Alright, so yesterday, I got this wild hair to go over and check out our local Centennial High School’s football practice. Real community spirit stuff, you know? Plus, figure it’s decent material for a vlog snippet.
Getting My Gear Together
First thing: gotta grab my camera. Dusted off the ol’ DSLR – thing weighs a ton, felt like packing bricks. Then I remembered my phone’s got that decent slow-mo thing, shoved that in my pocket too. Couldn’t find my good tripod mount, ended up using that crappy phone gimbal I wasted $40 on last Amazon spree. Already felt like a bad omen.
The Plan Was Simple…
Show up, find a decent spot near the fence – not right on top of them, but close enough. Hoped to catch some good shots:
- Coaches yelling drills (always dramatic)
- Quarterback slinging passes
- Maybe a linebacker or two smashing pads
- Parents scattered on bleachers, the usual
Easy, right? Just be a fly on the wall.
How It Actually Went Down
Parked way down the street ’cause the lot was packed like concert parking. Trudged over, sweating already. Found a spot near the end zone fence. Set up the DSLR. Immediately realized the chain link fence wire was perfectly positioned to ruin every wide shot. Like, right through the center of the lens. Cussed under my breath.
Switched to the phone on the gimbal, holding it up high over my head. Arm felt like it was gonna fall off after two minutes. Got one decent slow-mo clip of a running back doing footwork drills… until he tripped over a cone. Kid faceplanted hard. Awkwardly lowered my phone.
Moved spots three times. Too far back? Can’t see detail. Too close to parents? One mom kept side-eyeing me like I was selling insurance. Managed to film a water break. Riveting content.
Tried filming that QB throwing. Sun decided to dive behind the biggest cloud right then. Footage went from bright gold hour to murky grey sludge in seconds. Adjusted settings on the DSLR… fumbled with the dial… looked up… practice ended. Teams started breaking down. Felt like a total dweeb.
Scraped Together What I Had
Back home, dumped the footage. Maybe 8 minutes total? Half shaky, half looking through fence mesh, half dull as dishwater (yeah, math checks out). Had five clips that weren’t complete garbage:
- Slow-mo stumble
- Two seconds of a decent spiral before the sun died
- Coach pointing wildly at a whiteboard (no sound)
- Water jug refill close-up (artistic?)
- Group huddle chant from far away (muffled)
Slapped those together with some generic “pumping guitar riff” track. Added a text overlay: “Centennial Hustle!” Yeah, felt lame even typing it. Uploaded it. Got maybe 4 views? Two were probably me.
Whole Point?
Sometimes the simplest things – like filming a high school practice – turn into a royal pain. Wire fences are evil. Sunlight is fickle. Phones die. Kids trip. You look suspicious holding a camera. You end up with footage of a water jug.
Was it a win? Nah. But it was real. Practice again Friday. Maybe I’ll try jamming my knee into the fence to hold the phone steady. Or just… enjoy the game. Weird concept.
