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Filming guide

How to film a clip worth grading

You don't need a camera crew — you need one phone, one good spot, and about a minute of rallies. Here's exactly where to put it and why it matters.

The setup that works

Phone on the fence, behind the baseline, sideways

That's it. Roughly chest height, centred on the court, far enough back that both baselines are in the shot. Set it down, play a few rallies, pick up your phone.

  • Behind the baseline
  • Landscape orientation
  • Chest height or higher
  • Whole court in frame

Green cone = what the camera actually sees

Angles, ranked

Same court, four camera positions — and what each one costs your report

Behind the baseline, centred

Best

Sees both players' feet, paddle height, and how far each of you is from the kitchen line. This is the angle every category scores well from.

Behind the baseline, off to one corner

Workable

Fine if the fence gives you nowhere else to stand. Depth on the far side gets harder to judge, so positioning scores lose a little confidence.

Beside the net, shooting across

Avoid

Flattens the court. We can't tell whether you're at the kitchen line or three feet behind it, so positioning and footwork get marked as limited evidence.

On the court, zoomed in on one player

Avoid

You lose the rally context — where your partner is, where the ball lands, and what the other team did. Most of the report becomes guesswork.

Do this

  • Hold the phone sideways

    Landscape fills the frame with court. Portrait crops off the sidelines, which is exactly where footwork happens.

  • Prop it on the fence

    A fence clip, a tripod, or a bag against the post. A handheld clip wobbles, and camera shake gets read as player movement.

  • Film 30–90 seconds

    Continuous rallies beat a highlight reel. Mistakes are what the report is looking for — leave them in.

  • Keep everyone in frame

    All four feet on the ground, both sides of the net. If a player walks out of frame, that stretch can't be graded.

Skip this

  • Don't zoom or follow the ball

    A fixed wide shot beats a moving one every time.

  • Don't film into the sun

    Silhouettes hide paddle position and body angle.

  • Don't edit or add music

    Cuts break the timeline, so flagged moments stop lining up.

  • Don't send a slow-motion clip

    Movement timing is part of the score — slow-mo throws it off.

What a good clip looks like

An example clip is coming during beta — until then, match the framing below

Landscape 16:9 · whole court · fixed camera

Example clip coming soon

keep both baselines inside this box

Filmed something? Let's grade it.

The better the angle, the more the report can tell you.

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