Shooting a Basketball Highlight Video
 

Hello,

I will be shooting a basketball highlight video for a client for their HS b-ball player. This footage will be used for College recruiting. Any ideas on what type of shots to get? I will be using one camera. They want this to be very exciting.

Troy

Are you going to be covering a basketball game for highlights? It's been my experience that college coaches like to see wide footage, just like you would see from the main camera on any college basketball game on tv.

We do highlight videos for basketball, football, baseball, soccer and lacrosse. We normally send coaches a highlight and a game film. The highlight is a less than 5 minute clip of nothing but highlights. For basketball, we shoot the player from the floor level or a few rows up. If permitted, we shoot from under the goal as well.

Jon

If you're going to be shooting this guy one on one...

Put a wireless on/near the net to get that *swoosh!*
Edit fast and tight... and of course, only show the shots he gets!
Make a cool 30 second montage that will set your video apart from the rest.

If you'll be using video (that you're shooting) of an actual game, get down on the 'sidelines' near the goal.

Hi Troy
I'm in Garner, NC
I film these type things as well
feel free to email me and I will try to be of assistance to you
or a short phone call could probably help out the most
jlboyette at gmail . com

Thanks for all the great feedback.

Troy

Jon,

This will be for both. The kid is in HS and looking to impress some Div III Basketball programs, so I will be shooting several upcoming games.

Troy

When you're finished with the highlight add a web version and have them email it to coaches. It works really well.

I'd shoot it with 2 cameras. I'd run an unmanned wide from the bleachers if you can, and a manned CU from court level. Never hurts to have a backup plan on the wide if you miss something on the close.

Ok, here's the deal.

My two best friends coach at a Div. II school that is rated in the top 20 in the nation. My brother was an All American in college that had me make one for him to try to impress pro scouts (it got him a contract from a team in Argentina) So I have a pretty good idea how to do these things.

First, you are usually going to want TWO MANNED cameras at a minimum. One up high, showing the half of the court that the ball is on. It doesn't take much to have someone just pan the camera back and forth to follow the team on offense, when there aren't many fast breaks, it is pretty easy as most teams will be on offense for 20-30 seconds at a time before you need to pan.....fast tempo teams are a little harder, but this person doesn't have to be all that skilled at video, just put the camera on a tripod, set the zoom correctly and tell them not to touch the zoom, show them the TWO shots you want....center court to the right basket, and center court to the left basket.
The other camera is of course, you down close providing 'iso cam' "hero shots" on your guy.

Second, it is nice to include interviews from the player's coach talking about what a hard worker the player is etc... Also do some interviews with teachers, if the player does well in school, remember keeping those grades up is important in college. Also do a sit down with the player talking about how he has dreamed of playing college basketball and showing how much he wants to do it.

Then when putting it together, you want to include one or two of the players best GAMES....TOTAL GAMES from the high camera, with your 'iso shots' cut in with matching action....don't take anything out though, cause coaches want to see WHOLE GAMES....they don't trust pure highlight tapes as much because anyone (even me) can look like a star if you edit a highlights tape of only the good plays! You can also include a highlights clip (fairly short) with some of the best plays, BUT if that is all you include....COACHES WILL BE SUSPICIOUS!!! They also like to see the whole 'picture' which is why you use mostly the high camera except when you really want to point out something your guy is doing.....which is when you cut to the 'iso cam'. Put the interviews from the coach/teacher /player on as well so they can get an idea what kind of kid your player is, especially if it's a 'high character kid' that works hard, coaches will like that.

This is based on my experience from my Div. II college and its coaches.

As others have said, you need to complete footage is key as well as showing all of their strengths. When doing DVDs for highlights I will often include a short all highlights version that shows a little bit of everything that runs for a minute or two. Then I also include at least 1/2 a game of footage that the player was in for a majority of that includes no serious edits, Only removing time outs and such. This gives the coach a quick look and then a much more detailed look if he wants. I include the basic stats on the DVD menu but do not over crowd it.

If you have just one camera I recommend the wider shots on the long footage that is centered on your player (circle the player in post if you want to make him stand out) so they can see how he interacts with the team, especially when the player does not have the ball.

I also highly recommend hosting the clip online on a private website. Youtube works too but on a private website you can customize the page and include the players stats and contact info and such. This allows the player to send out easier.

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback. Although, I only have one camera I think I know what to do now.

Troy

I posted this on the XL2 forum then found this thread. It is old but you guy's are still around I am sure....

Hey guy's I would like your opinion here.
I will be shooting some basketball games over the winter and was wondering what you guy's think about the 3x lens for this application.

Currently, I have the 20x lens and I am forced to shoot from a corner. This causes several focus issues for me as I have a lot of depth. However, the school I will be at the most has a new gym with grat lighting and a balcony that wraps the entire court. This balcony gives me any angle I could ask for, from the corner, behind a goal and even midcourt.

The balcony is about 15' above the playing surface and about 25' off the closest sideline boundary. (20x lens is not a choice unless I want a ton of panning) With the wid eangle 3x lens, I was wondering if the panning would be minimized and does this sound like a reasonable setup?

If all else fails I can shoot from the corners.

Your thoughts?

hi here's how we shot one, (apart from the obvious broadcast file footage)

http://jasonmagbanua.com/blog/2006/1...ketball-video/

hope this helps

Just wanted to know how the b-ball video was going?

Jason

setup 2 cameras

Have a wide-angle camera setup in the bleachers and focused on just half of the court where the player is playing offense or defense. Point the camera to the other half side of the court during half-time.

Have one camera with you down at the floor and use that to capture tight shots of the player. Using the zoom at it's longest FOV is recommended so that you can separate the player and background. However, this would require great manual focusing and panning skills on your part.