This is going to be a how-to video today where I'm going to explain how I get some of the shots that you've seen in my model train videos.
I get a lot of questions about how I get that shot that looks like there's a camera mounted on the train and you're seeing the view from track level.
That shot looks something like this...
And there's another shot that I get... It looks like you're sticking your head out the window of the train and looking at the view ahead of the train.
That shot looks something like this...
Yeah, so let me show you how I get those two shots.
The first one is basically just a GoPro mounted on top of the locomotive.
And there's a GoPro accessory that's a mount here and that's what I use to take the GoPro, which is the top part here...
And attach that to the train. And the way that it actually attaches... that's the trick.
I use a product called a "3M Command Strip".
You can buy these at Walmart or on Amazon.com...
And it's basically just double-sided tape in little short segments like this...
That removes very easily, very cleanly... So when you remove the tape when you're all done you're not leaving a bunch of residue behind on your train.
So, I'll take this command strip and peel off the top portion to expose this side of the adhesive...
And attach that onto the GoPro mount here...
And then I'm going to remove the other half of the strip to expose the rest of the adhesive.
Now I can just stick this right onto the top of the train...
And when that's on there it's pretty solid...
And the train can run around and it's not going to shake or fall off or anything like that.
But when I'm all done and I'm ready to take this off of the train...
It actually can be pulled off there fairly easily...
And this command strip comes right off super clean without leaving anything behind.
So, that's how the camera is mounted on the top of a train like that.
This particular mount has a flat surface...
Because this train has a flat top.
Now if I take a train like Thomas The Tank Engine...
That has a rounded top like that...
That requires a slightly different mount.
Instead of this flat mount, I'm just going to pop that flat mount off of there...
And put on this curved mount.
So, now we have a curved surface there that'll mount real easy onto the top of a curved locomotive like Thomas The Tank Engine.
Now as far as getting that shot from the side of the train...
I'll show you how I would do it. Like usually I'll do that from the last car in a train.
So, I've got a caboose here.
I don't just take a GoPro like this and stick that on the side of the caboose.
For one thing, you know, if you put this mount on like that... the camera would be sideways... So, that wouldn't work.
But the other thing is that this is way too heavy.
This GoPro is pretty substantial, and this caboose is very, very light. There's nothing inside.
If you mounted this GoPro on the side of that caboose it would just tip that caboose right over.
So, it requires a slightly different kind of GoPro to get that shot from the side of the train.
I happen to have a GoPro from several years ago a few models back...
This is called the "Hero5 Session".
And this GoPro is the lightest GoPro they ever made.
They don't sell these anymore. If you wanted to get one you'd have to find one on eBay.
You can't just go to Amazon and buy one anymore, I don't think... because this has not been made in quite a few years now.
But this is so light that it'll mount right onto the side of the train and it's not so heavy that it would tip the train over.
So, again we use a 3M Command Strip to mount that on there... but nothing else.
So, I'm just going to attach this command strip to the side of the GoPro Hero5 Session.
And then I'm going to remove that strip...
And expose the adhesive...
And this will just go right on the side of the car there and it's so light that it doesn't tip that over.
That's the trick to getting that shot you've seen from the side of the train.
Now if your layout has a lot of curves to the right you're going to want to mount this camera on the right side of the train...
And if your layout has a lot of curves to the left you're going to want to mount this camera on the left side of the train.
If your layout has both left and right curves...
You're going to want to shoot the thing two different times.
One time with the camera mounted on the left...
And another time with the camera mounted on the right...
And then in your editing process, switch back and forth between those two.
Now there's one other trick that I use in making my model train videos that I ought to explain to you...
That is sometimes I need to get additional sound.
The GoPros do have microphones built into 'em So, they will record the sound as they are shooting the video.
But sometimes I need additional sound beyond that for one reason or another.
Like, for example, if I'm shooting video from my drone...
The drone does not record sound, so I need something else to get the sound and for that...
I use a digital audio recorder from Sony which I bought at Amazon.com, and...
I've got a cord plugged into it right now because it's actually what is hooked up to this microphone recording the sound for this video.
But if i were to unplug that cord there...
This Sony digital audio recorder has little built-in stereo mics on the top...
And I could use a 3M Command Strip to mount this right on top of the train...
And then run the train around the layout...
And I can get a good recording of the layout's sounds that way.
And one more thing while I've got you here.
You may remember seeing some model train videos shot in my backyard...
Where there was no landscaping at all other than the grass.
Just bare dirt.
Or maybe some other videos you might have seen where there was half dirt and half rocks back there with a few trees.
Well, I'm happy to report now in the Spring of 2021...
My backyard landscaping is complete...
And it is becoming a paradise back in the backyard now.
I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
Right now, I'm putting up on the screen some links to my model train videos shot here at my house in Washington.
If you see a thumbnail that looks interesting click on it, and I think you'll enjoy the video.
I'm Jim Zim. Thank you for watching today!