Best angle to video form from?

[PorlyP]

I might be borrowing my brother's video camera in future to assess my form, but which angle/s is/are the best to observe from?

Does anyone else use video to look over their form?

[LineCutter]

As many angles as you can, at whatever zoom you need
The correct angles are the ones you need to demonstrate the thing that you want to study. This is a personal & variable quantity.
For some options you could take a look at the video I posted when I was asking about online coaching.

[Rik]

Originally Posted by PorlyP

I might be borrowing my brother's video camera in future to assess my form, but which angle/s is/are the best to observe from?

Does anyone else use video to look over their form?

All of them? Well... underneath probably isn't that useful, but you can get something out of all the others. Overhead is good if you can manage it...

[phillc]

Video is a great tool for this as it gives an impartial veiw of what you are doing
The three main positions that I use are

1) In front of you on shooting line for T alignment and dfl, head movement(dipping to string) also front shoulder position / draw arm up down also string hand position (twisting /angled ((wrong word for it but grip of the string))

2) Over rear shoulder draw arm position bow canting crouching /leaning back dipping to string

3) Behind from shooting line shoulder position as in position 1

This is by no means the complete list of things to see but im sure you will find lots of other things that you notice

As an aid if you make up a T shaped stand from broom handles set it up top of the t parrallel to the ground and stand it in front or behind you as a reference whilst videoing it can make it easier to spot things

The hardest thing to do is ignore the video in front of you, you will do things diffrently until you relax try getting someone to video from a distance when you don't know its happening or you will be telling yourself subliminally to check and do everything (right)

Don't forget to watch preperation and pre draw as this can affect your position at full draw but above all ENJOY shooting relaxed works best.

[PorlyP]

Firstly, ta for that

Yeah, I'm trying to get better while still enjoying the simple act of shooting, as that's why I'm so into it, I just love doing it.

After 2 months of chasing every possible opportunity to shoot, I'm still thirsty for more, good shooting or bad

[geoffretired]

LIke Line Cutter says, know what you want to look at when you replay the vid.
I video frequently and want to show the archer what is causing variations.
Phillc has explained some of the angles.

Close ups of the arrow as it reaches full draw is always useful. A forward creeping arrow is always worth knowing about. Is the draw length consistent? Does the bow arm drop? That can be seen too. If there is loss of tension just before the loose, it will show in slow motion.

Close ups of the face for string and hand references.Are they consistent? Is the loose consistent?

A view from behind the archer, almost facing the target, is helpful. Try to see the draw elbow and the bow hand in the same shot. In slow motion it is possible to catch whether or not both arms are reacting to the loose at the same time and whether the bow arm collapses to the right for R/H archer.

[joetapley]

Take a look at http://miika.aulio.fi/videot/ for some very good examples.

[PorlyP]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

LIke Line Cutter says, know what you want to look at when you replay the vid.
I video frequently and want to show the archer what is causing variations.
Phillc has explained some of the angles.

Close ups of the arrow as it reaches full draw is always useful. A forward creeping arrow is always worth knowing about. Is the draw length consistent? Does the bow arm drop? That can be seen too. If there is loss of tension just before the loose, it will show in slow motion.

Close ups of the face for string and hand references.Are they consistent? Is the loose consistent?

A view from behind the archer, almost facing the target, is helpful. Try to see the draw elbow and the bow hand in the same shot. In slow motion it is possible to catch whether or not both arms are reacting to the loose at the same time and whether the bow arm collapses to the right for R/H archer.

Excellent, this is exactly what I was looking for, ta Geoff!

I never creep forward at the mo, as I'm not bound to pulling through a clicker, I anchor, and maintain tension as I'm aware of other people's creep when I watch them shoot (I watch everything else when I'm not shooting, to get ideas on technique)

The loose, however, is gonna be an issue, I'd like to try the two-hand movement check as that could help me a great deal.

Again, cheers for the comments, they've always been spot on!

[bluebow]

A potentially more powerful way of looking at your form, is to have a mirror placed to the right in front of you (assuming you are right handed) - in such a way that you can come to full draw and then only have to move your eyes to look at the image in the mirror (i.e. not move your head). This is great for looking at reference point and string position.

The main advantage over video is that you get instant feedback and more importantly how it feels at the time. The feel is very important and it can be difficult to remember how something felt when reviewing a video tape later.

[geoffretired]

That's a good point, bluebow.
Do you think it would work with a video and a monitor?
Put the video camera to vid what you want to see and place the monitor where it can be seen easily. I'm thinking of certain aspects such as the clicker;it could be seen working along the pile without looking away. The follow through may be interesting too.
Perhaps some views would be so unnatural as to detract from the shooting and confuse the situation rather than help.