Use of video as a training aid

[SARDiver]

I set a camera up to record several racks of straight pool, always starting at a "ball out" break shot and trying to make it through to another rack.

The game I was playing isn't all that important, but some of my errors and tendencies stood out like a group of dead nuns in a snow bank. I had no idea I was shooting so quickly when I bent down to the table. My impatience at the table led to several missed shots, and I found myself yelling at the TV over my choice of shots and the speed at which they were shot.

Seeing it from an elevated, detached viewpoint was a real help. Just thought I'd throw that out there as a suggestion. I plan to do this again in a month or two to see if there's any improvement.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I set a camera up to record several racks of straight pool, always starting at a "ball out" break shot and trying to make it through to another rack.

The game I was playing isn't all that important, but some of my errors and tendencies stood out like a group of dead nuns in a snow bank. I had no idea I was shooting so quickly when I bent down to the table. My impatience at the table led to several missed shots, and I found myself yelling at the TV over my choice of shots and the speed at which they were shot.

Seeing it from an elevated, detached viewpoint was a real help. Just thought I'd throw that out there as a suggestion. I plan to do this again in a month or two to see if there's any improvement.

Videoing yourself is the next best thing to having an instructor that uses video (like Scott Lee).

pj <- assuming you have some idea what to look for
chgo

 

[7forlife]

I've been using video for years now, started out with a phone. Ive even tried to help others here by posting links to equipment and such. There is no substitute to having that footage, glad you made the choice.

 

[Catahula]

Thanks for the visual

" like a group of dead nuns in a snow bank."
13 years of Catholic School back in the day (before nuns started wearing civvies and still wielded their rosary beads like weapons) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Thanks for the visual. lol:grin:
Tommy

 

[Cameron Smith]

Try this app if you have smart phone/Iphone,

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/hudl-technique-formerly-ubersense/id470428362?mt=8

You examine technique in slow motion and go frame by frame. Not as good as the really expensive programs or equipment of course, but it's free!

 

[SARDiver]

I mentioned the native slow motion capability the iphone has in the 14.1 forum. I was able to see the part of the stack my break ball was hitting, and learned a bit about how it behaves coming off there. Capelle's book (a Godsend) lays it out well, but there's nothing like seeing it.

When I watch straight pool videos (with people who really know what they're doing), I love to try to figure out the pattern that will be followed. I'm right a fair bit of the time. Since it had been several days in between recording the videos and watching them, I had a fine time looking at the table and seeing the best pattern...then watching myself proceed to ignore the best way to run them out and bollocks things up royal.

That tells me that I need to change my perspective around the table a bit, and slow down. I can't make the sort of precise mechanical adjustments that "pj" sort of alludes to, since beyond the bare bones, I don't know what to look for. The big stuff I have down, though.