Mountain Biking Videos

January 2011

Do you think you want to include Mountain Biking Videos on the website?

Yes, I think readers would like to see some live footage for each ride.

How are you going to go about making these Mountain Biking Videos?

I am not sure. I don't know a lot about it. I will have to do some research.

August 2011

As I rode the narrow ridge on the Wasatch Crest Trail I noticed a fellow filming me on his GoPro video camera. When I got to where he was standing I asked him how he liked the camera, to which he replied, "I like the video part of it, but the audio part sucks!"

What I was looking for:

I had seen many types of camera set-ups used to create mountain biking videos. Recent technology had made it possible to get good quality footage from a small and relatively cheap camera. Before I could start filming my rides I had to find a camera. But what did I want my camera to do? I am not sure "Dallas Bob" (above) knew what his camera could do (or not do) before he bought it. I decided I wanted a camera to film a complete 2-3 hour ride, provide good quality audio and visual footage, and stay within my price range (less than $150). After buying (and using) a camera, I discovered a few more features to be somewhat important. Here are my thoughts on mountain biking videos.

Length of recording:

Why record entire 2-hour rides when the end results are mountain biking videos lasting only 5 - 10 minutes?

I have found time and again that most of the interesting events happen when I least expect them ... a flock of quail flying out of a bush as I approach, a porcupine scurrying across the trail, the biker in front of me crashing, or ... you never know. By the time I stop to turn on my camera these type of events were long gone. I like to take the highlights from a 2-3 hour ride and show them in a 5 - 7 minute video.

Quality of footage:

Visual Quality: One of my fellow riders (Caleb) used a camera mounted on his handlebars to make mountain biking videos of our Tabeguache Trip. Although he did a good job mounting the camera, his videos showed an excessive amount of vibration on rough trails. His film clips were so rough they were hard to watch for an extended time due to the onset of motion sickness.

I am convinced ... in order to make good quality mountain biking videos ... the camera must be mounted to the helmet. I believe all riders naturally try to keep their head steady for better vision (and fewer headaches). With the camera mounted on my head, my whole body can be used as a shock absorber ... to soak up some of the vibration. Although my mountain biking videos are still quite rough, I can watch them without feeling ill. I suggested using motion stabilization software to my video guy (Terry), but he says he likes to leave some roughness in the video clips, since it demonstrates the true nature of the sport.

I guess if we were showing feature length films, the jostling would most likely make a sailor queasy. That is one reason why we try to keep our mountain biking videos short.

The speed of the camera also affects how shaky the film clips appear. I have found 60 frames per second (fps) to be the ideal shutter speed. At this speed most cameras can give 720p (pixels) for clarity. Settings any slower than 60 fps made my videos extremely herky-jerky, and filming in 1080p ate up memory way too fast. In addition, filming at 60 fps allowed nice slow motion playback of my mountain biking videos.

Audio Quality: Another aspect I had to consider was sound. I wanted to "listen" to the ride when I got home. I wanted my audience to hear the sounds of nature, the rattling of my bike, and the narration I offer. When I interviewed people on the trail I wanted their voices clearly audible on play back.

Line of Sight:

Another disadvantage to Caleb's handlebar mounting method (in addition to the vibration problem) was recording events off the trail. He had to lift and turn his bike so it would face whatever he was filming. If he was bombing down the trail and saw a deer to his right, he would have to slam on his brakes and turn his bike so the camera could face the deer.

I wanted the camera to follow my line of sight. Whenever my head and eyes moved to look at something ... my camera lens needed to move the same way. Mounting the camera on my helmet has solved the directional problem, however, recording at the correct height is still a challenge. My brother (George) made my camera-mount (see below for more details) so I could capture the trail ahead in my normal riding posture. But when I stopped to look at something (and I was no longer in my normal riding posture) I found I had either aimed too high or low (to capture the subject properly). Many times I have ended up with a lot of open sky footage, rooftop footage, people talking but no faces, etc. I still have to make a conscious effort to lower my chin when I am recording off the bike.

Wide Angle vs. Zoom: After trying various settings, I have found the wider the lens angle the better my mountain biking videos turned out. With even the slightest amount of zooming-in the area of focus was just too narrow, and objects I wanted to capture were missed. I preferred my mountain biking videos to show the trail right in front of me, signs off to the right or left, the rider passing by me, the trail 100 feet up ahead, etc. The wider angle also helped to ease the bouncing effect of the video. Every little bump caused a major shift of subject with a narrow field of focus.

Types of cameras:

At the time of my purchase (early 2010) my best options were the GoPro, the Flip, and the Kodak Playsport. All others I looked at were either too large or too expensive.

The GoPro was the smallest, was made to mount on most anything (including a helmet), and was waterproof. What I didn't like about the GoPro was the lack of video storage capability. At that time the camera had only an internal storage card which could film about 20 minutes of footage at 30 fps with 720p. The audio recording of the GoPro was also lacking. " ... the audio part sucks!" was a common complaint, not just one made by "Dallas Bob" on the Wasatch Crest Trail.

I actually bought the Flip camera and took it on a family vacation (no mountain biking videos). The audio and visual qualities of the recordings were good. The Flip required standard AA batteries (which was great), but it also did not have a removable SD card, and was not even water resistant. I was also a little worried about the ruggedness of the Flip, how it would hold up with all the pounding. I returned the Flip after my vacation and kept looking.

The next camera I checked out is the one I am still using ... the Kodak Playsport. This camera had all the features I was looking for. The Playsport had an SD slot and used interchangeable, rechargeable batteries. I found some battery "knock-offs" online for less than $10 each (plus shipping) and bought a 16 GB storage card at Costco for $30. Each battery lasted 30-45 minutes ... so with 4 batteries (and the 16 GB card) I was able to record 2 1/2 to 3 hours of video at 60 fps with 720p clarity.

The Playsport was also water resistant (the advertising said it was "waterproof" down to 10 feet, but I took mine 2-feet underwater to film Bubby and Sissy (my grand kids) swimming, and it leaked. I had to exchange the camera for a new one.

The biggest problem with the Playsport was how to attach the camera to my helmet. I found two different mounts online but neither looked durable enough nor were they a good fit for my helmet. Another problem with mounting the Playsport to the helmet was the Record button was on the back of the camera. How could I turn the camera on and off if it was mounted to the front of my helmet?

I solved the last problem by finding a remote control for the Playsport. The remote cost $10, was like a small wafer, and worked well. I carried it in a pouch that hung on a string around my neck.

One feauture of the Playsport I have found very helpful are the sounds emitted when recording starts and stops. I can point the remote at the camera, press the record button, and when I hear a single "beep," I know the Playsport is recording. There is nothing worse than starting a ride with the thought I was recording, and then later finding out the camera was never turned on.

When I want to stop the recording or if the battery is low, this camera lets me know with a "beep-beep." That way I can immediately stop, replace the battery, and not miss out on filming something important. The "beep-beep" is loud enough to hear even when I am bombing down a trail.

To solve the mounting problem I turned to my brother George. George is one of those people that can make anything. After discussing what I wanted he quickly came up with a plan. Within an hour or so he made an aluminum bracket to fit my camera and helmet.

The setup is far from ideal. To offset the weight added to the front of the helmet I had to attach an equal weight to the rear. I ended up zip-tying my multi-tool to the back which works just fine. (With this set-up I have noticed my neck getting much stronger.)

The mountain biking videos below were all filmed with my Playsport. Terry and Andrew (my video guys) are presently turning more of my raw footage into polished videos. They appear alphbetically. We will add these new mountain biking videos to the ones below upon completion.

Video-Editing-Software-Guide.com
Get more information on video editing, shooting videos for mountain biking, or making videos for anything your heart desires.

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