(Phys.org) —What happens when you construct an array of GoPro cameras is the question that is answered in a YouTube posting that is hard to see just once. Permagrin Films' Marc Donahue used 15 GoPro cameras to shoot a video that was posted on YouTube, where one can see him testing out the results of his arc-shaped rig in varied scenes of creatives' everyday good lives, cycling, drumming, jumping on the grass, transforming movements into acrobatic stunts. The effects are visually interesting, in the way he manages a mix of slow motion, "bullet time" moves, and free-frame effects.
The rig of cameras managed to create numerous effects in transitions that were smooth. Donahue said he looked forward to creating an even smoother look with future attempts, and that he planned to release a music video using more of the array technique.
A CBS News comment on the film expressed surprise that more filmmakers were not following Donahue in using "a gazillion GoPro cameras" for moment-capture with special effects. In his wisdom, he also added, "I suppose there would end up being some poor editor who would to go through and edit a gazillion hours of footage."
Actually, after another trial of the camera array technique, this time with a drummer as the subject, he had been asked by an interviewer how he managed to pull off the post-production editing. He said the difficult part was trying to match cameras both in exposure and in color correction. In the end, he said, he organized everything down to a split second. He used multiple sequences per take, and stacked a final build sequence.
"It took a day to convert the footage, which was 750 gigs of data. I was done with the edit in three days. It was a lot of work, over 12 hours a day."
His Permagrin Films is most known as the creation of the Dream Music series. Among the company's technical specialties is motion-control timelapse.
GoPro, which supplied the cameras for the array, is a camera company that defines itself as an activity image-capture company. Its Hero lineup of cameras has fueled company growth. The company sells wearable and gear-mountable cameras and accessories for image capture in high definition.
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More information: www.youtube.com/user/DonahueMarc?feature=watch
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