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oPro is the world’s most versatile camera. So why don’t more filmmakers use it? The GoPro does get plenty of use. 

Take for example the many GoPro videos on YouTube. There are also GoPro videos of the week. We’ve all seen or heard of the cool GoPro videos that have raked in tens of millions of views. The branded content generated with Red Bull.

Watch: The Best GoPro Videos of 2018

using the gopro

Overview

Maybe given the camera’s versatility, it’s time that content creators and developers started using the GoPro as a filmmaking tool. To do that we need to better understand what about it works so well.

How to Make the Best GoPro Video - Overview - Camera Angles

I mean, look at that GoPro camera angle!

Let’s not just figure out how to make the best GoPro videos, but how to make the best videos using a GoPro as a tool.

So let's jump in!

making gopro videos

1. Choosing angles

Of critical importance to any visual story is the choice of angles.

Using a GoPro is no different than using any other camera. So...

Choose your angles wisely.

How to Make the Best GoPro Videos - Baseball Image - Camera Angles

See? This angle alone makes the GoPro enticing

The similarities to any other camera angles end there. A GoPro can go places no camera has gone before. Like... 

Inside a Bear's mouth!

A Grizzly ate my gopro

In one of the most popular GoPro videos ever made, a bear actually started eating the camera. If you're trying to figure out how to make a cool GoPro video, just feed the camera to an animal.

But there’s more to it than that… isn’t there?

If using this unique POV quality of the GoPro can create success then just think... what unique perspective will help tell your story differently?

What angle can you show us that we've never seen before?

How to make the best GoPro videos for your Brand - This bald eagle knows how to make the best GoPro video

This Bald Eagle knows how to make the best GoPro video.

Does your story have an opportunity to put the camera somewhere it's never been? Better yet, can your product be demonstrated with some unique camera angle or vantage point?

This should start to get you thinking about cool GoPro video ideas.

A major key to learning how to make a cool GoPro video is finding the right  angle

Guitarist Brad Paisley took this GoPro and gave us a rare look at playing the guitar. Remember: the GoPro is always best as a point of view. 

What point of view does your story need?

How to make the best GoPro videos for your Brand - Kayak GoPro Video

Wondering how to make the best GoPro videos? Start with what you see.

Start thinking about various cool things to do with a GoPro and build your concept out from there.

build your brand w/ gopro

2. Use the unique fisheye effect

Yes, another noticeable quality of the GoPro is that fisheye quality it can have. Selfies beware! 

How to make the best GoPro videos for your Brand - Wide angle lens for filmmaking

Probably not the profile pic you were going for...

Try using the fish eye to your advantage!

For example, note that animals and creatures always seem to work well at this angle. 

GoPro Dog Faces is one of the best GoPro movies simply for its cuteness factor

The fisheye effect is pretty amazing when it comes to dogs. 

How to make the best GoPro videos for your Brand - Dog closeup angle

Now I don’t know how to make the best GoPro videos WITHOUT a dog’s face.

The video captures our affection for our dogs, from the angle of them we find familiar. It's also possible to decrease or remove the fisheye effect from your footage. If you want to remove it in camera, change your field of view setting to "medium", and frames per second to 30fps or 24fps. 

How to make the best GoPro videos for your Brand - Field of View

Fisheye: the wider, the more distorted

If you'd rather shoot now and make changes later, there are plenty of options for fisheye removal in post. 

make the best go pro videos

3. Use filters

If you've ever seen GoPro videos underwater, then you've seen GoPro videos with filters. Underwater footage with a GoPro can be pretty breathtaking.

The underwater footage looks a lot better when shot with a red filter to help get that proper ocean color. 

Side by side view of this GoPro video helps reveal the function of certain filters.

As you can see in this side by side comparison, if you want those ocean scapes the red filter will help achieve it.

You'll also want ND filters around to help with bright days, or particularly footage in the snow. 

Definitely get some ND filters when starting to learn how to make the best GoPro videos.

Some of the best GoPro videos are of the snowy mountains and the extreme sports that can take place there. 

what you need for gopro videos

4. Mount up!

If you really want to figure out how to make the best GoPro videos you need to think about mounts. 

How to make the best GoPro videos for your Brand - GoPro Accessories

Okay, maybe this guy is overdoing it a bit

Where you mount the GoPro camera has everything to do with the action you are trying to capture.

More animals!

This cool GoPro video idea from a few years ago is basically about mounting the camera on the surfboard to maximize the fun of watching this pig's surfing adventure. 

The 'fetch' mount is great for letting your pet do the camera work.

How to make the best GoPro videos for your Brand - Meet your new cinematographer

Meet your new cinematographer.

Check out this awesome use of the fetch mount:

Run walter run

All that happens in this GoPro video is a dog runs to the Ocean. Good enough for 17 million views

Its effectiveness is in unlocking the potential of a new POV, and that all comes down to the mount. We've seen our dogs run into the ocean. We've never run into the ocean on our dogs back.

The helmet mount for stunts is prominent in many of the best GoPro videos. 

At nearly 30 million views, this awesome video is a great example of how to make the best GoPro videos

Cross-cutting between the helmet mount and an angle of the stunts as they happen creates a breathtaking video. 

These angles and mounts can go beyond extreme sports, and biking.

Check out this video of a pickup basketball game: 

Cool things to do with a GoPro: put us IN the game. Put us IN the action.

The immersion into the action of the sport is unique to GoPro. Imagine working some of this into a bigger story, one about the products being used. The team playing. The facility?

Why aren’t we seeing more sports and sporting goods clients use the GoPro in this way?

The GoPro can a be an excellent tool in a bigger narrative. 

how to make gopro videos

5. GoPro and VR... and beyond

It's a good idea to start working with the GoPro tool now because the opportunities for it will only multiply.

With the introduction of GoPro and VR technology, we're going to see a different kind of content.

Viewers will expect to experience extreme sports, locations, and live events. Master the tools to create the best GoPro videos now.

For more, check out our video on the ways GoPro users have generated such amazing content.

For now, strap a GoPro somewhere and start creating content. 

up next

Epic Drone Shot Examples

It's a good idea to start working with the GoPro tool now because the opportunities for it will only multiply.

Nowadays, viewers expect to experience extreme sports, locations, and special events like they're there.  Another unique way to give them what they want is by using drones. Check out our next post on incredible examples of the drone shot to inspire your next shoot day.

Up Next: Epic Drone Shot Footage →
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