Recruiting video - professionally or do it yourself?

[Pigskinguru34]

DD is a sophomore and starting on the get serious part of recruiting as she is a pitcher and had wholes in her mechanics that have been corrected and resulted in 4-5mph gain in speed but more importantly better spin and regained accuracy.

That being said we are starting to put together her bio and list of schools to target. So final step is the recruiting video.

I have gotten price quotes from 4 different video makers in the field and watched their videos. For $300-500 on a 4 minute video it looks good but is not jaw dropping. I have seen some do it yourself videos using gopro hero 5 and editing software that look comparable, not as good but very close.

That being said I am looking for some advice if it is better to pay for a professional video and be done with it or to buy the equipment myself and work and update videos periodically? Also, any rules on using live game footage as I have seen a couple but the majority are just simple drills with nothing live game situation. Lastly, how many videos do you typically make during the recruiting time for colleges?

Thank you everyone for your help and assistance!

 

[Phandle]

Getting one of these recruiting agencies put together a video is great, if you have money sitting around. Otherwise use your phone or gopro and record a good 2 or 3 minute video. since your daughter is a pitcher, have her throw hwe best pitch in the beginning of the video and go from there. Using game footage is also great.

 

[marriard]

You don't need anything more than your phone and a $15 tripod. There are plenty of free video editing tools that are more than sufficient. You are not making a work of art. In fact quite the opposite. You don't need blaring background music or cool video transitions or flashy graphics or... well anything. Just the softball and contact details.

There are many threads on what needs to be in the video you can search, but here is the summary

1) You have max 30 seconds to get attention. And no more than 4 minutes in total.
2) Show your BEST skill first. So as a pitcher - her best pitch. Get them interested.
3) Full detailed contact details at start and finish. Name, position and email captioned on video. If you want to do the video talking intro keep it to 10 seocnds - name, position, grad year, team in split screen.


I do one live shot between each change skill (so from pitching to hitting to fielding or whatever) but it isn't necessary. Live shots/highlight videos you can do separate videos for. You should have a YouTube channel for everything softball recruiting video related where you can put everything you do and refer to in emails she is sending.

Video is to confirm what you say in your email may be true (ie. I am pitcher) so they come out to see you live or ask you to a camp and so on. Part of the marketing campaign.

 

[MNDad]

I would suggest getting the best one you can afford. Had a TB coach send video to several schools which resulted in multiple recruiting conversations between her and the colleges. She received another dozen or so inquiries from coaches who ran across her video on YouTube. You’re already spending how many thousands to put your kid in the best situation to get recruited. Don’t skimp on one of the most important tools.

 

[Pigskinguru34]

Not trying to skimp as the money on the gopro and editing software is roughly the same plust the extra time. My only concern is the video is 1 and done. I would imagine you update the video over time and this is where doing it yourself saves money. and quite honestly the difference in videos is not glaring, plus the music and production that most do is pointless in the eyes and minds of the coaches.

 

[spleen1015]

We post videos from a go pro. No one on our team has a specific recruiting video. The ones putting in the work to email coaches are getting looked at. I don't think a video makes a difference at all.

 

[Orange Socks]

During the Question/Answer session in most camps DD attended the coaches said don't spend the money when you can do your own video with your camera phones or digital camera. Several D1 coaches said that they don't want to see the best swings edited into the clip. They want to see 10 consecutive swings from the side and back. They want to see how your DD adjusts between pitches. No music, no extended intro, contact info, team info. Keep it no longer than 4 minutes.

Yes to the Youtube channel. The Analytics function allows you to see when someone watches your videos. Post video clips there too. It's a very nice function that gives you the feedback to let you know if someone is actually viewing them especially after you email the links.

 

[seeballhitball]

During the Question/Answer session in most camps DD attended the coaches said don't spend the money when you can do your own video with your camera phones or digital camera. Several D1 coaches said that they don't want to see the best swings edited into the clip. They want to see 10 consecutive swings from the side and back. They want to see how your DD adjusts between pitches. No music, no extended intro, contact info, team info. Keep it no longer than 4 minutes.

Yes to the Youtube channel. The Analytics function allows you to see when someone watches your videos. Post video clips there too. It's a very nice function that gives you the feedback to let you know if someone is actually viewing them especially after you email the links.

Totally agree with the analytics. Very important in my opinion for 8, 9 10th graders as they have no way to legitimately know if their emails are being read. Having link to vids is critical to understand if Big State U is watching, especially if that is the only university in a specific state you daughter is writing.

My oldest daughter did skills video but I didn't care for that. My youngest has only been game footage compilation through iMovie to show multiple hitting and fielding plays. About 2 minutes with highlight shadow on her for ease of tracking.