Surf Video Analysis: How to Film Your Surfing for Maximum Coaching Value

Surf video analysis is one of the most powerful tools available to any surfer who wants to improve. But the quality of the analysis you receive is directly tied to the quality of the footage you submit. Bad footage limits what a coach can see — and therefore limits what they can tell you.

I've been analysing surf footage for over a decade. Here's exactly what makes footage useful for coaching, and how to get it.

The Best Camera Position for Surf Video Analysis

The single most important thing is angle. For technique analysis, you want footage filmed from the beach or a nearby vantage point — perpendicular to the wave, so you can see the surfer's full body from the side. This angle shows your stance, your pop-up, your weight distribution, and your turns in a way that no other angle can.

A second useful angle is from directly behind the surfer, looking down the line. This shows your body position relative to the wave face and how you're tracking across the wave.

POV footage (GoPro on the board) is interesting but limited for technique analysis — it tells me what you're seeing, not what your body is doing. It's useful as supplementary footage but not as a primary coaching source.

What Equipment Do You Need?

You don't need expensive equipment. A modern smartphone on a tripod or held steady by a friend on the beach is perfectly adequate for surf video analysis. The key requirements are:

• Stable footage — shaky footage makes it very hard to analyse technique. Use a tripod, a rock, or ask someone to hold the phone with both hands.
• Good light — film in the morning or late afternoon when the sun is lower. Midday sun creates harsh shadows that can obscure body position.
• Zoom in appropriately — you want the surfer to fill roughly a third to half of the frame. Too far away and you can't see the details. Too close and you lose context.
• Landscape orientation — always film horizontally, not vertically. Vertical footage cuts off too much of the wave.

How Many Waves Should You Film?

For a coaching analysis, I typically ask for one video clip. But that clip should ideally contain multiple waves — at least 5 to 10 if possible. This is important because technique errors are often inconsistent. You might pop up correctly on one wave and incorrectly on the next. The more waves I can see, the more accurately I can identify your consistent patterns versus your one-off mistakes.

If you can only get footage of one or two waves, that's fine — it's still useful. But more is better.

What Conditions Are Best for Filming?

For technique analysis, cleaner, smaller waves are actually more useful than big, challenging conditions. When the waves are small and manageable, you can focus on executing technique correctly. When the waves are big and powerful, survival instincts take over and technique often breaks down — which is useful to see, but not the best starting point for coaching.

Ideally, film yourself in conditions where you feel comfortable and are surfing at your best. That gives me a clear picture of your current technique baseline — what you do when you're not stressed.

Should You Film Yourself or Have Someone Film You?

Having someone else film you is better — they can track you across the wave and adjust the frame as needed. But filming yourself is absolutely fine. Set up your phone on a tripod pointed at the break, start recording, and paddle out. You'll capture plenty of usable footage.

Some surf spots have cameras already — Surfline, for example, has cameras at many popular breaks. If you're surfing a spot with a camera, you can sometimes use that footage for analysis. The quality varies, but it's often adequate.

What Else Should You Include?

When you submit footage for coaching, context helps enormously. Tell the coach:

• How long you've been surfing
• What you're specifically trying to work on
• What you feel is your biggest weakness
• What conditions the footage was filmed in

This context allows the coach to tailor their feedback to what's most relevant to you. A coach who knows you're a 2-year surfer trying to unlock your backhand will give you very different feedback than one who assumes you're an experienced surfer looking to fine-tune.

In my online surf coaching service, I ask 10 questions before you upload your footage — precisely to gather this context so my analysis is as specific and useful as possible.