It’s a pretty common scenario as a videographer to feel burdened by your oversized camera equipment. Usually resulting in putting your camera away. Putting your camera away typically gives you some really good stories and more excuses than shots of what happened when the camera wasn’t rolling.
I’d been getting in the habit of carrying around a GoPro as a backup camera for a while. They’re great for capturing traveling shots when your higher quality camera gear is safely stowed away. But I also noticed that people have become very comfortable around these tiny, unassuming cameras. Which makes it great for late night party footage!
Only problem is that they don’t have a light. Which makes late night party footage useless. So, I just went to ACE hardware and bought a $5 LED light and slapped a 3M sticky on there. I tested it a few times in total darkness and thought it was too much of a spot light. I crudely masking taped some printer paper over the top to defuse the light a little and it seemed to work fine.
A few months later I was attending the World Premiere for The Art Of Flight and also had the side job of shooting footage of the weeks events. Being a part of the Brain Farm post-production crew on the film, I was given the night of the premiere off. I left my larger camera equipment at the hotel and opted for the “GoPro Party Cam” instead. The event film crew I’d been working with was told that Justin Timberlake would be there, but not to stick lights and cameras in his face. He was there to support his friends and didn’t want to be swarmed. I initially slid in just to get a quick shot of JT and Travis Rice. I never expected JT to borrow my camera.
