Video apps for practice

[LOKNLOD]

Poking around the Apple App store the other day in iTunes and I ran across some video apps designed for coaches where you could play back slow-motion and/or frame-by-frame and then even draw notes on them and save individual frames. There were quite a few variations on this theme, so I didn't take time to download all and compare.

Anyone used something like that for their shooting? Seems like it has some potential. If you check any of them out, post up your impressions of how well it works.

[ford.304]

I have been so frustrated by the video options I have found for PC/Mac to examine practice film (I want easy bookmarks, easy to compare videos of similar runs most especially) that if I ever find any free time I'm going to write my own :P

[Byron]

I'm speaking very generally here, as I don't own an iPhone and therefore cannot specifically comment on these apps.

I would just caution against high expectations. As far as I know, the iPhone can only record video at up to 30 frames per second. Slowing that down won't really give you much clarity for something like a drawstroke; in fact the result may be a bit misleading. The individual frames will contain some natural motion blur for such a fast motion, or alternatively will just show the moving objects as jumping from one frame to the next.

For example, I just plugged "30fps slow mo" into a YouTube search and this came up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoQpDVXXo9o

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what I mean.

The true "slow-mo" videos that you see are shot at really high frame rates so that you actually get real visual information.

There are also pieces of software that will use interpolation to fill in intermediate frames. So a 30fps video is converted to 60fps by the software trying to mathematically calculate the "in-between" frames. (Imagine the first frame has your hand at your waist, while the next has your hand at your chest. The software would try its best to approximate the in-between stage of your hand at your abdomen, but it is a generated image, so it's not necessarily reliable for true analysis)

All this to say, you may have some mixed success with an app, but don't get your expectations too high. I've tried recording drawstrokes at 30fps before and the result was too choppy to offer the insight that I wanted.

[LOKNLOD]

That's good info Byron. I didn't have extremely high expectations, anyway, but you make a good point. Of course with a drawstroke that stretches across 60-90 frames to work with, I might be able to see more ;)

[ford.304]

Well, and the iPad camera doesn't, but a air number of cameras have a 60 fps option these days. I know my GoPro does.

[Corlissimo]

Yeah, but for some of us noobs, 30fps could be just like a high speed camera.
Pretty sure I could use the sweep hand to measure my drawstroke accurately. :p

[Byron]

Ha! Don't get me wrong; when it comes to speed I'm in the shallow end of the pool on p-f.com

I guess part of my caution has to do with my own unrealistically high expectations when I tried video in the past. Certainly the larger aspects of movement will be noticeable: if your drawstroke doesn't follow the same path every time, for example. When I did it, however, I was trying to pick up on subtle things like hand movements, gripping the cover garment, etc. These smaller details just didn't come out the way I hoped they would in the individual frames.

So I definitely don't mean to discourage experimentation; just trying to temper expectations. If the apps are free or cheap, go for it!