GoPro hidden camera?

alex1

alex1

Well-known member
Hi guys,

I have a GoPro and I would like to have it hidden for a documentary I am shooting(animal abuse). I have a "chesty" so I can put the gopro on my body, but what would be a good way to expose the lens but not so it will be seen by others? I am thinking maybe cutting a hole in the front of an old shirt, but i think it would still be noticeable.

Thanks.
 
The first thing you need to do before you consider recording someone without their knowledge, is to check the laws where you are located. You might be surprised, especially when it comes to audio.
 
David W. Jones said:
The first thing you need to do before you consider recording someone without their knowledge, is to check the laws where you are located. You might be surprised, especially when it comes to audio.
Click to expand...

Sorry I should have said in my first post that I have the legal stuff covered.

Any advice on how I might hide the gopro without anyone seeing it?

Thanks.
 
For the sake of others which have not done their research like you already have, about privacy and wiretap laws regarding recording someone without their knowledge, I posted a couple of links to get them started. Also be aware that different film festivals have different rules when it comes to providing consent and release forms concerning what they will/will not show. Lastly, I would suggest having a safety plan in place, in the event your hidden cam is discovered and the bad people make a decision to abuse you rather than animals. Again, this is for someone who has yet to really research a project like this, not someone like yourself who already knows this stuff.

http://www.legaltree.ca/node/908

http://www.uvu.edu/wrs/trainingmaterials/recording.html


My 2 cents, experiment hiding the camera and look yourself over in the mirror. Can you detect the camera? I think you will find the GoPro lens opening is really too large to conceal without getting caught. YMMV.
 
A GoPro isn't a great choice for a hidden camera. While it's tiny in comparison to a regular video camera, it's simply massive compared to a dedicated concealed camera. You'd be better off getting the right tool for the job.
 
Yeah, there are numerous 'pen' style cameras which would be far easier to hide, although the video quality will be relatively crappy.

I think the secret to hiding a chest camera is distraction., e.g. a small hole in a shirt will be far harder to spot if you're also wearing dangly jewellery, scarf, other layers of clothing or whatever.

Hmm, what about using a smartphone, in a pocket with a cunningly positioned small hole for the camera lens? A phone is far easier to explain away.
 
I agree a phone cam give very good results these days and can be easily explained away, mounting it in a top pocket with a hole for the lens should also be easier.

Don't forget to mount it upside down in your pocket as the mic may be at the opposite end to the lens!
 
An iPhone in a shirt pocket works well. Most of my shirts work perfectly where the camera sticks barely out the top.
 
I've done some shooting using hideen cameras for a documentary about puppy factories (mills):
http://madonnaofthemills.com/

(much of the cinematography is not mine - so it's not the kind of caliber i would normally be proud of but the cause was just).

GoPro is WAY too large. Use dedicates hidden camera - in our case it was a tiny shirt button recording through wire to a small external recorder.
 
Thanks guys for the replies, I look into dedicated hidden cams.

I actually ended up not needing the hidden cam in the end lol.
 
Is the doc out yet? And what kind of cams did you end up getting? The sites offering HD spy-cams all look funky and you can get anything from a 50$ spy wristwatch to a 800$ pinhole-cam/HD recorder combo...
 
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