Soccer Game Camera Position?
 

Where on a soccer field is the best place to position my tripod and GL-1? Middle, End, 1/3 down the field? Kids Game.

Thanks,
Dominic
Northridge, CA

I suppose it depends what part of the action you want to cover.. I'd be inclined to move around a lot, but if you want the continuous game I would say go in the middle.

The higher the better, but that will probably be limited.

I'd say 1/2 way between and end line and the middle of the field. Then move down the the other end for some of it. That way you can get some good footage fairly close up by goal and cut out the stuff that is far away. If you're in the middle alot is going to be pretty far away. Course depending on the kids age it could be a little field then around the middle would probably work best for the whole thing.

Just don't go hand held! Some well meaning soccer moms did that for some of my games back in the day before image stabilization, heh.

Cheers,
Brian

No chance of getting a second cam into the mix?
Being in the middle is going to put a lot far away, but being stationary anywhere else is going to put a whole lot more even further away!
:-)

A top match on TV will have probably 8 - 12 cameras. There is a reason for that of course and you obiously know it.

What you have to do (I think) is to decide what you want to make. Is it to "cover" one particular match in realtime or one particular team or even a single player?

Whatever you do you need close shots of midfield action as well as action near the goals cut inbetween grand shots of play, spectators and the stadium as such. There is no one point from where you can get all this, so you have to move around. If you're showing a team or a player, you can mix shots from several matches.

Make sure you don't cross the line because then you'll have one team playing against itself.

Wait a minute, that's a GL1, with a 20x zoom.
I say stick to middle, you should be able to cover everything just fine, but stay on a tripod (yes, with the stabilizer on :-] ).

I do lots of soccer games. I like to move up & down the field alot. Some coaches don't want you near their team, so it's best to clear it with them first, as well as the refs. Try to use various angles; low (ground level), High (in the stands), shoulder height. Also, try to get lots of close-ups. Get lots of b-roll, this is great for change-of-pace. Hope this helps.

Should I use my W-58 wide angle? Or dont even think about it?

Was wondering if this will bring a wider perspective so more action can be seeing.

Thanks for the replies.

GL-1 / Bogen tripod/fluid head


Dominic

I used to play soccer and watch a lot, but have only ever shot football. Since many soccer games are played at remarked football fields, this advice should work. When it comes to your location, considering this is a one camera shoot, high is good. Usually we put the main camera on the roof of the pressbox. This is a great way to get right above the mid-field. If there's no pressbox, and its just a regular field with bleachers, just get as high as you can without putting yourself in danger (its best to "mark your territory" so fans don't sit too close and don't knock your camera, or especially you, off balance).
The naked (no lens attachments) 20x lens will work great for your needs. I've had to use a VX2000 (12x optical zoom) for the past couple football games and it has worked great. My wide shots could easily cover the width of the field, and even up to about half the length. The 12x zoom could get great tight shots of the player at the 50 yard line and a full-body shot at the endzones. The GL2's 20x should be wonderful for getting shots all the way into each goal (even though soccer moves way to fast to really use shots that tight, unless its a player warming up).
As far as the WD-58, try it out while the players are warming up... depending on how far above the field you get, it could become a necessity. Like you said, you'll need a wider shot to see all the action, but keep zoomed in enough that the action remains full screen.

I agree with Mark. I move around a lot (all on the same side of the field of course) and I get lots of shots of interest such as the referee blowing his whistle and crowd reactions. Keep the camera rolling and make sure to get close-ups of the players (I often do this when they are on the field but the ball isn't in play yet). It will be boring if all your shots are wide shots. Of course, if your footage will be used by the coach for teaching, wider shots would be more important.

My favorite spot is midway between the center line and one goal where I can capture the action on most of the field. If one team is better than the other you might pick the end of the field the ball will spend more time on.

I even get some shots from behind the end line. You can get some interesting shots of the ball coming right at you.

This fall I taped my kid's games and edited them down to around 5 minutes of highlights set to music. For younger kids playing on a small field, I liked shooting from the endline or on the side about 5 yards from the endline always using a tripod. With the 20X zoom of the GL1 you can easily cover the entire field. Obviously, this angle works best if you are only trying to cover one team.

For the older kids playing on a regular sized field, I found that about 1/2 way between the endline and midfield worked best. The endline was too far away from the action at the other end of the field.

For coaching purposes, midfield would work best.

Also, get as many closeups of the players as you can when there is a break in the action. It adds more character to the end product.

Thanks guys you make Info Net a great place for info!!!

Now here is a small clip of the game

Ulead Studio 7 (Captured)

TMPGnec to Compress to Mpeg1

Seems to have a synch problem at the begining for me.



No filters. Stabilization off on GL-1 as I heard this is better with tripod.

www.bpustore.com/thunderclip

FYI, there will be a film out this fall called "The Game of Their Lives" which is about a soccer game against the British in the 50s. It's by the same people who did "Hoosiers" and "Rudy".

Generally it was shot from the side of the net and the sidelines on one half of the field. Rather obvious though. But you might pick up some ideas if you see it.

See if you can pick me out! :)