GoPro

About

GroPro is a brand of wearable camcorders that are designed for outdoor adventure photography. On the web, video footage shot with GoPro cameras in extreme conditions or unique perspectives have been widely shared on YouTube and Vimeo.

Origin

GoPro^[1] was founded by CEO Nick Woodman, who came up with the idea for the wearable camera while surfing in Australia. The company began selling its first camera systems in 2004. The earliest known video was uploaded by YouTuber HidalgoRides on October 15th, 2007, which featured footage of a GoPro mounted to a BMW motorcycle while riding on trails in Washington state (shown below).

Spread

On April 20th, 2010, the music video for the song "You And Your Heart" by Jack Johnson was uploaded to YouTube, which featured footage taken with a GoPro camera attached to a surf board (shown below). Within the next three years, the video accumulated over 15.5 million views and 9,500 comments.

On October 10th, 2011, YouTuber mcsmcc uploaded a video featuring a mountain biker being tackled to the ground mid-ride by a large antelope (shown below, left). Within the next two years, the video received over 14,4 million views and 16,000 comments. On June 23rd, 2011, YouTuber Lukas Karasek uploaded a video showing a seagull flying off with a GoPro camera in Cannes, France (shown below, right). Two days, later, the video was submitted to the /r/videos^[2] subreddit, where it accumulated upwards of 2,000 up votes and 200 comments prior to being archived. Within the next 17 months, the video received more than 3.3 million views and 5,200 comments.

On March 21st, 2012, Redditor DrSamkick submitted a video to the /r/videos^[4] subreddit containing footage taken with a GoPro attached to a dog on a hike (shown below, left), receiving over 1,000 up votes and 145 comments prior to being archived. Within 10 months, the video garnered more than 265,000 views and 275 comments. On April 20th, the tech news blog Gizmodo^[5] posted a compilation of 12 notable GoPro videos. On September 13th, YouTuber hulafantastica uploaded footage taken with a GoPro attached to a hula hoop at the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert (shown below, right). The following day, the video was submitted by Redditor Snibbin to the /r/videos^[3] subreddit, where it accumulated over 30,000 up votes and 2,500 comments. Within the next four months, the video received more than 3.7 million views and 4,700 comments.

Notable Examples

High Altitude Balloon Videos

High Altitude Balloon Videos depict a view of the Earth from an high altitude of the atmosphere. These videos are typically produced with a high altitude flying camera, which can be assembled using a weather balloon, a digital recording device and a Global Positioning System tracker. In the United States, these balloons are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration under FAR101 restrictions.

Felix Baumgartner Sky-Dive

On October 14th, 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner successfully attempted the world’s highest sky dive from 24 miles above earth with a GoPro camera mounted on his chest (shown below). On October 21st, the jump was mentioned in an article about GoPro videos on the New York Times Bits blog.^[6]

Search Interest

External References