How to edit GoPro footage into a highlight reel

Upload the MP4 straight off the GoPro, mark the plays you want, and ReelBallers crops and follows your player automatically. The wide GoPro frame is an advantage here: more field in shot means more room for the follow-crop to work with.

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What GoPro footage is actually like

A GoPro mounted on a fence or tripod captures the whole field unattended, which is exactly what you want -- nobody has to operate it. The trade-off is that everyone is small in frame and the ultra-wide lens bends the touchlines. Cropping in on one player fixes both at once.

Best GoPro settings for sports footage

Getting these right at capture time matters more than anything you can do in editing.

1
Shoot 4K at 30fps in Linear (not SuperView or Wide) if your model offers it. Linear removes most of the fisheye distortion in-camera, so straight lines stay straight after cropping.
2
Mount high and central if you can -- a fence post at the halfway line beats a corner. Height is worth more than proximity for field sports.
3
Turn HyperSmooth on for handheld or pole mounts, off for a locked-down tripod where it only crops the frame for nothing.
4
Bring a spare battery. A GoPro will not survive two full halves plus warmups on one charge in cold weather.
5
Upload the original MP4 rather than a phone-app export -- the GoPro Quik app re-compresses, which costs you detail the upscaler could have used.

Turning that footage into a reel

1

Get the video off your GoPro

Transfer the file to the device you will edit on. Upload the original recording rather than a re-exported copy -- re-encoding costs detail that the upscaler could otherwise use.
2

Upload it and mark the plays

Upload the file to ReelBallers and tag the moments worth keeping as you watch, by position and play type.
3

Export the reel

ReelBallers crops and follows your player, upscales toward 4K, and produces a shareable link plus optional vertical cut for social.

GoPro footage: common questions

Can I edit GoPro footage into a highlight reel?

Does ReelBallers integrate with GoPro?

There is no integration to set up, and none is needed -- ReelBallers accepts the standard video file your GoPro already produces. Upload it and start editing.

Do I need to convert the file first?

No. Standard MP4 and MOV files upload as they are. There is no transcoding step for you to do.

What settings should I use when filming?

Shoot 4K at 30fps in Linear (not SuperView or Wide) if your model offers it. Linear removes most of the fisheye distortion in-camera, so straight lines stay straight after cropping.

Will cropped footage still look sharp?

That depends mostly on what you shot. Cropping into 4K leaves far more detail than cropping into 1080p, which is why the resolution advice above matters. ReelBallers also upscales toward 4K on export to recover some of what cropping costs.

How much does it cost?

Free to start. There is no hardware to buy and nothing to install -- runs in the browser. there is nothing to download or install.

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Turn your GoPro footage into a highlight reel

Upload a game, mark the best moments, and share a pro-quality reel today. Free to start.