How to film football games & sporting events

Hi, I'm Zeke Piestrup, and today we're going to talk about how to make a video of a high school football game. When shooting a high school football game, you should try to include as many different aspects of the game as you can. You can focus on highlighting fast action plays as well as roaring fans. When you look back on your video in the future, you'll appreciate the details that you captured on and off the field.

However, in order to get high quality footage of these varying shots, you're going to need a few things. First off, you want to use a compact camcorder that shoots in full HD and has a wide angle lens like this one. That will capture the entire field. Since football fields are enormous, you also want a camcorder with an extended zoom feature to capture plays that happen across the field. Now once you've got your equipment, it's time to get going.

Football games can make for great video footage because there's so much high energy. Try get to the game before everyone else so you can position yourself and camera away from the crowd. For creative shots of the fans, you could slowly pan across the bleachers, or steadily zoom in on rowdy parents and students. Also look for signs in the crowd that you can focus on for a second or two. If you're shooting games at night, you want a camera that gets great shots in low light. This one right here has got a sensor that helps improve clarity and reduce grain at night.

Another important tip is to shoot from creative angles, like behind the goal post or from the top of the bleachers. It's also a cool shot to zoom right in the huddle, and then zoom out right when they call break. It can be an awesome start or finish to your movie. Another interesting perspective is from behind the players' bench. There you can capture the back of the players' jerseys with the names and numbers. And don't forget to get a few shots of those crazy coaches.

Next, let's talk about stabilization techniques. It's pretty difficult to watch a football game, see a great play and not cheer or get into it. That's why you should consider mounting your camera on a large tripod to leave your hands free. Following the ball on a long pass play, it is a great shot, but it's hard to keep the camera steady. If you don't have a tripod, you can try standing with your arms tucked. Keep them close to your body, slowly panning, and don't move your arm. Most cameras have a stabilizing mode, so remember to turn it on before the game starts.

Angles aren't the only way to change it up. You can also insert video clips of other events, like the warm ups, any sort of TD celebrations, or the halftime show. A lot of camcorders take still images too. They offer a great way to transition between scenes. Try and snap a few pictures of signs, the scoreboard when your team is up, as well as great action shots or emotions that happen on the fly. These will act as excellent editorial options for your final video.

I'm Zeke for Sony with Howdini. For more great tips, visit sony.com/howdini.