Tips/Suggestions to Video team games

[Anonymous]

At the request of our coach, we are exploring ways to video the games. I have done a little research from companies that do it for a few thousand a season to DIY with an iphone and tripod. At this point, we are not looking to achieve clips or break it down in detail, so not sure the pricey packages are necessary/worth it.

From those of you who have done this, any tips and suggestions?
thanks-

to address any lovely trolls:
1) yes i am aware my kid is not going to play professional soccer (nor likely D1 or D3), i am just doing what the coach asked
2) No it's not a u9 team - it's an older full field team
30 Yes i have googled this, but looking for advice from people locally who have been there done that

[Anonymous]

Hipod would be optimal, if not any video camera will do and at 4K, you can crop in if needed. But in general you want to shoot 1/2 field (wide) so you aren't swing the camera back in forth. Option 2 is to just shoot wide and cover full field, they may look like roaches on the screen but you will see the runs each kid makes.

If you want to contract out, find a high school kid that's into media and give him/her $40-50 a game to tape.

[Anonymous]

I have used hipod, and in my opinion, you can do better if you are willing to invest a bit of effort on a diy system. The hipod is expensive, bulky, and a chore to set up. The advantage of it is all the engineering is done for you.

For under a grand, you can put together a decent system using a surveyors tripod, wonder pole, a cheap video camera, and a remote monitor. The wonder pole site has some instructions on adapting their pole to a surveyors tripod very simply. The drawback to a system like this is you won't have tilt capability, but with careful setup you won't need it for basic coverage. Be sure to choose your camera carefully to get one that can be controlled via a remote. Typically, the ones that are controllable via smart phone perform poorly in the field in my experience. They are just not reliable beyond a few feet.

If you have a bit more money to spend, a radio controlled motorized gimbal atop the pole provides the ability to pan, tilt, and with a remote camera interface, zoom. This is basically what pro companies are using.

[Anonymous]

Ive seen a few families use the soloshot system . Heard they work well outdoor but not at all indoor. price about 600 but will track your athlete the entire game via a transmitter worn under the jersey.

[Anonymous]

soloshot works for an individual but not for the team. Another option is the Trace system. https://www.traceup.com/

[Anonymous]

we have one of those tripod boom cameras for years, wasn't cheap but everyone chipped in and works really well.

[Anonymous]

May be overkill, but this is a pretty cool setup - https://www.veo.co/

Follows the ball without you having to do anything during the game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:May be overkill, but this is a pretty cool setup - https://www.veo.co/

Follows the ball without you having to do anything during the game.

Nah, that's not overkill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:May be overkill, but this is a pretty cool setup - https://www.veo.co/

Follows the ball without you having to do anything during the game.

This setup looks like a much better value than the Trace setup. Good if you don't mind being chained to their service.

[Anonymous]

My daughters team used an iographer case (for an iPad) and a tripod, and it worked pretty well. Cost was pretty low, and we paid a kid $20/game to do the recording. The hard part was finding a good spot to record from, as sideline video isn't great. A few fields had high areas or bleachers and those worked well.

[Anonymous]

thank you for such great advice! lots of things for me to look into a little further and report back to the coach. thank you!!!

[Anonymous]

I used a drone with a wide angle once. Was great from a coaching standpoint, but from a parent standpoint couldn't make out the kids that well (we had it very high so the kids wouldn't hear it and get distraacted).

Only other recommendation is film on the side opposite of the parents, otherwise you'll spend time editing out some of their comments (i.e. not fit to be heard by coach or player)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used a drone with a wide angle once. Was great from a coaching standpoint, but from a parent standpoint couldn't make out the kids that well (we had it very high so the kids wouldn't hear it and get distraacted).

Only other recommendation is film on the side opposite of the parents, otherwise you'll spend time editing out some of their comments (i.e. not fit to be heard by coach or player)

You are lucky you didnt get caught doing that. That is illegal these days.

[Anonymous]

If you operate the camera or stand near it, do not speak. No one wants to hear your game commentary, weekend plans, or thoughts on the coach during film study.