Shooting GoPro footage on the fly is a cinch. But editing? Not so much. That’s why the company updated its mobile app to make creating watchable videos a whole lot easier.
We’ve always liked GoPro Studio, the company's desktop editing platform. Now, anybody with a WiFi-enabled GoPro (the ones that can sync to iOS or Android phones like the Hero4 and Session) can yank footage directly from the camera to a phone, then use the scissor icon in the company's new app to make simple cuts and create a basic highlight real. When the footage is cut, users can upload the clip to any social platform, including Instagram and Facebook, or send it via e-mail.
The new functionality pairs nicely with GoPro’s “tag” function, also available on the Hero4 and Session, which lets you save the best cuts in your raw video with a tap of a button on the camera. The tagged footage then appears highlighted when you review what you shot.
In addition to the new editing functionality, GoPro says cloud storage and automated editing—where the camera chooses the best clips for you—are coming soon. At the moment, software like Shred Video will pull clips together based on an increase in g-force sensed by the GoPro's accelerometer, but that doesn’t always catch footage you might want. It nails your backflip off a cliff into powder (or your wipeout), but has a tendency to miss slower action. The TomTom Bandit action cam offers similar features, but has similar drawbacks. Graava, a new POV camera, seems to have moved automated editing forward by trying to sense action using things like sound and heart-rate.
Hopefully, GoPro’s version of the automatic edit builds on these developments.