slips it'll just hang. I'd like to figure out what the guys in the schooled videos are using to attach to their backpacks and arc over their shoulders so they get footage of themselves.

 

[tmo1620]

I got a helmet cam because taking pictures and video while out riding is a pain in the ass and takes up way to much of my riding time. With the helmet cam just hit record and everything a guy does is on video. Afterwards put it on the computer and make still shots out of the video and edit up some nice riding footage. Just cause a guy has a cam does not mean he has to be pro. Going on a trip to the mtns is costly and time consuming so the last thing I want to do is take up even more time trying to take some pictures.

 

[flabbajabba]

" stooled " is that like being chit on?

LOL I'm sure Burant is a way better rider then I will ever be but I'm tired of watching him ride the same side hill in set up snow with a turbo sled? Seems like hes mastered the slushy side hill. I'd rather watch some S&M members helmet cam. We ride in more then on snow condition! Just poking fun at his "Schooled" stuff.

 

[talkinghamster]

my mom gets worried about mountain sledding and me dirt biking.

i like showing her my footage.

i gotta give her gray hair somehow!!!

 

[v10rider]

Agree with most folks. Its mainly just for fun and capture the moment for those rare deep pow days. If youre going to post something, IMO 2-3min is probably the max length. The last thing i want is to watch someone's POV movie that are 15-20min long. On top of that, it is usually better when you have a subject in front of you like another rider. Get creative with angle.

 

[blackie205]

2011 polaris pro rmk in the deep pow of revelstoke bc - YouTube lol sorry i had to do it,and for me i like to look back on my riding to c what i can do better or lines i missed or even rpms im pulling and temps,but best of all memories man i love sleddn i live to ride

 

[RXN]

always looking to capture a great crash or wreck, even an awesome stuck. and cause I don't have T.V. I make videos on my computer and watch them all summer long. ha ha :d

 

[Shortcut]

Unlike some, I use mine to explain to the wife why I need to spend more money on my sled! Yup, known to crash once in a while!