Phone tripod setup for the cricket nets

Where should you put the tripod?

Directly behind the bowler's stumps, in line with the middle of the pitch, far enough back to see your last few strides and both sets of stumps. From there the ball travels straight away from the camera, so you can see its line, and a ball-tracking app can follow its whole flight.

Start just behind the stumps and step back until your final strides fit in the bottom of the frame. Don't go further than you need to: the far stumps get smaller with every step, and you want to see them clearly. Keep the tripod out of the run-up, and tell anyone else bowling where it is.

Side-on footage is useful for looking at your front knee and the shape of your action, but you can't judge line from there and the ball crosses the frame too quickly to follow. If you want both, use two phones.

How high should the phone be?

Around head height is a good place to start. Looking slightly down the pitch stops your body hiding the ball at release and gives a clearer view of where it pitches. Too low and the ball gets lost against the background; too high and a light tripod starts to wobble.

Then trust what you see. Bowl a practice ball and watch it back: can you see the ball leave your hand, travel down the pitch and reach the far stumps? If any part is hidden, change the height first.

Should you film in portrait or landscape?

From behind the bowler, portrait. The pitch runs up the screen, so a tall frame fits your last strides at the bottom and the far stumps near the top. YORKER AI records in portrait. For side-on footage of your action, landscape fits better.

Whichever you choose, don't turn the phone between balls. Clips with the same framing are easy to compare, and an app that has lined up the pitch needs the camera to stay exactly where it was.

What frame rate should you use?

60 frames a second is plenty for following the ball, and it's what YORKER AI uses. Slow motion at 120 or 240 frames a second is good for studying your action frame by frame, but it needs more light. At 30 frames a second a quick ball jumps a long way between frames.

How much light do you need?

As much as you can get. In poor light a fast ball smears into a blur. Keep the sun behind or beside the camera: filming into the sun turns the bowler into a silhouette and can hide the ball completely.

Strong shadows across the pitch make the ball flicker between light and dark, which is harder to follow. Indoor nets usually have even light, but it's often dimmer than it looks, so check a test clip.

How do you keep the phone steady?

Use a tripod, never a hand. Tighten the head, weigh the legs down in wind and keep your hands off the phone once you've started. If the picture moves, clips stop lining up with each other and an app that has lined up the pitch loses its place.

YORKER AI checks the camera stays still while it lines up the stumps, and asks you to try again if it moved. It shows a level guide during setup too.

Phones get hot sitting in strong sun. On a hot day, keep the phone in the shade if you can.

Is it better to film in the nets or on an open pitch?

Either works if you can see both sets of stumps and the full 22-yard pitch. Nets give you a fixed lane and less wind; an open pitch usually has more light and a cleaner background. What matters is a clear view down the pitch with nothing moving behind the far stumps.

In the nets, watch the lanes either side, because balls in the next lane and people walking behind the far stumps all end up in your footage. If you film from outside a netted lane, make sure there's no mesh between the lens and the pitch. And check the pitch is full length: a tracking app expects the stumps to be 22 yards apart.

What should you check before you bowl?

That the phone is on a tripod behind the bowler's stumps, in portrait, with both sets of stumps and your last strides in view, the sun out of the lens and a test ball watched back. Each mistake is quick to fix before the first ball and impossible to fix afterwards.

• Phone on a tripod, behind the bowler's stumps, in line with the pitch
• Portrait, at about head height, level
• Both sets of stumps in view, far stumps clearly visible
• Your last few strides at the bottom of the frame
• Tripod out of the run-up, weighed down if it's windy
• Sun behind or beside the camera, no strong shadows across the pitch
• Nobody standing between the camera and the bowler
• Enough battery for the whole session
• One test ball filmed and watched back

How to set up your phone to film your bowling

1. Find a full-length pitchA marked 22-yard pitch with stumps at both ends, in a net or out in the middle.
2. Put the tripod behind the bowler's stumpsIn line with the middle of the pitch, square on, and out of the bowler's path.
3. Mount the phone in portrait at about head heightA tall frame fits the run-in at the bottom and the far stumps near the top.
4. Frame the shotGet the bowler's last few strides and both sets of stumps in view. If the far stumps look tiny, move closer.
5. Level it and lock itStraighten the horizon, tighten the tripod head and weigh the legs down if it's windy.
6. Check the lightSun behind or beside the camera, never in the lens.
7. Film a test ballWatch it back, check you can see the ball all the way to the far stumps, then leave the phone alone.