If you were handed 50 GoPro HERO2 cameras to disperse around the New York City streets what would you come up with? Actually, to step back for a moment, how on earth would you deal with the laborious task of controlling them all without an army of ADs poised to capture your multi-cam opus? Enter the recently launched GoPro Wi-Fi BacPac + Wi-Fi Remote Combo Kit and skater Ryan Sheckler's demonstration run from the top of the Manhattan Bridge to the storied Lower East Side skate park in promo video New York City:
Here are the official specs:
The Wi-Fi Combo Kit enables remote control, live preview and playback on smartphones and tablets, live streaming to the web, and more. The Wi-Fi Combo Kit is compatible with HD HERO2 and Original HD HERO cameras.
Wi-Fi Remote:
- Control up to 50 cameras a time, 600’/ 180m range
- Full camera control: On/Off, Mode, Shutter, and Settings
- Attachment strap, key ring, and charging cable included
- Wearable & Waterproof to 10’/3m
- GoPro App + Smartphone or Tablet (Coming Soon)
- Control your GoPro(s) with your smartphone or tablet
- Live preview & playback of videos & photos from your GoPro(s)
- Wi-Fi transfer footage from your GoPro to your smartphone or tablet and share with friends
- Live stream your smartphone as a hotspot
- Live Streaming + Sharing Directly from Your GoPro (Coming Soon)
- Live stream video or share photos and videos directly to the web from your GoPro, wherever you have a network connection (coming soon).
What’s Included:
- Wi-Fi BacPac (with built-in Li-ion Battery)
- Wi-Fi Remote (with built-in Li-ion Battery)
- Remote Charging Cable
- Remote Attachment Key
- Remote Attachment Strap
- Waterproof Backdoor
- Non-waterproof Backdoor
- 12” USB Charging Cable
While you may be thinking that the odds of your hitting the streets to shoot a skate video are about as likely as me landing a kickflip, I'd just like to pull a quote from an interview I recently recorded with feature director Ben Wheatley over at Directors Notes:
The GoPro Two is quite interesting as well so I'd like to do some stuff with that. There's GoPro shots in Sightseers, which hold up. (15:20)
Yes that's right, Wheatley's Cannes Directors’ Fortnight premiering feature, seamlessly mixed GoPro shots with the RED ONE footage the majority of the film was captured on and that was with the earlier iteration of the camera, so when used correctly the HERO2 and $99.99 Wi-Fi Combo Kit could quite conceivably graduate from their action sports heritage to those tricky shots you wouldn't dream of risking your A camera's wellbeing on.
How would you integrate the Wi-Fi Combo Kit into your production workflow?
Your Comment
13 Comments
That is awesome. I used Go pro shots in my first film it saved a scene for us. I would plan a whole fight sequence using the wifi remote and crazy locations.
June 4, 2012 at 12:06PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
I expected a lot more. After seeing other GoPro promo videos I was figuring on something epic. While I appreciate the concept, with 30+ cameras the best they could do was a weird little window effect? Meh. I get that GoPro is trying to push their cam to people as a all-in-one solution for lifestyle sports photography but the sad fact remains that unless you're sending yourself off some cliff or catching a 30' wave, your backyard outting into the woods is going to look silly..... and slow..... and small. As far as skateboard videos I've seen in the last week, this one seems a lot better:
http://fstoppers.com/skate-video-altered-route-leaves-me-speechless
Good on em for trying though. Maybe I'm tainted by absolutely despising Ryan Sheckler.
June 4, 2012 at 12:40PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
well it is a promo video, they had a couple things in mind to get across mainly the wireless control of various GoPros.
You can't really compare both videos as they were shot entirely different and for different purposes.
It was a very clean consistent edit but I do agree it definitely was missing a big wow which they tried at the end but didn't work...
June 5, 2012 at 6:59AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
Oh I didn't mean to convey that it was an apples to apples comparison. The only similarity they share is that they're both skateboarding vids, and even that as only at a basic level. But yeah, it's a promo video and it gets the point across I guess. Maybe I just expect more out of even promo videos nowadays? Hah!
June 5, 2012 at 7:53AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
Altered Route is a stunning video, nice share.
June 5, 2012 at 7:44AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
Why don't GoPro have thread on their lens so a cheap normal lens could be added so the wide angle distortion would be reduced? Then It would be more versatile. If i don't have any idea about how lenses work please call me on it!
June 4, 2012 at 5:45PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
Both the Contour+ http://contour.com/products/contour-plus and the RePlay HD http://replayxd.com/ have a 135 degree (no distortion) field of view.
Contour has had a bluetooth connection to both iOS and Android for quite a while http://contour.com/software/mobile/overview
June 4, 2012 at 7:48PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
I love the possibilities of this type of tool. It's obvious that GoPro is listening to what their user base wants and needs.
Am I the only one who did the math? That's over $18,000 worth of GoPro hardware!!!
June 5, 2012 at 6:40AM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
I thought they were gonna do a Matrix slo-mo at the end. That scene was kind of disappointing, only because the 30 go pros were set up like in Matrix, and then nothing came out ot it.
Why did they need 50 go pros for this anyways? It could have been done with 2-3 go pros easily.
Not a bad video though, some really nice shots, good editing and sound mixing.
June 7, 2012 at 1:34PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
It's most likey don't as a set. In skating the rider usually has a bunch of places he pre-plans to hit. Having a retarded amount of camera angles makes it a nice day off shooting. Not a nightmare of shooting.
June 7, 2012 at 8:16PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
Amazing video, I bought mine an hour ago, and just seeing the video cements that I made the right decision picking it up.
June 8, 2012 at 4:49PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
The WiFi-pack is interesting. But I wonder why there is NO effort made to make a program (I'm not falling into to the "app" moniker) for... you know... computers... or laptops/netbooks. We got WiFi too, you know... :(
By that I mean PC's and Macs... I feel they are oddly left out of the equation...
June 12, 2012 at 9:21PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
oh, and why can't we still not lock down exposure so it doesn't drift around, ruining the controlled experience?
June 12, 2012 at 9:25PM, Edited September 4, 7:54AM
Next, you have to modify the setup of the device for obtaining the net connection. For this function, you have to turn off the device and disconnect the Ethernet cable from the computer and ip address 192.168.1.1. Then, plug in the modem and turn it on.
June 9, 2016 at 3:48AM