How to film my own Truman Show?
March 27, 2011 6:36 PM   Subscribe

Is there any way to make a 24-hour digital video recording of my day from my point of view without looking like a total psychopath?

I am putting together a professional presentation for an upcoming conference, and as part of this I would like to record my whole day from waking to sleeping from my point of view. I suppose the closest comparison of technique would be Prodigy's video for Smack My B*tch up.

I guess I just want to figure out the easiest way to do this. I'm not adverse to renting equipment or buying new things. I would like to be interacting with people during this time, so the rig or holder, whatever it is would need to be unobtrusive enough so I can go about my tasks and not look completely crazy.

Video quality doesn't have to be HD, however, as much of my day is spent at a screen, it would be nice to see some of the details on the monitor at different occasions.

My second concern is battery life and storage media, as I would prefer to have as interrupted a recording as possible, but have no issue replacing batteries or media every 2-3 hours if necessary.

So yeah, apart from top secret eyeglass cams, any ideas here?
posted by LongDrive to Media & Arts (13 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: This guy has been doing it for years with this camera, also discussed here and commercially available over here. However, you will, short of really fancy spy gear, look like a total psychopath, or at least a real eccentric. It's certainly doable though.

Keep in mind that there may be legal issues related to recording people without their consent, and if they can't obviously see that you're pointing an active camera at them, it probably isn't consent unless you ask first. I don't know Australian law, and a quick Google search suggests that the answer is "it's complicated," so you might want to research the issue further or at least ensure that everyone you come in contact with or speak to is fully aware that they are being recorded.
posted by zachlipton at 6:48 PM on March 27, 2011


Best answer: Flipcam strapped to your chest. No clue on the "not looking psycho" part. From what I know, you can avoid most if not all legal hassles by disabling the microphone and not recording sound, and following any photography laws in effect.
posted by rhizome at 6:51 PM on March 27, 2011


Response by poster: The Vicon is definitely neat! Not sure by the looks of it if it does Video, but it has definitely given me a new avenue to explore. Now just to see if I can get one out here to Australia.

The Flipcamp strapped to my chest I definitely considered, however I didn't just want to strap on a bunch of tape around my body with a weird device for obvious reasons ;) I thought there might be some sort of holster or some other thing I could possibly repurpose. The other major issue is the space limitation, as there's really only 1-2 hours I can do at a time, and was hoping for longer recordings.

Keep em coming though! Thanks again!
posted by LongDrive at 7:05 PM on March 27, 2011


Top secret eyeglass cams for $80-odd? I have no idea what video quality they have.
posted by hattifattener at 7:17 PM on March 27, 2011


What if the flipcam were in a jacket, and the lens poked out where a button would be?
posted by mecran01 at 7:26 PM on March 27, 2011


Response by poster: Mecran- Good idea, but I'd like to get it as true to POV as possible, so it would need to be a weird center pocket.
posted by LongDrive at 7:31 PM on March 27, 2011


Best answer: Think overalls for little girls & boys: They almost all have pockets in the center of the chest. I'm sure there's adult variations on this theme. Whether you could pull the style off at work is another matter altogether...
posted by Ys at 7:57 PM on March 27, 2011


You could repurpose an ipod or walkman running strap, basically cutting a band off of a tummy tightener and cutting a lens hole in it.
posted by rhizome at 7:58 PM on March 27, 2011


can you find a phone camera with a good enough battery (not an iPhone) and just be on that all day? people will assume you're talking/texting/Angry Birdsing
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 8:00 PM on March 27, 2011


Best answer: Bluetooth headset spycam. If you don't mind people noticing that you answer your cellphone even though you've got a headset on, then this type of thing could be perfect.
posted by BungaDunga at 8:02 PM on March 27, 2011


Best answer: Inspired by rhizome's suggesiton, remember that the 4th Generation iPod Nano has a built-in video camera. An iPod strapped to you is less obviously a video camera than a regular video camera.

I have no clue how long you can shoot. I'm guessing you would have to recharge and offload at some point, but it's worth looking into.
posted by The Deej at 6:15 AM on March 28, 2011


Best answer: I believe the Looxcie camera is what you want. It appears to be designed for precisely what you're looking for!

Reviews vary, but gosh, it looks pretty cool.
posted by AngerBoy at 8:39 PM on March 28, 2011


Response by poster: Just a short update - I got a Looxcie per Angerboy's suggestion - It is amazing! Thanks again everyone.
posted by LongDrive at 12:03 AM on April 19, 2011


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