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On the one hand it provides personal enjoyment to those wanting to relive thrilling moments. However, phone recordings also offer a valuable video analysis tool for players and coaches: To analyze, to learn, and to share. They can review performances, plan future strategies, and showcase talent to scouts. In this article, we will dive deeper into how phones can be used to record football matches and how we at zone14 can help make this process as easy as 1, 2, 3 with our REPLAY tool .
While everyone has, at least in their own capacity, become acquainted with how to use the video function on their phone: Here are some additional steps that will make your experience recording football matches with your phone more thorough and help yield even higher quality outputs for future video analysis. What that analysis consists of, in the end, is entirely up to you!
The process of recording football matches begins far before you are to arrive at the pitch itself. It all starts with purchasing the right equipment, in this case primarily the phone you will use, yet also extends to any accessories you need to help facilitate your work. Think of a tripod or mount, a power bank, or additional storage units that will enhance your video analysis. Here are some possibilities for you to consider:
Phones
Apple iPhone 15 | Bestes Allround-Smartphone | ~ €949
Sony Xperia 1 V | Top Kamera und Auflösung | ~ €999
Google Pixel 7a | Herrvoragendes Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis | ~ €349
Tripods or mounts
JOBY GorillaPod | Flexible and versatile | ~ €50
Ulanzi ST-03 | Portable stand for on the go | ~ €15
Powerbanks
Anker PowerCore | Powerful features | ~ €35
Mophie Powerstation | Reliable and portable charger | ~ €32
Memory
SanDisk iXpand | Optimized storage for iPhone | ~ €50
Samsung EVO Plus | Memory optimized for Android | ~ €38
With the right equipment in-hand, your video analysis is now one step closer. The following step is to find the ideal spot for the phone recording and adjust your camera based on the position it is in: An important step to ensure that post-production runs smoothly (See below).
The footage will need to be stable, well-lit, and captured in good resolution for the best video analysis, with for instance the zone14 REPLAY platform . But more on this later. For now, what is important is that the chosen spot offers a position:
With a clear and unobstructed view of the entire playing field
That is set preferably from a slightly higher point that looks over whatever is happening
In which the phone can (in some way) be mounted for the duration of the match
Equally important, if not even slightly more so, is that the settings of the camera itself have been optimized for high-quality phone recording: A must when prepping for effective video analysis. Here are some tips to go by:
Newly released phones usually have stabilization features available, mostly to reduce shake, while the aforementioned tripods also lend a helping hand
As for the lighting conditions: This is slightly more touch-and-go, yet the general rule is that the brighter day, the lower the exposure should be to avoid overexposed footage in the recording
The resolution should be set to at least 1080p, to ensure that the video footage remains crisp and clear, and a frame rate of 60fps should be chosen for smooth capture
It goes without saying that it is pivotal that the match is recorded properly. It takes place live, and also only once, which means that the content will often be one of its kind: And must be captured as well as possible. zone14 has you covered with our automatic AI camera as part of our pricing packages , yet this step-by-step guide will help ensure that you will be able to master recording the match on your phone.
Then, would you like to take advantage of the REPLAY tool made available for analyzing your phone videos, you are at the right place here. It acts as your one-stop shop for uploading your own recording, store it on our cloud, and have it ready to analyze from wherever you might be.
The first key consideration is how to frame your shot. To effectively do so you must:
Frame the shot so that it covers as much of the field as possible, making sure that the ball and key players are always in-picture, in such a way that the camera remains stable
When it is not possible to do so: It is importantly to pan the pitch as smoothly as possible, ideally with the camera being mounted. In addition, you as the person recording should try to anticipate what is about to happen and move the camera in advance
The second key consideration is the choice of optical or digital zoom to avoid any compromises to the quality of the phone recording: Here, too, keeping the future video analysis in mind. Consider that:
Excessive digital zoom often leads to pixelation and loss of detail, given that the process involves the camera cropping a portion of the frame, later enlarging it back to size at less than the original quality
While optical zoom is said to have higher-quality capabilities, capturing close-up shots without any loss of clarity, in such a way that maintains sharpness
A final consideration is whether to record audio as a means to improve the match-day experience: As there are a number of external microphones available to capture sounds more effectively. Yet as it pertains to the phone itself, you should keep in mind that:
It should be positioned in as much of a wind-still spot as is possible
And that the internal microphone should be directed towards the playing field
While a very handy solution at first glance, recording football matches on a phone requires a substantial amount of storage, around 2GB for a 90-minute match at the suggested 1080p resolution. There are bountiful options available for you to use, ranging from digital-based cloud computing services to external hard drives, which both provide ample storage and ease of access to previous recordings: Some of which have already been listed above.
It is important, for this step, that the recorded content is stored properly and ideally also labeled to allow more time for video analysis. There are a number of platforms out there that can assist in the editing of the content of the phone recording, including:
For Apple
iMovie | User-friendly and easy-to-use | Free!
Filmora | Few more advanced features | ~ €80
Final Cut Pro | Professional-grade tool | ~ €250
For Windows
Shotcut | Open-source and free-to-use | Free!
Filmora | Few advanced functions | ~ €80
Adobe Premiere Pro | Absolute top caliber | ~ €240 / p.y.
However, we at zone14 take video analysis one step further with our REPLAY software, which facilitates every step of the post-production process for you. After uploading the footage from your own phone recording on our cloud, REPLAY allows you to tag important scenes, sort these into playlists, and then share the best moments with team members and fans alike: A first step in elevating your game with zone14!
Once your content is edited and finalised, sharing it on social media platforms is an important next step to increase reach. Posting highlights and behind-the-scenes moments on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X can significantly increase your audience's engagement.
To track the growth and performance of your posts, the Facebook Business Suite from Meta gives detailed analysis for Facebook and Instagram, whilst SuperX offers advanced tracking and insights for Twitter/X. With these tools, you can monitor engagement, follower growth and the performance of your content and receive valuable feedback to refine your future posts and content strategy.
There are a number of adequate video editing tools available on the market, yet we at zone14 are convinced that we have the ideal solution to meet your needs! We know that recording football matches on your phone is popular for its effectiveness and have for this reason introduced a video analysis software for you: zone14 REPLAY. An all-in-one platform, where you can upload your footage into our cloud, analyze your phone recording with our built-in tools, and then share it on.
But that is not all! We have a range of more advanced solutions that we would like to highlight here, starting with our CORE package, which includes a mounted camera that is installed directly at your pitch. With its two 4k cameras, zone14 ONE has the potential to elevate your game even further than you could have ever imagined. It is mounted at a single installation point and truly suitable for any pitch with its plug-and-play set-up, versatile mounting options, and 180-degree coverage that ensures that no moments are missed.
Recording football matches really can be as easy as 1, 2, 3 for you. In just five steps, you can make your equipment work for you and be well on your way to Video Analysis once again for a quick overview:
As soon as you are ready to continue your journey on an even deeper level, we will be ready for you here at zone14.
