In short
Film from high up, level with the halfway line, with the sun behind you. Follow the play rather than filming the whole pitch from far away, keep the camera steady, and record the whole match, kick-offs included. Use the highest resolution your camera has, and make sure the two teams wear clearly different colours with big numbers on the back.
Why the way you film matters
Whether you watch the video yourself or let software analyse it, everything starts with being able to see who is who. A coach needs to recognise players; analysis software needs to follow each one and read the number on his back. Most of the problems clubs have with match video come from where the camera stood, not from which camera it was.
The good news: you rarely need new equipment. A decent camcorder, a phone on a solid mount or the camera your club already owns is usually enough, as long as it stands in the right place.
Before kick-off
Film from high up, level with the halfway line
A stand, a tower, a scaffold or the top of a stepladder. From a low tripod players hide behind each other and the far side of the pitch is too small to see. Height is the single biggest improvement you can make.
Follow the play
Pan with the ball so the players stay big in the picture. A camera that films the whole pitch from far away gives a tidy overview, but every player is small, and shirt numbers become unreadable.
Use the highest resolution you have
4K if your camera offers it. Numbers on shirts are small, and more pixels keep them readable. Digital zoom does not help: it makes the picture bigger, not sharper.
Put the sun behind the camera
Filming into the sun darkens shirts and turns numbers into silhouettes. Pick the side of the ground with the sun at your back.
Use a tripod with a smooth head
Shaking and sudden zooms make it hard to tell where on the pitch a player is, and that is what distances, speeds and positions depend on.
Have both team sheets ready
Shirt numbers and names for both teams. They put names on the players.
Kits and ball
- Clearly different colours. Light against dark is best. Two similar colours, or two striped kits, are easy to mix up. Keepers and the referee should each wear a colour nobody else wears.
- Big numbers on the back, in a contrasting colour. Dark on light or light on dark. Numbers printed on stripes, or in a colour close to the shirt's, cannot be read however good the camera is.
- A white ball if you can. It is the easiest to follow. A coloured ball works too.
During the match
- Record the whole match without stopping, kick-offs included. Kick-offs line the video up with the match clock, which places goals, cards and substitutions.
- Stay on the play. Close-ups of the bench or the crowd are gaps in the match: nobody is followed through them.
- Keep the scoreboard clock on screen if your feed has one. It places every event to the second.
- Keep the defenders in the picture when an attack builds. A defender off screen cannot be counted when you check offside later.
What to avoid
- Filming from behind a goal. Half the pitch is too far away to see.
- Digital zoom. Bigger, not sharper.
- A panorama stitched from several lenses. The picture is curved. Upload one camera's ordinary widescreen view instead.
- Night games under weak lights. Shirts blur when players move, and numbers go first.
Check your footage before the season
Film one match the way you plan to film every match, then check it before you commit. In SeeKick, uploading a match starts with a footage check that tells you what to expect from that video, before any analysis runs. If something is off, it is usually the camera's position, and that costs nothing to fix.
See what a well filmed match gives you: every player followed on the video, every player named and running data for both teams.
Questions
What is the best place to film a football match from?
High up and level with the halfway line, with the sun behind you. A stand, a tower or a scaffold is ideal. From there you can see both halves and players do not hide behind each other.
Can I film a football match with a phone?
Yes, if it stands high up, on a steady mount, in its highest resolution setting, and someone follows the play. Where the phone stands matters more than which phone it is.
Should the camera follow the ball or film the whole pitch?
Follow the play. Filming the whole pitch from far away keeps every player small, so numbers cannot be read and players are hard to tell apart.
Do I need a special sports camera?
No. Most clubs already own something good enough. The camera's position, a steady mount and clearly different kits make more difference than the brand.