Get low and get close

You have to have some balls to film fisheye correctly. Even with years of experience, you will absolutely damage a fisheye at some point from getting hit. Probably more than once. I think of fisheye in 3 basic phases for a typical standing still shot...

Inital

During

Final

These 3 are how my brain organizes the shot. You want your inital angle to show the feature and enough inrun to show the rider incoming while all still looking aesthetically pleasing. You want to pull back and down generally for the during although it depends a lot on what you're shooting. The goal is to barely fit the entire skier and enough of the feature in frame to make it make sense while staying as close as possible. Final should push back in with the camera and end with the rider riding out and part of the feature still in frame. You'll get used to all these motions over time, but it is hard to do, especially depending on the feature and stunt.

DURING

Another tip would be to control your breathing during the trick, and try not to move your feet. If you do have to take a step, make it a calculated one that wont make the shot turn out super shaky, and try to do the same step everytime on that trick.

The more fisheye you shoot, the more you look for how you can improve. Even shot to shot, I review clips and make micro adjustments. Don't be afraid to get close, and wear your helmet when filming lol

SchoessYou have to have some balls to film fisheye correctly. Even with years of experience, you will absolutely damage a fisheye at some point from getting hit. Probably more than once. I think of fisheye in 3 basic phases for a typical standing still shot...

Inital

During

Final

These 3 are how my brain organizes the shot. You want your inital angle to show the feature and enough inrun to show the rider incoming while all still looking aesthetically pleasing. You want to pull back and down generally for the during although it depends a lot on what you're shooting. The goal is to barely fit the entire skier and enough of the feature in frame to make it make sense while staying as close as possible. Final should push back in with the camera and end with the rider riding out and part of the feature still in frame. You'll get used to all these motions over time, but it is hard to do, especially depending on the feature and stunt.

INITAL

DURING

FINAL

Another tip would be to control your breathing during the trick, and try not to move your feet. If you do have to take a step, make it a calculated one that wont make the shot turn out super shaky, and try to do the same step everytime on that trick.

The more fisheye you shoot, the more you look for how you can improve. Even shot to shot, I review clips and make micro adjustments. Don't be afraid to get close, and wear your helmet when filming lol

should I think about getting a fisheye protector as well? or does that only make the footage look bad?

SkiPigeon123should I think about getting a fisheye protector as well? or does that only make the footage look bad?

I have a lens hood as must fisheyes come with that doesn't get in the shot at all, but really with the convex nature of a fisheye, it's just a risk you have to take to get the shot you want. Focus more on thinking about where skis will be flying than anything else if you want your lens to stay kosher.

filming fisheye is all about feeling it and not looking at it.

like nick showed with the pics, edge to edge. action moves across the screen during the trick, so skier should be coming in on one edge until the person is about to hit the feature and then they move across the screen as they do the trick, and when they land they should be at the opposite edge. try not to overshoot the movement and move the camera back the opposite way to get the skier on the outro edge.

only look through the screen to get the starting angle lined up. once you're lined up and the skier drops in, watch the skier not your camera. it will take some practice to get the muscle memory to where you know where your lens is pointing without looking at it, soon enough you will never clip a head or clip feet without looking at the camera.

it helps to visualize your start and end angles and then just "do the motion" a bunch of times without anyone skiing just to get the muscle memory down, where you start, how you move (do you tilt up when the skier is moving across the frame while they hit the feature? do you pull the camera back away from the feature during the action? how fast to you move the camera?), then to where you end with the camera.

hold it low and remember to angle it up but not too far up

try not to "roll" the cameras axis

start close to the feature, pull back as the skier goes through, put the camera close to the feature at the end.

if you can, watch the clip back right after you film it. it will help you build a sort of mental library of how certain filming feels and how that feeling turned out looking in the playback.

gravelfilming fisheye is all about feeling it and not looking at it.

like nick showed with the pics, edge to edge. action moves across the screen during the trick, so skier should be coming in on one edge until the person is about to hit the feature and then they move across the screen as they do the trick, and when they land they should be at the opposite edge. try not to overshoot the movement and move the camera back the opposite way to get the skier on the outro edge.

only look through the screen to get the starting angle lined up. once you're lined up and the skier drops in, watch the skier not your camera. it will take some practice to get the muscle memory to where you know where your lens is pointing without looking at it, soon enough you will never clip a head or clip feet without looking at the camera.

it helps to visualize your start and end angles and then just "do the motion" a bunch of times without anyone skiing just to get the muscle memory down, where you start, how you move (do you tilt up when the skier is moving across the frame while they hit the feature? do you pull the camera back away from the feature during the action? how fast to you move the camera?), then to where you end with the camera.

hold it low and remember to angle it up but not too far up

try not to "roll" the cameras axis

start close to the feature, pull back as the skier goes through, put the camera close to the feature at the end.

if you can, watch the clip back right after you film it. it will help you build a sort of mental library of how certain filming feels and how that feeling turned out looking in the playback.

yes, this.

gravelfilming fisheye is all about feeling it and not looking at it.

like nick showed with the pics, edge to edge. action moves across the screen during the trick, so skier should be coming in on one edge until the person is about to hit the feature and then they move across the screen as they do the trick, and when they land they should be at the opposite edge. try not to overshoot the movement and move the camera back the opposite way to get the skier on the outro edge.

only look through the screen to get the starting angle lined up. once you're lined up and the skier drops in, watch the skier not your camera. it will take some practice to get the muscle memory to where you know where your lens is pointing without looking at it, soon enough you will never clip a head or clip feet without looking at the camera.

it helps to visualize your start and end angles and then just "do the motion" a bunch of times without anyone skiing just to get the muscle memory down, where you start, how you move (do you tilt up when the skier is moving across the frame while they hit the feature? do you pull the camera back away from the feature during the action? how fast to you move the camera?), then to where you end with the camera.

hold it low and remember to angle it up but not too far up

try not to "roll" the cameras axis

start close to the feature, pull back as the skier goes through, put the camera close to the feature at the end.

if you can, watch the clip back right after you film it. it will help you build a sort of mental library of how certain filming feels and how that feeling turned out looking in the playback.

Thank you guys this is all very helpful