Filming guide

Prop the phone on a balcony rail, a tripod, or a bag — anything that does not move. The court is found by comparing frames from across the whole recording, which only works if the camera is fixed. Handheld or panning footage cannot be analysed.

Film from high and behind the back wall, looking down the length of the court. From there the players rarely block each other and their feet stay visible, which is what positions are measured from.

The floor is what the court is detected from, and anything outside the frame cannot be measured. Tilt down and step back until the entire floor, including both back corners, is inside the picture with a little room to spare.

Every report says what share of the court it could see. Aim for the first of these; the third still works with a caveat; the fourth is refused rather than analysed on a guess.

Portrait orientation usually fits a squash court better than landscape from behind — the court is deeper than it is wide from that angle.

This is the one that is easy to forget. The analysis tells one game from the next by finding a long pause with nobody on the court — between points players stand on court, between games they walk off to towel down and drink.

If both players stay on court through the break, a whole evening can read as a single game, and the per-game numbers cannot be recovered afterwards from the rallies alone. Step off, even briefly.

Players are identified per session, so if the opponent changes partway through — a box league night, say — upload each matchup as its own recording rather than one long file.

Normal court lighting is fine. Very dim evening light or heavy backlight from a window behind the court makes the players harder to separate.

30 frames per second gives positioning, rallies, heatmaps, T control, distance and work rate. 60 fps or higher additionally unlocks ball speed and shot types. Phone video is usually 30 fps unless you set it higher.