GoPro videos typically focus on specific actions—riding a motorcycle, doing skateboard stunts, twirling a hula-hoop, or shooting aerial footage.

The-attach-to-almost-anything nature of the device has opened up countless cinematic possibilities, especially for moviemakers working on shoestring budgets. A benefit of the GoPro is that it allows anyone to play two key roles: the subject and the videographer.

The next step up from shooting focused action is capturing a complex event. An example of this challenge is Brave Dave’s “Freight Hopping In Canada,” an hour –long documentary about the thrills and dangers of riding the rails for free.

Let us be clear: Dave’s adventure is high-risk stuff. He includes more than one warning. He does not advocate others doing what he did. He is simply sharing his adventure.

About what he did, he says, “In September 2013 I went to Canada and rode freight trains for no particular reason. I filmed lots of it. I then edited this video so that you can experience it too.” His experience includes jumping onto a moving train, hiding in an empty grain space, hiding out from railroad guards, riding on top of the freight train…

…and—less dramatically—sleeping in bushes.

There’s a lot of truth in this documentary. Dave tells us when he’s hungry, cold, and in need of a power source to juice up the GoPro camera.

Although the video lacks the polish of network productions, the raw energy is gripping and Dave’s personality is engaging.

Dave identifies the camera’s shortcomings, and attempts to make up for the sometimes-muddy sound by including onscreen titles.

While you may not be interested in reproducing Dave’s odyssey, “Freight Train Hopping In Canada” may give you ideas for creating your own GoPro documentary. If that happens, we hope you’ll share it with MMM.

Rating: Dave is in the habit of using adult language in response to close-calls and ecstatic achievements. So the video has an R rating.

You can learn more about Dave’s activities at Modest Adventures, Dave’s scrapbook of tomfoolery and shenanigans.