Transcoding GoPro Footage

alexjt11 · January 4, 2016

Hey,

So I have a GoPro Hero 4 Black. I shoot in 2.7K, 60FPS, on the medium FOV setting. I use After effects CS6 to edit because im used to using it from the COD editing days

I would use premier Pro, but I use the GoPro on a drone so i sometimes need to shift the motion track the frame to make it smooth, hence why I shoot in 2.7K to then downscale to 1080p, because I then still have some pixels to allow me to frame the shot I would like, and maybe cut out some pointless part, and then not have to upscale.

So now that I have explained myself, here is my problem:

My PC is good. A i7 3770, 16Gb of dual channel ddr3 1600 MHz with a gtx 970. The Footage is all taken from a Samsung Evo 850 ssd so its got a good read and write speed. (400MB/s min on both)(Maybe!)

But to edit in this footage, is like trying to run through syrup!

I cant just drag it along the timeline, because it wont just go and it will take maybe 5 seconds to update the image on the screen. And I have to RAM preview it which allows me to view 4 mins of a flight, as I run out of ram. And no I cant get more because my processor is obsolete and the only motherboard in the UK that has quad channel is £400 or $591 (USD).

I also tried transcoding the footage by rendering it out in after effects, into a lower format. This made the footage go really wierd, as it would appear to have all the same settings and properties, but it would run on for an extra amount of time. EG: The original footage is 2 minutes long. The rendered out footage would be 3 minutes 40 seconds. The sound would cut out at 2 minutes too.

So, what would I like:

A really helpful person, that will tell me why I cant render the footage in after effects, at the same settings it was shot in, but more compressed.

Or a person who can tell me, if there is a program I can use to transcode the footage into a format. (Cineform? Maybe?)

Or maybe a person who can tell me how to properly setup my GoPro?

Any help will be thankful, and please any questions don't hesitate to ask me, I will get back quickly as Im at the PC all day!

Alex

wyattzx · January 4, 2016

Do as Linus Media Group does, and transcode your footage into Cineform, as you suggested yourself at the end of your post. Then, use Premiere Pro to edit your sequence, only bringing the footage into After Effects in sequences where you need to. (As you might know, Premiere Pro and After Effects can work together, allowing you to edit pieces or even nests inside of After Effects, while not actually leaving Premiere Pro.) Using CIneform will allow for GPU Acceleration during playback and encoding, and will allow you to scrub your timeline much faster. It's actually what LMG had to do in order to effectively edit 4K footage from their cameras.