Sports Filming - Correctly Filming a Game

As everyone who has ever tried to film a sporting event for review later, there have been many frustrations and lots of bad footage. Ever try to film soccer from the sideline and miss a play because the ball was kicked to close to you and you couldn't get everything in the frame? Or tried to film your son's little league game and see plenty of the outfielder, but none of the pitches? I'll address some of the best ways to film a particular sport and what to do with it after you've got what you want.

First Things First - A check list for your equipment

1.Your camera
2.Your power supply and battery charger
3. Three batteries minimum - charge your batteries as soon as you get home
4. two brand new tapes
5. Tripod and the plate to attach the camera to the tripod (if one). I have to stress the importance of a tripod - spending $100-$200 for a good tripod will be well worth the price. The number of people who think all tripods are the same, and buy the least expensive one is amazing. They end up with a tripod that is no good at all and actually defeats the purpose of using a tripod.
6. Extension cord - have an adapter to fit a two prong plug in - incase you are somewhere with older ungrounded wiring.
7. a 15 or 20 foot long extension cord.

This list of equipment is the basic, I recommend you put together this list and keep it together. You will find every thing listed here useful and necessary

Filming your Sport
Baseball/Softball - Usually the best vantage point for this is from the centerfield in with the pitcher and batter/catcher in the frame. You can follow the pitch and see both mechanics and results, and still follow the ball when it is hit. If you don't want to stand in centerfield, the next best place would be from behind home plate in what is referred to as a "high home" location. For the same reasons, you can see most of the action for later film review. Most coaches want to scout how a pitcher tips a particular pitch, where they set up on the rubber, ect. and what the delivery looks like. For the batter, you want to see where they are in the box, and what the swing looks like. A centerfield in or high home location also allows you to easily chart pitches to pick up and tendencies or patterns in the pitches.

Basketball - Usually near the press box area or top of the bleachers so you can get at least 1/2 the court in at all times. You may need a tripod since people frequently may stand up in front of you when you pan left or right, but if you are high enough, you get the players numbers and all the court action. If you are focusing on coaching a team and teaching strategy, this is the ideal place. Make sure you have at least 1/2 court in the frame at all times.

Soccer/Lacrosse/Rugby - Again, you want to be high enough that you can zoom in and out and still get at least half the field. The challenge with soccer/lacrosse is the zooming. Frequently the ball is kicked/passed long from one end to the other and the less you have to zoom out or pan, the better your footage will be. I would also recommend using a wide lens if possible.

Football - You really want to get the formations and alignments if you are scouting football, more so than an individual play. That's why on TV there is a sideline and two end zone cameras. If you only have one camera position, the end zone view will yield the most. Make sure you can see both wide outs on the field, but don't zoom out so far that you miss the details of the line blocking. This view will give you alignments and formations, as well as help you quickly develop tendencies. When you edit, you want to splice in the sideline view after the end zone view and make sure you get from the huddle breaking so you can see any tells such as a lineman running to the line or a back linining up at different distances from the QB on certain plays.

Volleyball
You want to film volleyball from a location behind the players. Ideally you would be in a high position looking down the lines so that you can see where each team sets up their rotations and the specific plays that they run throughout the match. The teams will switch sides after the first game, so if you only care about one team, you should switch with them. It will be easier to see numbers of the players and the plays develop from the "near" end line.

If you take a few minutes to think of what the most important aspects of your video will be (scouting, tape for recruiting, individual highlights, ect) you can more effectively film and get the best angles while every other dad in the stands gets the same old shots. If you are over budget or just want better film, teach parents or volunteers how to film the way you want it and explain why you are shooting from a specific angle. It helps teach them what you will look for on film later and helps them feel like an important part of the game!