Sports Video for Fun or Profit

John Davis
September 2001

Have you ever considered sports videography? You've used your camcorder to shoot your cousin's wedding, your son's commencement ceremony and your uncle's speech to the Rotarians. Next week, you're scheduled to shoot your aunt's coin collection as a means of identifying the individual coins for her insurance company, and your neighbor's giant daffodils before he takes them to the flower show. Sounds like a pretty full life for a camcorder. Perhaps, but where is all of the action, the excitement, the adrenaline?
Have you ever considered how much your camera would enjoy shooting some sporting events? Or, for that matter, how much you might enjoy it? Sports videos can run the gamut from team sports like football, basketball, baseball and soccer to individual events like diving, gymnastics, wrestling and tennis. It could be as slow-moving as videotaping a golfer's putting technique or as fast-paced as a rodeo cowboy's bull-ride. Somewhere in that range, you're bound to find something that is fun for you. But more than being fun, there are a lot of good reasons to shoot sports, and there's a good chance that the sports videos you shoot and edit will be useful, even valuable to others. Still not sure if sports video is for you? Here are four types of sports videos that you can produce for fun or profit.

Probably the most obvious way of shooting sports is shooting an actual game, match or other competition. Depending on the sport, on the level of competition (little league, high school, college or pro) and on the amount of gear with which you're shooting, this can be anything from setting up a tripod at the top of the bleachers, to a live-switched multiple-camera shoot. Shooting a game might be for broadcast on your local cable channel, for the team's coaches to use in assessing their players' performances or for looking for weaknesses in an opponent's game plan, or to sell to players and fans.
Single-camera game coverage is typically shot from mid-field or mid-court or behind the backstop so the camera can see all the action without having to change position.

Professional athletes trying to improve their skills regularly rely on video as a training tool. Consider shooting a practice session, or parts of a practice session, for some of your local athletes. Every sport you can think of involves a skill that can be improved by studying videotape. Dives, vaults, jump shots, putts, slap shots, pole vaults, tackles and triple toe-loops all provide opportunities for the video-camera coach.
You might shoot a baseball team's batting practice so the hitting coach can examine each player's swing. By watching the video, players can learn from their mistakes and improve their form. Some teams may pay for the service of shooting training tapes for them.
Training video permits greater freedom in regard to camera position than is offered when shooting actual game coverage. When shooting practice footage, remember that it may be more useful to the coach to see a head-to-toe shot centered directly on an athlete than a whipping shot that tries to follow the full path of a ball.

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