Use GoPro Studio software
Studio 2.0, which replaces Cineform Studio, allows you to edit your video directly. The timeline,more accomplished, allows you to put the rushes end to end, cross them, add titles, put music, and many other things. Studio 2.0, does not in any way compete with Adobe Premiere or Final Cut, but makes creation accessible to all.
One of the main advantages of the software, in addition to the features mentioned below, is to manage both the format of GoPro clips shot at different resolutions and frame rate, but also the .mov and .h264 format of Canon and Nikon to mix GoPro rushes with SLR-turned rushes. So there is no need to go through a rushe conversion step that can be long and tedious.
GoPro Studio 2.0 allows you to:
- Mount the timelapses photos shot at the GoPro directly in the software
- Edit, paste, and cross-reference video clips
- Use color editing templates
- Add titles, music, and soundtracks
- Reduce the fisheye effect
- Slow down or speed up videos
- Export video captures to photos at full resolution
- Edit GoPro 3D videos (subject to system own)
You can download the software for free here
The software contains pre-built templates directly inspired by the most popular videos. You will have access to all the settings of these videos and will only have to replace their clips with yours to get a result closer to what GoPro produces with its videos.
Below is the demo video of GoPro Studio:
Slow motion makes it possible to break down a movement, to highlight details. We will see in this paragraph how to achieve this effect, to be used without abuse.
Set the GoPro for idle
It is necessary to set a frame rate of 60 fps, 100 fps, 120 fps and 240 fps (in WVGA). So choose the GoPro mode that suits you according to what you want to slow down, the higher the number of frames / second the more we can slow down the image. Otherwise, the film will have a bad slow motion, and will give the impression of a lack of fluidity.
To find the right slow motion speed, simply apply the following formula:
Just divide the number of frames per second to which we want to convert the clip by the number of frames per second with which we shot the video sequence which finally gives the percentage of the actual speed at which the video will be played if we comply with 120fps in 24fps. Obviously, this calculation is an example, you can replace 24fps with 25 or 30fps.
Remember that 24fps is the accepted limit to keep an image smooth when playing at normal speed. The 120fps at the bottom is also an example, it will have to be replaced by the number of frames / second with which you recorded your sequence.
Turn up the slow motion with GoPro Studio
We will now use the GoPro Studio software created by GoPro, downloadable for free on PC and MAC, which allows before opening the editing software, and simplify the unpacking. You will get the same results, better, as with its predecessor Cineform Studio.
You can download here the Cineform Studio software or the newer version GoPro Studio
The software makes it possible in particular to:
- Cross-check the sequence in length to remove the parts that we are not interested in.
- Flip a clip vertically if you flipped the GoPro (and not set the GoPro to shoot at the location while upside down)
- Convert the raw clip shot in 120fps (or 60fps or 48fps or whatever) to a lower number of frames per final second which will therefore create the slow motion effect.
Once the software is launched, click on "Import" to import its rushes to slow down.
Once the clip is chosen:
- If it was shot with the GoPro upside down, check "Rotate/flip" to get it back to the place. If not, skip this step obviously.
- To slow down, click on "Advanced Settings" for the drop-down menu to appear. The number of source fps is displayed at the top of the list, then you have the choice to conform your clip to a lower frame rate. For 24 frames / seconds choose 23,98fps.
- Then move the "QUALITY" slider (behind the drop-down menu in the image above) to "High" to get the best possible compression and thus have optimal export quality.
- Then click on "Add clip to conversion list" then edit your other clips by repeating the steps mentioned above and finally click on "Convert" to start the export.
Once all your clips have been exported and rendered, they will then all be conformed to 24fps (or the frame rate you have chosen) and will then be ready to be added as normal clips to your editing software, you can then start the usual editing step.
Note, this export step via Cineform Studio or GoPro Studio is essential to be able to edit GoPro videos on Final Cut Pro 7 otherwise the software does not recognize this format. Software like Adobe Premiere Pro in particular natively supports the GoPro format, so this step with Cineform is not essential, but the GoPro software is very easy to use, so it is the technique that seems to me to be the easiest to access, convenient and fast to conform all its sequences to the same frame rate.
Reduce the FishEye effect before shooting
One of the treatments regularly used on GoPro images is to remove the fisheye effect (rounded corners), although this is one of the advantages and charms of the GoPro that gives the impression of speed and field width.
If you want to mitigate this fisheye effect before filming or shooting,you can change the views field setting in the GoPro. If it is on "Wide" it will have the fisheye effect since it is the widest possible field of view on this camera. To reduce deformation, you can switch to "Medium" mode which will be a little tighter or to "Narrow" mode which will have an even tighter framing.
In this mode, the GoPro does not zoom to reduce the field of view, but captures the scene in "Wide" mode and "cuts" in this "Wide" image the part of the image that corresponds to Medium or Narrow, a process called "cropper". These "Medium" and "Narrow" modes attenuate the distortion effect compared to Wide mode, but do not remove it. Only a reprocessing of the image in an editing software can actually remove the effect.
Remove the FishEye effect on mount
This removal of the effect can be achieved very simply using the GoPro Studio 2.0 software.
Launch the software and follow this step:
1 – Import the clip(s) you want to edit
2 – Click on "Advanced Settings" at the bottom right. A small window opens.
3 – Check the "Remove Fisheye" box. (note that you will not see the change on the screen but on your exported file.)
4 – Increase the slider "QUALITY" to "HIGH" to have the best quality.
5 – Click "Add to conversion list" and then export your video by clicking "CONVERT".
Your clip has lost its fisheye distortion but retains its wide-angle side.
It can thus be seen that the white line on the road, and overall all the lines have returned to normal curves.
Remove the FishEye effect on a photo at the time of retouching
For example, you can use Adobe Lightroom photo editing software to reduce the fisheye effect with a photo. To remove this fisheye effect, there are two solutions with Lightroom:
1 – If you have one of the latest versions of Lightroom 5 (otherwise consider doing an update), Adobe has integrated the GoPro lens profile. By selecting it, it allows you to instantly correct the distortion of the GoPro's lens.
To find this profile, use the right part of the software, under the histogram, scroll almost at the very bottom and stop in the "Correction of the Objective"part.
Click in the "profile" subcategory and then check "enable correction profile".
Expand the menus in front of make and model to select the right one, and all you have to do is export your image.
2 – If you want to do otherwise or if you don't have the GoPro profile saved in Lightroom,you can do it manually. Go to the left part of Lightroom, select the "Goal Corrections" category and, click on the "Manual" subcategory.
In the transformation part, shift the "Distortion" slider to the right bottom to "100". Check the "Constrain Crop" box directly so that Lightroom directly crops the photo it has restored along the straight lines.
You will need to resize the image to take the widest possible part of the image while keeping its rectangular shape, which gives approximately the red rectangle plotted below.
The 4:3 aspect system
Whether it's to convert your GoPro videos from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect control, to remove black stripes, or to reproduce Superview mode in post-production,the 4:3 aspect control is regularly the subject of questioning by GoPro users.
The 4:3 aspect ratio captures an image in the same format as the Raw Sensor of the GoPro,i.e. the image retains the same number of pixels in width as the 16:9 mode but has a higher number of pixels for the height. Thus a 4:3 image captures more information about the height of the image than the 16:9 aspect ratio.
The 4:3 aspect ratio has many advantages:
- it allows you to film more images in height: ideal for immersive views in skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, motorcycle, etc …
- it allows you to reproduce the immersive Superview mode internal to the GoPro in post-production using a dynamic plugin
- it allows you to have the choice when editing at the time of the conversion in 16:9 between trimming the clip to give it an angle as if it had been filmed in 16:9 format or by stretching the clip dynamically (Superview type) to give an even more immersive effect.
Change 4:3 to 16:9 aspect
Method 1: Convert 4:3 aspect to 16:9 aspect message by trimming the clip
To remove the black side stripes and convert the video to 16:9 aspect factor, two solutions are possible. The easiest way is to trim a few pixels at the top and bottom of the clip to give it a 16:9 aspect ratio.
In Adobe Premiere Pro,import your clips into a 16:9 sequence and add your 4:3 clips to them. Normally, Premiere should crop automatically. However, if the black stripes persist, right-click and uncheck "Adjust to image size". The clip should then conform to the 16:9 aspect type, trimming the top and bottom of the clip to conform to the correct format. The advantage then is that you can crop up or down your clip to adjust the framing.
In GoPro Studio, you will be able to do this directly in the timeline, because, when importing a clip in 4:3 format, the software will automatically resize it to 16:9 aspect.
Method 2: Convert 4:3 aspect message to 16:9 by stretching the edges of the movie clip (superview effect)
*If you use GoPro Studio for editing, you can perform this conversion with one click. Import your clips into the software and then click Advanced Settings at the bottom of the screen. Change image size to 1080p, since your source must be in 2.7k 4:3 or 1440 or 960, and below it will appear a Check box Make 16:9. Check it. Finish your other settings and click on "Add to list conversion" or "Proceed to step 2" to continue editing on GoPro Studio.
*If you are using After Effects Motion, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro, you can download andy's Elastic Aspect Plugin. Install FX Factory,and then install the Elastic Aspectplugin.
Free download the plugin here
Once installed, open your editing software. In Premiere Pro, go to: Effects > Effects videos > Andy's Effects
To apply the effect, first create an effect layer and affix it in the line above your clip to be retouched. Drag the Elastic Aspect Classic plugin onto the effect layer.
First, make sure that the entire 4:3 clip is visible in the sequence and that the black stripes appear well on the sides. The yellow area on the image must be deselected before export by unchecking Show protected region. The protection zone can be moved by changing the value of Protection Center.
The plugin will retain a certain area of the image that should not be distorted at the time when the edges of the image will be stretched, area that is not necessarily in the center of the image. Once the area is selected in the right place, just go to the effects of the clip and in Trajectory (Premiere Pro), uncheck "Uniform Scale" and change the value of the width which should be to 100 and pass it the value that will cover all the black edges. The value usually turns to 162.
Here is the result, when comparing the different image processing processes: