Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/10/28/this-stabilized-first-person-f.html
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Needs more laser blasts
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Someone with audio-video editing skills needs to be on this, stat. Don’t let us down, internets…
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well, now i know for sure that is something i never ever want to do. i am definitely not an adrenalin junkie.
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The current rumor I’d seen was that this was shot on a 4K GoPro and reduced to 1080 via stabilization.
Hard to tell after the fact, but seems more likely than a gimbal (It’d have to be mounted to his chest for that viewpoint).
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just meant that I have next to know idea what you were talking about. don’t mind me, do please carry on. 
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Didn’t see the bear chasing him, though…
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Ah.
Here, I’ll explain:
The original shaky footage was shot at 4K (4096 × 2160 pixels or so) resolution on a GoPro camera.
Then, that footage was loaded into something like Adobe Premier, and it was digitally stabilized and downsampled at the same time. That means the image was cropped down to the much smaller HD resolution (1920 x 1080), and that allowed the computer to stabilize the image. This video gives a quick look at how it’s done (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJWPyE6NfmE) That said, the more “extra” pixels you’ve got to work with, the better (as the computer has more space to stabilize without encroaching the shot…), so starting at 4K and being able to go to 25% of that means you can get it buttery smooth like this.
The alternative setup would be a powered gimbal holding the camera- that would physically stabilize the image, but given the camera’s position and the nature of the terrain, I don’t see a way to have done it like that.
Anyway.
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I’m not convinced that’s just image stabilisation, as I’d expect the camera to be moving up and down a lot more than it is in that sequence.
My guess is that they’re using something like Microsoft’s Hyperlapse technology:
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Hmm, wouldn’t that crop (using only 1/4 of the original image) make this video a lot less wide angle than it is? We still see a lot of the arms and the handlebar. Ofc you could crop less, but then you’d get less stabilization - and you’d not want variable crop, then you’d have “zooming in and out” during the video. Or you could start out shooting with a fisheye or something… but do these cameras come with that option? I had thought they were all fixed-lens.
PrettyBoyTims suggestion is quite intriguing.
They’re pretty wide angle to star with- and I believe there are in-camera options that alter the field of view.
Totally possible it’s a Hyperlapse-esq rig- someone elsewhere had suggested a cell phone running Hyperlapse on a chest rig…
Crotch-cam?
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It looks very pixelated watching it on my computer, is that just youtube’s compression (or possibly my connection, though it’s usually pretty good) or did the original video look like that?
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My guess is it’s mounted to the front or underside of the seat. So more or less.
And this is why I don’t get too worked up about wearing a helmet when I ride my bike - head injury statistics include people who do this kind of thing, as well as those who zoom around in a tight peloton at 45 km/h on 3 kg of carbon fibre that cost more than a small car. I cruise along real chill-like at 20 or 25 on flat pavement.
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i’ve seen too many gopro youtube videos, lol – i kept waiting for him to round a corner and collide with a bear or a hiker, lol
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In the YouTube comments, Steve Storey mentions the gimbal he used:
I was using the z1 Ryder 2
Sinan Siday - no after effects. This footage is straight off the card from the GoPro. It was shot in 4K on a gimbal. The reason for the warping would be most likely be the 24 fps and wide fov
MaxMouche - just a gimbal and the GoPro hero 4 black set to 4K superview. No post done whatsoever
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I’m guessing this is closer to what the rider experiences than the utter chaos of non-stabilized videos. With all the neat compensation and filtering that human perception is capable of.
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