HD video shooting Tips

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chefmarkt69

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Hi,
I have a samsung HD video camera and was wondering what are some good tips on shooting rocket launchs? Thank you
Check out the link below, I am shacking because it was my L2 attempt

https://youtu.be/syKWe8pGlCs
 
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Here's a couple:

--Set to manual focus at or near infinity. That will eliminate the annoying focus-hunting that plagues a lot of videos.

--Start out zoomed out more than you'd like so you don't lose the rocket in flight. You can zoom in as it slows down.

--Keep recording at least until the rocket is under full chute, especially if you have a good zoom and have the rocket in sight. There is a wealth of information to be gained from analyzing recovery failures from HD videos; we've only started to scratch the surface.

--Put your videos on YouTube with descriptive keywords so they can be found. Kit name, motor size, failure type if applicable, etc.
 
Besides Ted's:
Tips for actually keeping the camera on the rocket:
Zoom out unless you are experienced. I see lots of people zoomed way to far in and the rocket never makes it in the frame.
USE THE VIEW FINDER this makes a HUGE difference in the quality of the footage
Know the speed of the rocket. (does the rocket look small and have a big motor?) Have a mental video of what the flight might look like before the rocket launches.
Be smooth: Use one slow, arching motion to follow the rocket, lots of people jerk the camera around to much, trying to center it on the rocket.
It's not good to film a rocket with a tripod, I find you need more control over the camera.

It's also interesting to have different angles. Personally, I like the 3 cam set up: Pad cam, onboard and ground cam that tracks the rocket.

Editing:
Unless it's a rather unusual rocket, don't include pad set up. It might be important to YOU but no one wants to see more then like 10 seconds of pad set up. I find myself skimming over the pad set up completely.
If you use music, don't include it for the boosting stage in the flight, If the music overpowers the sound of the motor, it ruins the effect (IMHO). Save the music for the recovery.
I like to use a picture of the rocket instead of a pad set up.
Clearly label what motor is used.
Slow motions are cool but they shouldn't last forever. Try to shorten slow motion time to only the interesting parts of the flight.
Typically, My ideal video for one flight is from 30sec-1:30sec.

All of this being said, I break my own rules quite a lot.

Check out my youtube channel in my sig for my videos.

All of these are my own personal tips accumulated from a few years of filming club launches.

Alex
 
Ok the Pres form NAR responds! So cool thank you and I do have a few that I will put on youtube. I have no problem shooting low power and mid power rockets but and a big but high power rockets really leave the pad fast. So they are my weekness. I have followed the tips both you and Alex have given but I lose them really quick and also when out in the day light it is hard to see the veiw finder when they are up from the pad. Would you have any tips on hpr shooting? Thank you again Alex and Ted
 
Strap an optical viewfinder to the side of the camera and align it as well as you can. Electronic viewfinders have lag and that can make it harder to follow rockets.
 
I strongly disagree with using background music in videos. Not helpful or informative, unless you do some really cool synchronizing with the music, or if the audio is utterly useless (winds at sustained 19mph).
 
Strap an optical viewfinder to the side of the camera and align it as well as you can. Electronic viewfinders have lag and that can make it harder to follow rockets.

A couple of cheap alternatives to buying a viewfinder are taping a piece of body tube to the side of the camera and using that or, if you have a SLR camera, mount them both on a bar and use the SLR to aim. You can use the SLR to shoot a few stills while you're recording.
 
I find the use background audio, when properly done, to be very useful.
In the case of the videos I have seen posted from many of the rocket cams, a perfect example would be to dub in audio during descent, for those videos that share the entire descent.
Listening to music (especially rocketry themed) beats the heck out of listening to wind!
Greg
 
I strongly disagree with using background music in videos. Not helpful or informative, unless you do some really cool synchronizing with the music, or if the audio is utterly useless (winds at sustained 19mph).

It's not a real rocket video unless it's got "Rocket Man" playing over the top :wink:

Krusty
 
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