Filming guide
Film it right the first time
Your coach can only review what the camera catches. Five minutes of setup here saves you a wasted upload, so read this before you play.
The short version
- Phone on a tripod, not in someone's hand
- Behind the glass, at the back of your own side
- Landscape orientation, 1080p or better
- Whole court visible in frame
- 10–20 minutes of real play beats 60 minutes of warm-up
- Tell us your shirt colour when you upload
Where to put the camera
Camera position matters more than anything else. From behind your own baseline you see both players, both walls and the full flight of the ball. From the side, you see almost none of it.
Good: behind the back glass
Tripod behind the glass, centred on your side of the court. Both players and the full width of play stay in frame.
Bad: from the side fence
Side-on angles compress the court. Your coach can't see depth, positioning, or where the ball actually landed.
Setting up
- 01
Use a tripod or wedge the phone still
Handheld footage is hard to watch and hides footwork. A cheap phone tripod behind the back glass is all you need; resting it on a bag against the fence works too.
- 02
Stand behind your own baseline
Film from behind the back glass on the side you play from. This gives your coach the same view a coach courtside would have of your side of the court.
- 03
Go landscape, fill the frame with the court
Shoot horizontally at 1080p or higher. Zoom or reposition so all four walls and both service boxes are visible. Don't crop in on just the net.
- 04
Avoid filming from the side
Side angles look natural to the eye courtside but flatten the video. Depth and positioning, which is most of what a coach reviews, disappear.
While you're playing
Film real points, not the warm-up
10–20 minutes of actual rallies gives your coach far more to work with than 60 minutes that's mostly warm-up hits and between-point pauses.
Keep the camera running
Don't stop and restart between points. A continuous clip is easier to review than a folder of fragments.
Note your shirt colour
Tell us what colour you're wearing when you upload. It's the fastest way for your coach to find you in frame from the first second.
Still not sure your footage will work?
Upload what you have. If it isn't usable, we'll tell you before your coach spends time on it, not after.