Go Pro Studio...Take One & Two

Usual loop, nothing new.  Phantom Road to Doumont Road via Kidney Lake...

Impressed as I am by Andy's time lapse video's via iPod App, I decided to produce a time-lapse video by stitching regular video (MP4) together and then speeding it up...  I am using a Coleman Conquest helmet cam which has the option of shooting in MP4 in HD 1080P @ 30fps and shooting continuously while saving files in 1 minute segments which fit together seamlessly when played back (it's called car mode). The advantage of this is that the files can be uploaded or edited quickly if you wish to cherry pick segments from them rather than sorting through one huge file (which you can do if you are glutton for punishment).  

So I downloaded Freemake Video and stitched 38 one minute MP4 files together, but stupidly checked the "transition" setting so they fade into each other.  I then further complicated things by downloading Go Pro Studio (Free & no malware) to take that single file and speed it up to 6 times speed.  So in all this file was converted from MP4, to as GSV file (a go pro tag), an AVI and then back to an MP4...  This may have impacted quality, so, for my second attempt, I did the same project again in Go Pro Studio only, to see if the quality is improved with as few conversions as possible.  

In Go Pro Studio you can select how many times you want to speed the video up from double speed to hundreds of times...I chose 6.  So I'm not sure how a 38 minute video was shrunk to 5m30...that's more like 7 or more times...  But it's free, and as me old (Step) dad used to say, "You get what you pay for..."

Attempt Two: Ok this was fun.  Go Pro Studio allows you to incorporate slow motion into the vid, controlling it via percentage (100% being normal speed), so I have incorporated a couple of sections of 50% and one of 25%.  Given this is a free program, I am very impressed with the flexibility and quality of the resulting product.  The downside is that it does take a long time to process the video - my 38 minute video compressed to a 7 minute video in about half an hour... 

To improve the quality, maximize the video, click settings and choose HD. Pretty darn good!  Oh, and there's a secret message at the end, but don't tell Andy.  Oh, and apologies for the music, but it is better than Andy's :)...Again - it was free...

The track for this ride can be found HERE.

[Edit, Aug 21st, Andy]
For a comparison, here's the same ride filmed in time lapse at 4x speed using an iPod and the app "TimeLapse."  The last minute is unedited.  Sorry--yes, too lazy to edit it properly. 
   

  

Riding to Kidney Lake: Some Time Lapse App Comparisons (iPod, iPhone and iPad)

So, yesterday my iPod decided that it didn't want anything to do with my time lapse movie app.  I tried everything I could think of to get them to make up and start cooperating with each other, but after completely re-conbobulating my iPod's memory and polishing it's norgon adapter plate module, the app still refused to even copy onto the device.  $4.99 down the pipe!  Time for a new app!

I downloaded five different time lapse aps from iTunes and then buckled down to begin an intense workout of filming trail rides using each one, (phffff).

Here they are... the little darlings:

1.  This was the one that I was using, "TimeLapse."  I really liked it before it decided to cause me so much grief.  It's easy to use, relatively quick when processing movies and the final product is very good.  I liked that this app allowed you to get really close to 1:1 speeds, so you could create well-detailed movies that were only slightly speeded up.  All the others do the cloud moving or flower opening thing, but this was perfect for filming rides and hikes without making them too fast.  BUT IT STOPPED WORKING ON MY IPOD!  Stupid app!

2.  "Time Lapse!"  Really liked this one when it ran on my iPad, but it also refused to even copy onto my iPod (4th gen).  What can I say...  I hate it.  It will take a frame each 1/2 second, which is pretty good for my uses, although the output movie runs a a bit too fast.  Entirely useless on my iPod though.

3.  "iLapse"  Who thought of THAT name?  It's right up there with ProLapse!  With that said, it's the best of the bunch so far.  Still only goes down to a frame every half second, which makes the final movie a bit too fast, but the interface is very friendly and intuitive. The processing, when movie crunching at the end, is a bit slow, although the quality is higher than most of the others.  I like it, but I'm still looking for one that will speed up the ride just a bit, rather than turn it into a Keystone Cops episode.  (This one is used in the example below).

4. "Timelapse Camera" is really clunky!  I must be honest, I haven't really given it much of a chance yet.  After pressing the wrong buttons fifty thousand times, I decided the design wasn't too friendly and moved on to the others.  I'll get back to you on this one after I've changed the air in my tires. [edit]  Okay, my bad...  this one is actually pretty good:  I've discovered that I can get the captures down to 1/4 second, which is the best so far.  The output can be reduced to about 15fps, giving you a finished movie that runs at around 6x speed.  That's perfect for showing rides and it's the best I've seen out of these apps so far.  I'll append an example movie from this app when I get a chance.  

5.  "Lapse It Pro"  is well promoted and I was led to believe, (like a sheep to slaughter), that this was the one for me.  Not so--the interface is friendly and it looks good, but I couldn't stop it from working like a camera program that just takes lots of pictures which it throws up on the screen to create a jumpy horror show movie.  Very jerky end product and not what I'm after.  Also, this thing makes a continuous shutter sound which I couldn't stop.  Great app if your torturing someone!

6.  "Quick Lapse HD" was fantastic for about twenty minutes, but all I get now is a black screen with a nice movie camera logo on it.  Very fancy while it lasted.  Needs to be much more robust than that.         

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Alright, enough drivel.  Here is a time lapse movie of today's brief ride from Harwood Workaround to Kidney lake.  I used ProLapse., er... I mean iLapse:

output frame rate......... 30fps
take frame every..........  .5secs
total vid length.............  manual
total session duration...  manual

This is as slow as I can get this to run:  :(

iPod Timelapse Nonsense: Doumont, Bonnell and Harwood

As you can see from the previous five excellent posts, The REAL Motorcycle Diaries and DR Siouxsie's Travels have joined forces.  Paul and I have decided to manage this page between us and to pool our resources since we often ride together anyway.  This way, you get to read my hard-hitting, straight-to-the-point riding facts while enjoying Paul's verbose clatter sometimes in the same post!  Speaking of verbose clatter, here's a mindless post that's sure to lull any reader into a deep sleep:


I've been playing around with timelapse videos on my ipod once again.  (The resolution is crap, especially after YouTube have taken their bite out of it, but it serves its purpose quite well).  I just set my bike up with a 12v/5v accessory plug in and I wanted to get out there and give it a whirl.  So, here's a video to further illustrate my last post "Two Doumont Gates that Lead to Bonnell Main (The Sundew Road)".  This video ride was identical to the previous post, except that I exited onto Harwood Dr., instead of returning to a Doumont gate, using a short and easily navigable workaround.  (The tracks for this ride, including the workaround, can be found here).

The Route:

1.  Entered through yellow gate off of Doumont Road
2.  Over the white bridge and next left up the hill
3.  Through the "Mud Pass" into the Lantzville Foothills
4.  U-turn at Bonnell Main
5.  Left towards alternate exit
6.  Exited onto Harwood Dr. using workaround.  (Harwood Dr. is very close to Phantom Rd., giving a couple of options in this area)

Here's the workaround at #6 above.  It has been posted on here before, but with all the recent blockages by Tim Berwest, I thought it would be good to show that it's still open.  (Go on Tim--do your worst.  You know you wanna). 

Now, the video you've ALL been waiting for.... *yawn*:

Another Way into the Lantzville Foothills

Paul and I were going to head out towards Rhododendron Lake today and explore some of the roads we pass out that way.  Unfortunately he wrenched his back waving his English flag just as the winning Italian goal was scored.  ("Was that the ball going in off the post?"  "No it was Paul's back").  Next time Paul!  Really am sorry to hear about your back...  Honest! 

I decided instead to see if I could enter the Lantzville foothills from the entrance off of Aulds Rd/Old Logging Rd.  The entrance is well gated, but a small trail has been made 100m before the gate on the left.  I entered on this trail and so, I was unable to read the sign on the yellow gate.  It was probably some kind of "Welcome to the Lantzville Foothills," sort of thing.

 Here's today's route:

And... here's the day in brief:
 
1.  Entered through left trail off Old Logging Rd.  (Left turn off Aulds Rd.  See photo two above).
2.  Explored many of the Lantzville Foothills trails.  Great climbs!  Great wildlife from snakes to 1" baby  quails with FRANTIC parents.  Quite overgrown in some parts.
3.  Lantzville F.H. gate open again.
4.  Took a right off Bonnell Main that I've often passed.  It's the turn right before the road that goes to the NE side of Kidney Lake, (when heading SW).
5.  Quite overgrown towards the end.  Stopped at an extremely steep section and returned to 142.
6.  Out towards Boomerang Lake.  I had a plan to make GPS tracks of a couple of new roads out past the lake, but it started to rain.  I'm wanting at least five unrecorded roads to upload to my map provider, so I can get the next upgrade for free.  Next time, I guess!
7.  Stopped off at the open area just past the Doumont Trail's "tank traps" to see what's out there.  I never look in this area because usually I'm enroute to some other spot.  What a horror story:  It's a shotgun shell graveyard with targets of all types hanging off trees, logs and various other bits and pieces.  I left when two cowboys and a hot blonde arrived with a truck load of guns and a few full boxes of shells.  Good thing lead pellets are a thing of the past!  What bothers me about this spot most of all is the location of targets right next to a walking/cycling trail.   
8.  Zipped into the Nanaimo Motocross Assoc. to watch a few bikes fly over the track.  Really great!  Too bad the gate was locked shut when I tried to leave!  Five minute wait... no prob.

Up high in the foothills

Looking East towards Gabriola Island from high in the foothills

A small sample of the plethora of shotgun shell casings left near the Doumont Trail

The GPS track "walk through":

Google Earth "Flyover" of today's trails:

      

iPod Time lapse movie of some trails in the Lantzville Foothills:

So, we can ride the foothills without having to worry about a locked gate on the other side stopping us from getting out.  There's one short steeper section coming in from the "Aulds" entrance that might give a bit of grief going the other way.  Easy downhill in a loose packed clay coming in, but you'd need to belt up it pretty fast to get out without spinning the rear tire.  Probably do-able.

37.3km of logging roads today.

Westwood Lake Trail

I took a short ride out to the Westwood Lake Trail yesterday.  I tried reaching this trail some time ago from the NW end, off of Jingle Pot Rd.  It was winter time and the steep trails leading in were too slick to get down the hill from that side.  This time I entered from the Nanaimo Lakes Road end.... Much easier.

It's a nice little trail.  Nothing too exciting, but a fun, quick ride all the same.

 
Here's an iPod time lapse movie from the NW end back to the gate, (4x speed). Sorry about the bumps!

I'd like to try it again sometime.  It looks like it might go all the way through on Google Earth.

Two More from the NE End of Kidney Lake

After receiving complaints about my awful ipod photo posted yesterday, I decided to post an equally inedible looking trout photo today taken with my GPS.  I guess I had better take my real camera with me in future.  Anyway, they were delicious!!!  Gotta love having trout stocked lakes close enough to ride the bike to in less than half an hour.

AND, that's a dinner plate...  NOT a side plate.  :)

Another Ride to Rhododendron Lake

I took the same route out to Rhododendron Lake today to meet up with Paul who was doing a bit of fishing.

29.1Km both ways

Beautiful lake!  Lots of snags though.  I'd like to try fishing with worms and a bobber here.

 
Great ride there and back.  We saw a bit of rain at the lake side, but it passed quickly.  Paul caught a very nice trout.

My mother-in-law asked me if I had taken any photos of the rhodos when I was out here last and so I took a few this time around.  Looks like I'll need another trip to catch them in bloom during the summer.  All of them are covered in tight buds right now.  Here's a few shots:

 
I'm looking forward to heading back out there to catch the blooms.

Kudos to Paul for trying out the steep rocky section that leads back to Blackjack Ridge on a direct route from the lake.  He reached the top and came down with no difficulty.  Don't know how you came down so easily Paul.  You're going to have to coach me on that one during the summer.  Definitely too bloody steep for me when coming down. 

Some GPS tracks:
Garmin GPX
Google Earth KMZ

To wrap things up, here's a cheesy time-lapse movie of the ride from Rhododendron Lake, through Okay Mt. valley, down the power lines toward Blackjack Ridge and then a left turn towards Boomerang Lake.  I haven't solved the bumpy camera mount yet.  Right now, my iPod is mounted near the headlight in a bum bag.  :)   It has to move up to my chest or helmet to settle the image down!  This time-lapse shows nearly twenty minutes of footage in five minutes.   

Okay Mountain... FAIL!

Tried to get up Okay Mountain again today.  This is one of four rides that I'm really keen to get at this summer, but it's too early yet...  I was skunked once again by fairly deep snow and a downed log.  I'm sure that it would be easy to get over that pesky log if it weren't for the snow around it!  Also, I heard a strange sound after stopping at the log that I could have sworn was a cougar...  Anyway, it spooked the shit out of me!  I revved the engine half a dozen times quite loudly to make as much noise as I could before turning back.  It was pretty clear that today's ride was going to be on more familiar roads.  I decided at one point to explore a few spur roads.  My Garmin decided to start turning off repeatedly once I got deep into unknown territory and ruined the fun completely.  Nothing like having an expensive tool that gets you deep into the woods and then decides to pack it in, expecting you to find your own way out.  Thanks Garmin!  I managed to find my own way back, but my sense of direction has never been that good.  I rely heavily on that GPS!

I recopied Garmin's firmware into my GPS and it stopped the constant turning off, but I'm not happy.  How can I trust a GPS that won't show you the way.  They get another chance and then I go to work getting a refund while producing "Garmin Sucks" YouTube videos .

Here's another nasty video of the Tank Traps section of Doumont Road, (real time).  This is the way heading out of our local logging roads.  Very bumpy!  The video actually makes me a bit motion sick because of the jumping about.  I think I need to body mount this camera somehow...  Right now it's in a bumbag around the headlight.

It POURED coming home and so I decided to give the bike a quick spray at the local car wash and spent ten minutes watching the rain come down in stair rods.  After deciding it wasn't stopping any time soon, I finally bit the bullet and rode home.  I've got stuff hanging up to dry everywhere.  :)

Fun ride, but I'm pretty cheesed off with Garmin!

A Quick Ride... Doumont Tr., Okay Mt. & Sundew Gate

It was pretty good weather yesterday and I figured some of the ice and snow might have cleared up through the tank traps on the Doumont Trail entrance to the logging roads.  I headed out, made it through the traps traps and managed to get half way along the trail that skirts the east side of Okay Mountain.  I was eventually stopped by ice and snow as the altitude buggered things up for me and eventually I returned to the lower roads.  So... I headed off towards Round Lake and rode the routine route to Sundew Gate.  The gate is easily passable now that the quads have obliterated all the hard work the logging people went to in blocking the gate. :)   Here's an iPod time-lapse video from the Doumont Trail entrance, through the tank traps and up a new (active, dead end) logging road that has appeared near turn for Okay Mountain trail (eastern edge).  BTW, when old farts go riding in mud puddles, they always poke them with a stick to check the base!  Watch the video and you'll get what I mean:

Mounting Arrangements

I picked up a Garmin Montana and a Ram handlebar mount quite recently.  It doesn't position itself as low as I thought it would but it offers really great visibility when it's mounted in position near the left wing mirror.  I think the shorter riser might have been a tidier arrangement, but I'm really pleased with it all the same.  It's not wired in yet...  That's another project I need to get to before the spring.

The iPod Touch fits tidily into a bum bag above the headlight.  Vicki was kind enough to let me burn a hole through her bum bag with a soldering iron so the camera lens can see through!  :)  It wraps around the steering column tightly and points that sucker straight ahead.  It's perfect... even better than Paul's "Nancy Boy Man Purse."