Testing out the Phantom 3 - Director vs Vegas (2 videos inside)

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Hello pilots,

I have finally had the opportunity to make a couple of videos with my Phantom 3. Both videos are basically a test between the Director feature included in the Pilot App and Sony Vegas (my post software).

The director feature is nice but I find the quality lacks and options are extremely limited but great for quick, lower quality videos and template audio.

With Vegas there is obviously more control and room for creativity but the editing is time consuming. I figured the best way to shoot with our Phantoms is to edit while we fly. So you do your aerial survey and create clips on the go rather than one large 4k file.

Question: Do you, as pro pilots and vid/photo guys edit while you fly or just constantly record and edit the entire file afterwards?

When I record video traditionally, I usually shoot one large video file (and take a huge amount of photos) and edit afterwards by splitting, but I find that when working with aerial videos (I'm new to drone videos) it's better/quicker/easier to rehearse and if it looks good in fpv then do it again while recording to get the perfect video/photos on your first try. I've noticed photos and videos from the ground and while flying are completely different beasts and there is more multitasking going on, at times I feel I can't do everything at once and feel overwhelmed and its just easier to just record and go with the flow. I love the adventure, really is awesome.

How do you guys go about it?

Director feature in app 720p:
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Sony Vegas 1080p:
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Start to using Vegas....version 13 for 64.....but still very newbie on it!
 
There's no comparison between your clips, it's obvious Vegas will give you far more flexibility.
Probably no as good as Adobe Premiere though.
But the App director is not bad considering you might upload a quick preview while out for the day or on holiday without your main PC.
 
There's no comparison between your clips, it's obvious Vegas will give you far more flexibility.
Probably no as good as Adobe Premiere though.
But the App director is not bad considering you might upload a quick preview while out for the day or on holiday without your main PC.

I've never used Premiere before so it may take me some time to get the hang of it. I was using Sony Acid Pro for some aspects of audio editing back in the day so Vegas is really easy for me to use.
 
You can pull down higher res HD in the new DJI GO app. Editing and music selection is still limited but better than it was imo.
 
There's also Vegas Movie Studio that retails for, I think, $79. It is probably sufficient for 99% of what you would be doing to your Phantom videos. Cut and trim clips, add transitions, music and titles. You can render an HD MP4 file for YouTube or Vimeo or make a DVD. (I prefer Vimeo because the Copyright Police in YouTube doesn't like the music that I create from licensed tracks).

To the OP's question - In the field I shoot. In the studio, I edit. Any time saved by starting the editing in the field is really small.

BTW - I am an expert with Sony Vegas, so ask me anything. Maybe in the Off Topic forum?
 
I found the video of the highway mesmerizing. Now I want to go fly above a highway at night. That was a great video.
 
I found the video of the highway mesmerizing. Now I want to go fly above a highway at night. That was a great video.
It reminded me of the video game, Frogger.
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Highway in Bulgaria at night
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There's also Vegas Movie Studio that retails for, I think, $79. It is probably sufficient for 99% of what you would be doing to your Phantom videos. Cut and trim clips, add transitions, music and titles. You can render an HD MP4 file for YouTube or Vimeo or make a DVD. (I prefer Vimeo because the Copyright Police in YouTube doesn't like the music that I create from licensed tracks).

To the OP's question - In the field I shoot. In the studio, I edit. Any time saved by starting the editing in the field is really small.

BTW - I am an expert with Sony Vegas, so ask me anything. Maybe in the Off Topic forum?

Thanks for being helpful and offering your advice, that's awesome!
 
I found the video of the highway mesmerizing. Now I want to go fly above a highway at night. That was a great video.

Thanks bud! I was a little nervous to take risky shots when I did that video but I am getting better and I see my shots improving with each flight. I had a few shakes and bumps in certain parts of the video which I am not happy with, but I will make another one of the exact same highway and combine the best shots from both.

Here's one I produced yesterday. I can see the improvement but not quite perfect just yet.
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