Sports Doco Tips
 

G'day,

My latest project is a doco on a local Rugby Union team and their path to the finals. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on shooting and producing a sports doco or had any experience or links in this field.

This is my second film and my first documentary. I am shooting in 16:9 on a Panasonic MX500 and editing with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects 6 Professional Edition.

Any tips or links would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Watch Kon Ichikawa's TOKYO OLYMPIAD, 1965 !!!

Be ready for the challenges of handheld zoomed all the way in, in fact know yourself well for any handheld work. The worst film is one that actually makes you vomit. ;-] Yeah, get a stabilizer of good repute if you can, if you don't already have one.

Work out a system of pockets for prelabelled tapes and batteries, or have a highly accessible and well organized handbag with a strap. Anticipation is key.

Be ready to quickly figure out the environments you find yourself in, in relation to your subject(s):
Where are the light fixtures?
Where are the big white walls that are going to immediately blow out and distract the eye needlessly?
How close can I get to my subject to get good shots and sound without being in the way, etc? Can I get close enough to not have to be fully zoomed in and thus eliminate some of the potential camera shake?

Have a cam light handy...Lots of ways to use them...

(disclaimer) I have never done an actual documentary for anyone.

I just finished a years summary for a college gymnastics team, which involves the same routines (over and over) eventually quite boring. Used many highlights from events, and LOTS of closeups of hands and feet during the routines. Crowd reaction, teammates reactions on the sidelines, coaches reactions. You have to get in the chalk with them. (in your case, the mud) I also used composites and overlays.

I've only filmed 1 of 14 games so far and I didn't even think of getting crowd reactions. It may be a bit hard to "get in the mud" with them, I wouldn’t want to get trampled by an angry rugby team. I want to get a lot closer to the action this time though.