Merlin-ing at Starcross - or 'how not to sail' (mainly me in that case...)

Tim 
3613

Tim, the video was brilliant. I want one of those cameras - can you give us details?

Fantastic! Great footage. Thanks for sharing.

Tim, I checked your video again - you used a GoPro HD camera - presumably a Surf Hero model.

Cheers, yes it was a GoPro Hero HD.  I use the attachment bits from the bike helmet version to attach it to the boat.

That's great Tim.  I really like the footage taken with the camera mounted on spreaders.

Now, did you do your turn after that 25 buoy rounding ;-)

Looks like the Turners need some mark rounding practice (@ ~1:20)!

Missing all the Starcross Merlins greatly (Charlotte especially misses Steve) but JT says that BAU will be finished for pick up on 14th Jan, so see you at the Steamer!!

Hi Tim,

Great video.

Being an avid Gopro footage taker on the merlin also,  I do rather struggle with getting decent editing done. What software do you use and what resolution on the GOpro did you find worked best?

Thanks

"Now, did you do your turn after that 25 buoy rounding" - trust me I wouldn't be smiling if I'd hit it, there's that big metal eye sticking out of side of the buoy!

Mark - I use Sony Vegas Platinum 10 for the editing.  I saw it half price on Amazon back in the spring and so picked it up for £30.  Has proved pretty intuitive, though it does take a bit of fiddling to get it to work properly and can be a bit unstable.

I think most of the HD footage was on 720p 60fps - Thinking about it this is probably a mistake as the 960p setting gives a greater field of view and then I could then crop to the bits I need.  It does seem to be a bit lucky dip as to whether you get any decent footage.  Either the battery runs out or the card isn't formatted or it's simply facing the wrong direction...!

Roll on the Steamer (if I escape from the North Sea in time...)

Tim & Mark, I've got the Sony Vegas Movie studio software too. As Tim suggests, it's not too easy to get to grips with - mainly because it is so rich in features. You can get version 11 on Amazon now for less than 20 quid, and with free delivery. That is amazing value.
I've got loads of 1970s Super 8 cine footage of Merlin Rockets racing at Salcombe and elsewhere. They have all been digitised and now reside on a hard drive in my PC. Of course these are silent films, but Tim's videos on the Vimeo website have shown me what can be done with a suitable music background. This winter will be a good time to get editing!
Tim, I purchased a GoPro2 yesterday (also from Amazon) and look forward to using it.

The new one?  Definitely looks good - I think the wifi controller would be an excellent addition too.  Bit of a pain having to switch the camera on before you go on the water at present, probably ends up using up 1/4 of the battery life just waiting for the start.

Amazing wife wrapped a new GoPro Hero3 for my xmas present... fab!  now need to figure out howe to work it and attach it to bikes, boats, surfboards etc....
I'm now pondering editing software and wondered if anyone out there knows of any free stuff (the one on the GoPro site doesn;t seem to work/download at the moment).