• The Spot Midfield or behind the goalie. When you are behind the goal, the shots come right at you. For a particular team, stay at the end where they're shooting the ball. For a particular player, set up near midfield so you can follow the player's action on both ends.
• The Shot Medium/wide. Just like in basketball, there's a lot of movement. Again, keep the size of the players the same throughout. If a player is on the other side of the field, zoom in to keep the consistency of the medium/wide shot. What you don't want to do is have the players look big one minute, and small the next.
• The Game Plan The same concepts that apply to shooting basketball apply to soccer as well. Just follow the ball and use both eyes so you don't lose the action. Get runbacks of the players who just attempted a goal as well as shots of the goalie after an attempt to block a shot (whether successful or not.)

• The Spot On the sideline in front of the offense. Ideally, you should be 15-25 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage so the action comes toward you. Shooting from the sidelines lets you capture the emotion and intensity of the game. Just remember to keep a safe distance between your camera and the action.
• The Shot Tight to medium before the snap, then wider as the play progresses. To start, focus on the quarterback, center and guards. When the ball is snapped, zoom out to follow the play.
• The Game Plan Football takes a steady hand, a quick trigger and guts. Following the game is tough. Play action and misdirection plays can make things a nightmare on a cameraperson. So to make things easy, on the snap of the ball, zoom out slowly until you're certain where the play is going.
  Running plays are fairly easy to follow. Stay on the ball. If the play goes away from you, zoom in. If it comes right at you, zoom out.
  Passing plays are significantly harder. There are two types of passes: lobs and bullets. Lobs are easier to shoot. When the pass is in the air, stay wide on the shot. Once it reaches the player, zoom back into your medium shot.
  Bullet passes are a whole lot tougher to follow, especially if they're thrown across the middle. It's easy to overshoot a bullet pass. If you see the play develop, get wide enough so you won't lose it, and once the receiver catches the ball, zoom back in. Let the play happen in the camera; don't make the play happen in the camera.
  Football is one of the most video-friendly sports, but it's also one of the most demanding. You're constantly moving around to get ahead of the offense, and the action can be tough to shoot. The only way to get good is practice.

As you develop your skills, you'll develop your own style of shooting sports. No professional camera person does it the same; everyone has his or her own style. With experience, you too can become a great sports videographer and storyteller.

If you're planning to edit, then you'll need some way to locate the good plays on your source tapes without spending hours looking through unwanted footage. Ball three in baseball, the one-yard run in football, the missed free throw in basketball--all of these will probably wind up on the cutting room floor.

To separate the good from the bad and the ugly, use a visual signal. Whoever invented this technique was a genius. After a great play, pop the lens cap on and record several seconds of black. It makes finding the great play a lot easier. When you're reviewing the tape, the black scenes will identify important plays.