filming soccer games/action sports

[lstringfel]

I have my HMC-150 on 15' tripod with servo pan/tilt remote and inexpensive LCD connected to camera and remote to camera for zoom.Filming elite youth soccer with camera on 'auto' everything in 1080/60i. Editing on Mac in imovie and sending to mobileme as well as burning DVD for team.Camera does a wonderful job and video seems fantastic. With professional monitor, and switching to manual settings will soccer video improve that much? What mode best for action sports?

 

[Jim Simon]

My concern would be more for the fluidity of the pans and tilts. I'd move to doing those manually before I worried about shooting formats.

 

[sewolla]

I'd second that on watvching the pans and tilts, avoid using the zoom too much, too. That can make it look really amateur-ish.

Also....I have done the exact thing you are shooting, with my HMC150's and stopped after a couple years. Coaches and parents did not seem to appreciate what it cost in time and gear and generally did not want to pay enough to make it worthwhile.

It sounds like you don't need to do anything more, process wise. Trying to improve your picture by using manual settings is not necessary in this case. You already state that the video is fantastic, so I would not invest more time or money in it unless there is a problem of some sort.

My experience is that type of work can be very hard to be profitable in as parents and coaches do not usually appreciate really good video. They do not typically want to pay for it, at least. So do not invest more in it --either in terms of gear or time spent perfecting manual settings--if you are already putting out a good product now. Experience says it would not be appreciated by your customers. The trend has been in So Cal anyways for companies to go in with cheap cams on a pole and shoot. Your set-up, where you are using a truly good cam and really care about the quality, is already giving you quite a competitive advantage.

 

[lstringfel]

This is all so true.Thanks for the words of wisdom. Just to clarify,I am using manual pan/tilt with a joystick to motorized system powered by 12v system.Would any one care to give me some advice on shooting techniques at night under stadium lights?

 

[AGMedia]

If you're happy with everything you're doing -- keep doing it and enjoy.

From a forum reader perspective -- I can't imagine not shooting sports in 720/60p -- especially considering your distribution. The results should be significantly better than 60i -- and you can create cool slow motion, good frame grabs, etc.

 

[VideoMaker]

I am interested in a motorized pan/tilt head - which one are you using? Are you able to smoothly pan AND tilt at the same time?

This is all so true.Thanks for the words of wisdom. Just to clarify,I am using manual pan/tilt with a joystick to motorized system powered by 12v system.Would any one care to give me some advice on shooting techniques at night under stadium lights?

 

[justFRED]

Do you know the game and the market?

Do you know the game and the market?

I've shot and sold video of soccer games to parents / teams and been paid well for my time. Some points to consider:

- The parents / teams willing to pay are those on the cusp of moving up the food chain, mainly top notch high school aged players who are trying to get into elite schools or pro training programs. They need good video - which means iso shots of them during the game. (I generally end up shooting half game / half isolation on the player(s) -- and that requires two cameras - one wide and one along the sidelines - and two operators.)

Trying to sell to your average soccer mom packing a cellphone camera is pointless. As long as you can tell it's Johnny, that's good enough. Because she was there and has the memory, which she assumes is as transferable as her crappy video.

- If you know the game (I'm a former university varsity player with years of post-uni playing experience), then you can generally anticipate where the ball and the play are going. That really helps reduce the amount of pan / tilt, particularly of the corrective variety. Just like shooting music is a lot easier if you're a musician (you can read the music if there is a score, and you can feel when a guitar solo is coming in the middle of 16-bar, 3/4 blues if there isn't).

Cheers,
George

 

[Jim Simon]

Just to clarify,I am using manual pan/tilt with a joystick to motorized system

I got that. That's what I consider 'automatic'. As in, you're not touching the tripod with your hands. My recommendation was that doing so will offer smoother operation than a motor.

 

[lstringfel]

I bought a PT2100 from servo city and custom rigged it to fit on a 15-20 foot heavy duty telescoping Manfrotto tripod

 

[sewolla]

I got that. That's what I consider 'automatic'. As in, you're not touching the tripod with your hands. My recommendation was that doing so will offer smoother operation than a motor.

I used to shoot from the top of the "booth" at the top of the stands, using just my standard Bogen 475B/503HDV tripod. Got great results from that vantage point, I was able to always keep a third to a half of the field in view at all times, (or more or less, as required) it just worked great. Now the preference seems to be telescoping setups with the smaller "handycams" on them.

One guy who shoots at my daughter's high school has a cam that appears to be a beat up old Canon pre-Vixia model, on about a 15' pole that freely sways in the wind. It can't be any sturdier than one of those collapsable poles used to attach brushes to to clean your pool. I'll try to catch a picture of it tomorrow, its really does not even look safe. Looks to be seeking to redefine the meaning of the word pathetic, yet they hire seem to the guy. I swear it looks like it's held together with tape. With all the movement he's getting his results cannot be very worthwhile.
I seem to be taking the long way around to saying that whatever set-up you use, when around children especially, make sure the thing is safe and can't potentially fall on someone if a good wind kicks up.