Interview with Michal Šopor: an ordinary boy from Karviná shoots videos with tens of millions of views in Los Angeles

There are people you want to interview just because of the positive energy and mood that literally flows from them. Moreover, when such a person devotes himself to something that is close to us, there is nothing to hesitate about. Today we will have fun with Michal Šopor, who has been living in the USA for several years and shoots regular videos on his YouTube channel, in which he presents us with many things from life in America. However, we are of course most interested in the technology that Michal uses, as well as the differences in terms of technology between Europe and America. Sit back and read an interview with a person who may inspire you to decide to live your dream.

Hi Michal, I would like to thank you for finding time for an interview despite your busy schedule and would like to ask you to introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, my name is Michal Šopor, I am an ordinary boy from Karviná who is fulfilling his dreams and currently lives in Los Angeles. I regularly shoot videos of my life that I share on the YouTube video platform.

The fact that you're filming is why we're interviewing you. You enrich each of your videos with some interesting shots, either from a drone or an action camera, and you try to add artistic elements to them as well. What technique do you use for all this in terms of hardware?

I always try to make it as simple as possible for me, it is not easy to combine shots from several cameras. So I primarily use a Panasonic Lumix G7 as my main camera. GoPro5 and DJI Spark Drone. Then your phone to capture sudden situations.

Gallery

man hanging exercise

man posing with american flag

beach handstand exercise

beach ring exercise

rooftop handstand cityscape

man standing building background

man flexing on the beach

youtube silver play button

Enter the gallery

Was this your set-up from the start and when you started shooting did you say you wanted this camera and this drone, or did you come to it gradually and change a few things before the technique was so to speak?

After about 9 months of intensive filming, I decided to invest some money in filming and buy new equipment. Until then, I had been filming everything on a GoPro4 that Ben Cristovao had given me – because he didn’t need it anymore. I also bought a microphone from amazonfor $7 and it worked flawlessly. I shot 100 videos in this style that viewers liked. I didn't skimp on buying new equipment, I looked at what people whose footage I liked were filming on. I compared the price vs. what I get for the footage and that was it. Since then I haven't had to buy anything new, I'm still learning with cameras and they always surprise me with something.

When you were inspired by the technique, do the people also inspire you when it comes to the shots themselves? From time to time in the video you say that you will try something that you don't know how it will turn out. So are you really experimenting or do you go shoot and first look at some tutorials to learn where to put the camera in a given shot and what settings to use?

I always have an idea, which I then try to develop by watching other videos. Otherwise it's pure experimentation, sometimes I find music in advance and can imagine the transitions between the frames and then I shoot it so that I can edit it as best as possible. But I'm not making a science out of it, it's just an ordinary video after all. I don't like to turn it into a sci-fi movie.

I like how you approach it because the results look really good! What editing software do you use and you don't use any instructions for it either? After all, when I turn on Final Cut, I look at it with my mouth open and I wouldn't cut much.

I use Adobe Premiere Pro for editing. I totally understand that reaction because I was the same way in the beginning. But the advantage is that I can already imagine what the final video should look like during filming. But sometimes, of course, I imagine something that I can't do yet. At that moment, there is nothing easier than to turn on YouTube and see how someone uses this effect, or editing. Sometimes it's hard to put what I see in my head into keywords, but that's how it is. The book by my friend Petr Špetla "The World in the Looking Glass" also helped me a lot. Although he is a professional filmmaker, his book is intended for beginners and will explain everything to you in a nice half-hearted way. And that's how I like it.

Honestly, for years I have been reading and hearing from all sides how professional use, especially in the USA, is equivalent to products from Applu. It is true that professionals use Apple and why did you take a different path?

I think it's up to the personal preference of everyone who creates something. I consider myself an ordinary guy who creates and learns to work with video in his spare time. I'm not a professional. My equipment is not unnecessarily overpriced and still manages to take nice shots. A lot of people think that shooting takes a lot of money, but it's not like that. Nowadays, your smartphone is all you need. A good video is not made by a quality camera, but by the story that the video tells. So back to the answer… I took a different route because it is enough for me, the final product is what matters to me, not the brand that helps me get there.

Gallery #2

beach handstand sunset

beach handstand group

sunset gymnastic rings

Rocky mountain landscape

giant sequoia tree view

man stretching on the beach

youtube silver play button

Enter the gallery

I understand you and it's an approach that I don't like even though I'm a fan. Applu likes it. How do you actually perceive it? Apple in USA? Is it something that every American has and is just a hit right now or do you feel like they don't really care and buy whatever phone and computer they just like and fit at the time?

The USA is a very big country, the problem is that we only see big cities on TV, where people really care about how they look in front of others and therefore do not hesitate for a minute to buy products that have just hit the market, so that they are the ones in their surroundings were the first. Often for borrowed money on credit cards. All this to make an impression on the surroundings. Apple is a typical case, people are able to pitch before Apple Story to get a new one iPhone. Lots of new people iPhone they immediately put it up for sale online on the day of launch and they make money that way. But then we definitely have a huge base of people who prefer their brand, especially in the case of phones. Apple vs Samsung. Most of my friends own products from Applu, but I have to say that in recent years I have noticed that even die-hard fans Appstarted switching to Samsung, especially for phones. A common reason was the poor level of compatibility with other products from other brands, so they decided AppI have to give up.

Speaking of America, if you had to pick one product that everyone really has and is a real "must have" among young people in the US, what would it be?

If we're talking about technology, then definitely a smartphone, but that's already the standard almost everywhere. Otherwise, the first thing that came to my mind was Starbucks coffee in the morning... I don't think that young people in the USA have anything that young people in the Czech Republic do not have. It's just my opinion, but that's definitely how I see it.

On the other hand, is there an internet service or application that isn't used that much in Europe and is popular in the US and you can't imagine life without it?

I personally know, for example, the Turo application, where you can rent a car directly from the owner. This is an application that we use a lot. Then there are various dating apps like Bumble. I would also like to mention that people use Uber a lot and are extremely satisfied with it. Uber is so popular in LA that when I see some complaints about Uber in the Czech Republic and tell people here about it, no one can believe it. Here, people understand that time evolves and if something old cannot adapt to the new, it cannot have a future. Development in this direction cannot be stopped.

We will definitely check them out. Your domain, however, is primarily exercise. Do you think it is possible to exercise with the help of an application in full, and can the application replace a personal trainer? Or which one would you recommend?

If a person takes it seriously, it will immediately become clear to him that he cannot do it. Everyone has completely different problems. Sure, he can look up techniques on Youtube or in some application, but then he doesn't know how to apply them. I see this a lot in jiu-jitsu where someone watches grappling videos for months or even years and then comes to the gym for the first time to train and is given a set by a much weaker girl just because she has her own instructor who taught her the basics in detail and thus has a base plate on which to build. The experiences of others are simply irreplaceable.

You have traveled quite a lot in the USA and you visit not only the places that every tourist does, but also things that are not normally seen or are not part of the tourist attractions. If you had to recommend to someone flying to the USA for 14 days what to visit, what would it be?

As I said, the USA is a very big country and therefore it is necessary to be more specific about what one wants to see. 14 days can be spent beautifully on a road trip through several states or National Parks, or in large cities, and I also think that if one throws a dart and goes to a state where it ends up for 14 days and drives through the entire state, one will definitely not regret it. Everything is so different from what we Europeans know. Personally, I really like national parks like Sequoia, Joshua Tree, etc. But I also don't despise spending time in large cities like New York or Chicago, specifically NY, really enchanted me.

Thank you very much not only for the travel tip, but also for the whole interview, Michal, and I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you very much to you and the readers for reading.