Filming yourself with one phone: a practical guide for players

You do not need a drone or a video editor. Most of the clips scouts watch on Go2Pro were filmed on a phone by a parent, a brother or a teammate. Here is how to make yours worth watching.

Before the match

Charge the phone. Clear some space on it. A full memory card at minute 70, when you finally score, is the kind of thing that happens. Clean the lens with your shirt. It takes two seconds and it changes everything.

Pick the right spot

Ask whoever is filming to stand high if they can: a stand, a step, a small wall. From up high, the pitch reads better and the ball is easier to follow. If there is no high spot, stand at the halfway line, not behind a goal. Film in landscape, phone sideways. Vertical clips cut half the pitch out.

Film the whole match, cut later

Do not try to guess when something good will happen. Record longer stretches and pick the moment afterwards. Go2Pro clips are 29 seconds at most, so one good action is enough. Zooming in with the fingers makes the picture shaky and blurry. Keep the zoom off and get closer with your feet instead.

What makes a clip useful

A scout wants to see the action and what you do before and after it. Start the clip two or three seconds before you get the ball. Let it run a moment after the pass, the shot or the tackle. Keep yourself in the frame. If nobody can tell which player you are, the clip does not work.

Training sessions count

A clean passing drill, a one-against-one, a set piece in training: these all show something. Scouts know that matches are messy. A clear clip from training can show your technique better than a crowded match scene.

Skip the effects

No music, no slow motion, no filters, no text over the picture. Go2Pro is not a social feed. The scout wants the raw action. Sound is fine if it is the real sound of the game.

Before you upload

Watch it once more. Is the ball visible? Are you visible? Does the clip start and end at the right place? If you are under 18, your parent approves it before it goes online, so show it to them first and explain what they are looking at.

One clip a week is plenty

Do not post everything. Post the best thing you did this week. Over a season, that adds up to a real portrait of how you play.