Lights, Camera, Action – Part 2

As promised, here are my recommendations for filming from the front view, what type of hardware you might need, and the software choices available for you.

Front view

For this view, your righthanded player will need to be on the left lane. Go down the channel cap as far as the arrows. You’ll be taking three shots from this location. One will be of the whole approach, the second of the face only, and the third will be a close-up of the release. From this view, you’re checking concentration, focus, targeting, checking to see if he is watching the ball all the way down the lane, footwork, armswing, release and, of course, how he’d look on TV.

You won’t always have to do what I am about to describe but just to be sure you get the information you need, do it this way the first few times. Have him assume his finish position at the line without the ball, making sure his balance arm, head, slide, delivery, and follow through are all within view. (If you want to try to see what his run-it-out form looks like, you’ll have to have a wide-angle lens!) See photo labeled Good Camera Placement.

Once you have him in focus at the foul line, he’ll, of course, look smaller when he gets in his starting position. That’s okay. The foul line position is the priority in this shot. Start the camera as he is getting set.

Front view – face

I learned about this shot from Gold Coach Ron Hoppe. It will tell you a lot about how invested your student is, if he keeps his eyes on the target, if he follows the ball all the way down the lane and through the deck, his reaction to whatever he did….lots of good stuff.

Still standing on the channel cap, focus on his upper body from the chest up while he is getting ready to make a delivery. Since this view is about what goes on in the face and neck, having that much of the ...