GoPro rentals at the races???

[sixstringsteve]

GoPros are great little cameras that you can wear while you race. What most people don't realize is the difficulty and expense of getting a GoPro video up and edited. The gopro costs $300, the memory card costs $10-90, the hardware required to edit it is intense (aka, don't try this on your 3 year old laptop), and the video editing software isn't cheap or easy to use for most people. To help bring the GoPro experience to others, I have created a few little packages to help film your events. This won't make me a millionaire, but it will help me and my assistants pay our race and clinic fees.


Quick price list:
Package 1 - Post-Race Practice - Free
Package 2 - 1 hr GoPro rental - $10
Package 3 - Daily GoPro Rental - $20
Package 4 - 1-day GoPro Rental + Video Edit - $50
Package 5 - Shadow - $20/hr
Package 6 - Promo/sponsor me/commercial (price negotiable)
Package 7- Instructional Design (price negotiable)


Package 1 - Post-Race Practice - Free
Anyone who wants to be on YouTube can find me after the race, and I'll follow the group around and film people. I'll go home and edit the video and throw it up on youtube like this: http://youtu.be/Rpjk20lePZU

Package 2 - 1 hour GoPro rental - $10
GoPro rental for one hour. Chest mount or handlebar mount included. You'll need your own memory card. I rent you one of my gopros for an hour. After the rental, I keep the GoPro and you take your memory card.I sell helmet mounts for $5 and a 4 gb class 4 memory card (1hr of video) for $10.

Package 3 - Daily GoPro Rental - $20
Daily GoPro rental. Chest mount or handlebar mount included. You'll need your own memory card. I rent you one of my gopros for as long as the track is open. At the end of the races, you take your memory card and I take the GoPro back. I sell helmet mounts for $5 and a 4 gb class 4 memory card (1hr of video) for $10.


Package 4 - GoPro Rental + Video Edit - $40
You get to wear the gopro as long as the track is open. At the end of the day, I take your video home and edit it to the song(s) of your choice. You'll be stuck with my editing, but I'll give you your memory card back so you'll have the raw footage as well. You must provide your own memory card and your own gopro mount.


Package 5 - Shadow $20/hr
We will shadow you at a clinic, wearing a GoPro. We have found that if you're wearing the GoPro on your head, it's tough to see your technique. If someone is following you, or filming you from the side, you'll be able to see what you're doing right or wrong. We will film your gates, your corners, whatever you're working on at the clinic. This way you can go home and analyze your riding. This will include a basic edit of your video. No memory card or mount required.


Package 6 - Promo Video (price negotiable)
This package is an opportunity to create a promotional video. This could be a "sponsor me" video for a kid, a commercial for your team, track, club, clinic, or other BMX related service. This would most likely occur on a non-race day so we'd have time to capture the exact shots you want.


Package 7 - Instructional Design (price negotiable)
Instructional Video/Instructional Design
This is my true area of expertise. If you want to create any training/learning, I'll consult with you and help design the training, create course objectives, creation, filming, editing, etc.


I sell the following (at no markup)
GoPro helmet curved mount - $5
GoPro flat mount - $5
4 GB Class 4 Memory Card (good for 1hr @720p) - $10

I have the following mounts available with the rentals:
- suction cup mount (for a vehicle)
- chest mount
- tripod mount
- handlbar/frame/seat tube mount



I don't know if there's enough interest or if it's even a good idea, so I thought I'd post it up here for discussion. i'm open to feedback. It sounds like I joined the board just to make money and pimp my services. That's not the case. There are MANY people who are far more qualified and experienced than I at video editing. i'm just trying to find a niche where the kids can have the videos they want without having to spend thousands on video equipment. As you can imagine, I wouldn't make a killing on this endeavor, but I think it'd be worth it for me with the above mentioned prices.

I'm a terrible businessman, so those with a business background are MORE than welcome to chime in. Each GoPro costs $300, and a machine that's capable of editing a GoPro video costs $1300+ plus the cost of the software. I assume it'd be worth it for a kid to rent a gopro once or twice before they decide if they want to buy one or not.

[bnd]

That's a freaking awesome idea!

b.

[sixstringsteve]

cool, thanks. We'll see if it catches on. I love my GoPro, but I have a feeling most kids won't use theirs enough to make the purchase worth it. I use mine weekly (and not just for BMX). We'll see if this drums up some interest before I invest in a second one...

[joeynsophia]

I am interested in the video editing. I have a Go Pro and a Contour GPS that I have been using all year and have a bunch of footage. The issue I have is that I have bought a few software packages and have not been able to figure out how to do edits. I am willing to "invest" in being educated on how to do it and what software to use. Let me know if you are interested....

Steve Foresta

[sixstringsteve]

I'd be happy to teach you for free Steve. First off, video editing is probably the single most taxing thing you can do on a computer (tied with high-end gaming.) Add that you're editing 720p and 1080p HD video, it makes it all that much more taxing on your system.

Which editing programs have you downloaded so far? And what are the basic specs of your computer? (processor, ram, video card, os?). Vista isn't the best for video editing, but it can be done. XP is preferred over Vista, and Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate is an excellent OS for video editing (but Windows 7 home isn't).

Everyone has a favorite OS and a favorite program they use. I LOVE windows movie maker for basic video editing, but gopros and contours are too high def and overwhelm movie maker. My personal preference is Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5 since that's what I use at work, but Adoube Premiere Elements ($100) is an excellent choice for someone getting started, and they have a 30-day trial version to test before you buy. However, we can make whatever software you have work for you. No need to go out and spend more money on more software.

The tricky thing about GoPros (and I would assume contours as well) is that they record in a super high quality format that either needs to be converted to avi first, or needs to be edited on a fast system with a great video editing program.

Have you had any success performing even basic edits of your videos?

[joeynsophia]

I tried Corel and another one I cannot think of right now. I think we have Vista on the laptop and maybe that is the problem. I was able to get a few edits done of a video and then would get error messages and the software just shuts down. When I get back to town, I will get the exact specs. My cell number is 801 558 7857. Maybe we can chat this weekend and set up some time to discuss.

Thanks!

[sixstringsteve]

pm sent

[sixstringsteve]

maybe I could throw a $50 video edit/rental into the raffle. Who would I contact about that?

[sixstringsteve]

I have some neighbor kids who like to race, but don't have income. So I'll be hiring them to help film. Profits will go to pay for their race fees.

[Momof3crazyboyz]

Steve I think its brilliant! I have a 3year old thats kind of a bad ass on his bike! He turns 4 next month, so I would love to get some footage of him before then! We will be racing Rad next weekend......maybe then? let me know 801-634-3011 Mindy thanks + would you be willing to do some trade?

[sixstringsteve]

Excellent Mindy! I'll give you a call. I'll be there at Rad. I'm open to some trade work, but $ is always good too.

[sixstringsteve]

I got a little website up and running.

http://sixstringstevebmx.weebly.com/