Go Pro. Not just for the Adventurous.

I like to think of myself as an adventurous girl. I’m into skiing, biking, hiking and getting into all kinds of dangerous situations (more on that later).  I’m also curious.  I do tend to question the conventional and try new things out.  So when the opportunity came for me to shoot a reality home makeover series, (“Shack Attack”)  I was all in.  The only challenge was what to shoot it with?  I wanted to use a camera that was very portable, and could allow me to get great shots and follow the action.  I didn’t want to use any of my professional cameras, because they work with prime lenses, and it would simply take too long for me to change the lens and risk missing the shot.  So I turned to my Go Pro Hero 4 Black camera.  I really wasn’t sure if it would work.  It was definitely a case study in trial and error.  After the footage was shot for the first episode, I learned that the audio was sub par.  It was too hollow sounding and muffled.  I wanted to keep going with the Go Pro, however, because the footage was working.  The wide angle lens really allows for great coverage of the entire room (which was essential in a home makeover series).  I was also entirely impressed with the cameras ability to lighten shots that appeared dark while shooting.  For episode 2, of “Shack Attack” I made a few modifications.  I bought an external mic and it improved the audio ten fold! I also used a handheld tripod/steadicam, so that I could easily follow the action. In our final episode, I did break out my Panasonic AF 100 to shoot the after shots (3:45-4:15) in the shack.  You can really tell the difference in quality.  Using the Go Pro allowed me to singlehandedly follow two great gals around to capture their talent at decorating and remodeling.  I even got to make a cameo appearance at the very end.  Shooting with the Go Pro Hero 4 Black brought me back to my news days when I used to rush out in the station issued car and literally chase people down for comments.  It is portable, and with a few modifications, totally capable of producing reality content.  If I had this camera in 1995, I would have used it to help break up a phony fortune telling ring in Connecticut… but that’s another story. Let me know what you think of our final Shack Attack episode.  Post your experiences so that we can compare notes. (Http://headlineproductions.com).