Pitch-side at Colchester United FC
Blackmagic 6K · 2 × Insta360 · GoPro
02 · Live match
Live football doesn’t do second takes. On matchday I’m on the touchline for every minute, with a full-frame Blackmagic 6K on long lenses, two Insta360s on in-match angles and a GoPro where nobody else can go. Then it’s a race to turn it all into something worth watching while the result is still fresh.
Where the cameras go on a typical matchday, and what each one is there to catch. Pick a camera to see its angle.
Camera A · Main camera
On the touchline with long zoom lenses. This is the cinematic camera: close-ups of the players, the emotion on the bench and the action as it happens.
Camera B · In-match angle
Locked off behind the goal and rolling for the full ninety minutes, so the goals, saves and celebrations at that end are covered from an angle a camera operator can’t get to.
Camera C · In-match angle
The same idea at the other end of the pitch. Whichever way the game goes, there’s a camera already waiting for the moment.
Camera D · POV
Small enough to go where the big camera can’t: the tunnel, the walk-out and the up-close moments before and after the game.
A match lasts ninety minutes. My day starts hours before kick-off and carries on long after the final whistle.
013 hours to kick-off
Cameras built, cards cleared, batteries charged and every position checked before the gates open. Get this right and the rest of the day looks after itself.
0290 minutes to kick-off
Players and staff arriving, and the build-up behind the scenes while the ground comes to life.
0345 minutes to kick-off
Pitch-side for the warm-ups as the stands fill up. Prime footage for teasers and atmosphere.
04Kick-off
The 6K on the touchline, both Insta360s rolling on their in-match angles and the GoPro on POV. From here, nothing gets a second take.
05Half-time
Fifteen minutes to check every angle, swap cards and batteries, and note the first-half moments worth cutting.
06Full-time
Celebrations, reactions and the players with the fans. Often the best footage of the whole day.
07After the whistle
The clock’s still running: goals and celebrations cut and out on social while the result is still fresh.
08The days after
Every angle synced, cut and colour-matched into the full matchday story for YouTube.
Watch the Oldham episodeFour cameras means four times the footage. This is how a matchday becomes a finished film, synced and cut in DaVinci Resolve.
Pick an angle to make the cut
01Media
Every card offloaded and backed up before anything else happens.
02Edit
All four angles lined up in a single multicam clip.
03Cut
Switching angles like a live director, then refining every edit.
04Color
Colour-matching the cameras so four angles feel like one film.
05Deliver
16:9 for YouTube, then reframed for vertical and the feed.
The same moment has to work as a widescreen film on YouTube and as a vertical clip on a phone. Reframing for each format is part of the edit, not an afterthought.
Drag the frame to reframe the shot
The full matchday story on YouTube, and a multi-camera short cut for social.
Play Inside Matchday: Colchester United 2–1 Oldham Athletic
COL2–1OLDFT
SeriesInside Matchday
A whole matchday in one film: the build-up behind the scenes, the goals and the full-time celebrations with the fans.
Thanks for watching. There’s more to explore: behind-the-scenes documentary, shorts and matchday graphics.
