AVETTE

I use the PDR and cosworth toolbox to analyze my track runs. I also own a gopro hero 4 with the mount and extended battery.

My question is, how do you combine the videos and the telemetry data into one video (WHAT IS THE EASIEST METHOD) I use a MacBook pro and I also have an iMac. The MacBook pro can run windows 10 under parallels.

Also what is your suggestion on where I should mount the GoPro? It has the suction cup mount will it stay on the car at 160 MPH? I have a 2016 z06 coupe I was thinking it would be cool to have a rear view to see who I am passing, or in some cases who is about to pass me LOL

Any advice on EASY user friendly software that would work with my PDR data and the GoPro files. Also I can change the resolution and camera angle on the GoPro Silver 4 Hero, what should I set the settings to?

I also on a GoPro 3 is it worth mounting that as well? Seems like a lot of work to go with 2 and then editing.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR YOUR INVALUABLE HELP

jaden61

There is a member here that posts 2 overlays onto a PDR and has answered a question to another member who ask "What video editIng program did you use" . His response was Cyberlink Director. I dont know the answers to any other questions. That member may chime in, but I do not want to blow him in.. And blow is not the word I was lookin for!!

fleming23

RaceRender is what many of us use to create, and combine video. They have a free trial software you can download and play with. It isn't super easy the first time but after you use it a bit, it does become a little more intuitive.

An example is below, although I didn't use my gopro, I did use my AIM Solo DL for oil and coolant temp overlay, as well as track position because I forgot to mark the lap on my out lap. You just have to sync the two together, which I did not do a great job of in the video below as they are off by maybe a second or so.

This is with GoPro and PDR.

GoPro mounting is entirely up to you... There are a number of places you can put a suction mount to capture decent video. I have mine mounted to my harness bar so I can capture both in car (steering and shifter inputs) as well as additional video through the front glass. Ideally you would have a number of cameras at different angles and then cut to different camera shots to make it all more interesting to watch, but that is more work than I am willing to devote. I would normally record at 1920x1080 and a high frame rate. 4k is great on the newer stuff but does eat up a good bit of storage which then makes the actual video editing process take even longer unless you have a super high-end computer.

Bill Dearborn

The GoPro camera mount can be hold up to a fairly high wind speed if mounted correctly. However, a word of caution, if it isn't mounted mounted correctly it has a chance of becoming some large track debris. About 6 years ago a friend had the LG carbon fiber front splitter and the grille on his C6Z severely damaged when a Go Pro mounted on the hood of a Mustang decided it didn't like that location and let loose of the hood. Although the camera was never found we believe it was the object that split the carbon fiber splitter in two. The camera mount was jammed into the grille. Between replacing the splitter and the grille the cost of the repair was over $1000 in parts cost. I see plenty of GoPros mounted on the outside of cars and very few fall off but they do fall off.

As for blending the video from any camera with the PDR video use RaceRenderer software. It isn't hard to use and the biggest issue is synching the video. It is beneficial if you have some landmark that you drive by that is in the field of view of both cameras. Then you can move the relationship of one video to the other until the landmark is visible in both videos in the RaceRenderer editing window. When I used to use Trackmaster as my data logger I would shout out when I crossed the start finish line so I had both a visual and audio mark to sync the data to the video.

Bill

Newton06

Bill, don't most clubs prohibit external mounting due to the inherent safety issues you raised?

I've never understood why someone would mount anything external when driving at speed on a racetrack.

Parade/charity laps are one thing, but I personally don't believe these belong on cars doing DE's; way too dangerous if they become dislodged.

I'm going to bring this up at the PCA ITS this coming Friday for discussion.

I'd be pretty pissed if my car got damaged by someone's camera flying through the air.

Stuman45

I mount my gopro inside the car looking forward so I can see what I'm doing with my hands on the wheel and shifter. I've noticed some things I need to work on at my next track day by doing this, like how I grab the shifter and how long I have my hand off the wheel when shifting. I used one of the sticky mounts on the rear window glass to mount the gopro.

I also use race render to combine and sync the video from the PDR and my gopro.

I also use cyberlink power director to do other editing, like titles and slow motion. You could use this tool to combine the two videos (PDR and GoPro) but it is a bit harder to sync them up.

Here's a sample video of the GoPro and PDR video combined....

Newton06

^Excellent advice!

I need to mount my GoPro for my next instructing session to watch my own driving.

I'll probably be shocked at how jerky I really am vs how smooth I *think* I am.

Bill Dearborn

Have seen a lot of them mounted on the roof or the side of the car recently.

Bill

Can'tHave2MuchHP

I'm fairly tech savvy and have used several video editors over the years. I currently use Adobe Premiere Pro but I realize that is WAY more advanced than most people could pick up and use as well as being WAY more advanced than necessary to overlay video. Even iMovie (Built into Macs) can handle that. I would avoid boot camping for Windows 10, a lot of video editors run much better on MacOS than they do on Windows. If you decide to use iMovie, then just put your PDR video in the main timeline (There are dozens of videos and articles on this, it's very straight forward) and then select the GoPro Clip and drag it and drop it directly on top of the main clip (PDR video) and then it will give you a bunch of options, just select Picture in Picture. The rest is pretty easy. You'll need to go into iMovie > Preferences > Turn on Advanced Options. If this is too complicated to follow, just search "How to overlay video on video iMovie" and it will pull up lots of videos/articles.

As for GoPros, I've seen several mounted outside of cars. My buddy did something like 190 MPH with a GoPro suction mount on the back glass. But I've also seen them fly off at 90-100ish MPH. If you use the Sticky flat mounts they will literally not come off unless you deliberately scrape/heat them off. I would just alcohol wipe down a section of GLASS to stick it on and slap it on, it won't go anywhere. When you're done, just disconnect the GoPro and it will just leave that little 1" by 1.5" flat base. Don't put it in a spot that will annoy you, if you can help it.

I wouldn't want my GoPro to go tumbling down the track and heaven forbid cause damage to somebody or somebody's car.

BEZ06

Whenever I have edited PDR videos, for instance to shorten them up to put just a few laps on YouTube, that edited video is not able to be viewed on Cosworth Toolbox.

I really liked the video I recorded in my C6 Z06. I had the camera inside, and as fleming23 said, I really liked being able to see my steering and shifting inputs. However, I really love the ability to analyze PDR videos with Toolbox.

When you edit a PDR video with RaceRenderer in order to get a view of your driving inputs, or of the rearview, I assume your edited video will not be able to be analyzed in Toolbox - is that correct???

TIA

.

AVETTE

Couldn't you make a copy of the unedited video to use with cosworth and use the copy for the edit?

jbsblownc5

I use cyber link power director as well, the software can be bought for a reasonable price on line...

I run a few different cameras besides my PDR. I sync them up by counting out loud "1,2,3!" I can then edit each clip to start on the number 3, thereby syncing them up for the video, I also turn down any cameras audio that has wind noise, and blend the other to get the best sound. I do use a remote mic that goes on the back, it connects to a cam corder mounted inside...

jaden61

^^^ There's your answer.

jvp

Try this instead, it's a lot easier:

Get everything running and clap. Loudly. Right where the all the cameras' mics can pick you up.

I've been recording separate audio tracks for my track vids for years because no consumer camera (including GoPros, et al) can properly deal with the sheer volume. They all clip their audio. It's probably what you're mistaking as wind noise, but that's not what it actually is. The problem is that the incoming sound is literally just too loud for the camera(s) to deal with it.

jbsblownc5

I count and usually clap as well, I like the loud counting, since on session 2 I'll count 2,3,4 and then session 3, 3,4,5... helps me keep track of the video clips when editing...