Neil Melville, Author at Dartfish Blog

In CASE STUDIES

Case study: Instant replay for taekwondo judges

October 27, 2014 No Comments

In the blink of an eye, there it is. A kick to the head that, as a spectator sitting back in the stands, you almost missed. That was a crucial three points for your player and now she takes the lead! This is the lightening fast excitement of WTF Taekwondo. But wait… the judges haven’t awarded the score. The competitors’ protective vests are wired to detect contact but not the headgear, so it’s still human beings that make the call. For those high scoring head kicks must you simply accept the decision of the official? Until 2009, that was the case but then the World Taekwondo Federation brought Dartfish instant replay into all major championships and with it the power of appeal was granted to players and coaches. That’s what happens on this occasion – the player appeals and her coach indicates agreement by raising a blue card. Dartfish technology…

In Baseball/Softball

Dartfish Note – the next evolution of visual coaching tools in diamond sports

October 3, 2014 No Comments

Over the last several years, baseball and softball programs have used video tools, integrating game reports and video, to develop individual player’s skills, scout opponent tendencies and evaluate player’s performances in games. Dartfish has a full set of video tools providing individual player practice review, as well as our game analysis tools that integrate player stat tools with video, for opponent scouting and evaluating your players’ performance in competition. One area in which toolsets have been lacking is in the area of team practice with player practice reviews but, just recently, Dartfish introduced a product that will take the use of video and practice performance feedback to new levels. The product is called Dartfish Note. What makes this toolset powerful is the way coaches can quickly review a player’s performance in practice and determine the areas that player needs to work on to improve. Coaches can review any player’s practice…

In CASE STUDIES

Case study: Dartfish integration in PE at Fettes College

September 22, 2014 No Comments

British Schools, supported by government IT inititaives, were quick to adopt video technologies and used Dartfish software from its early days to educate and give feedback. These early adopters have now recognized the potential and convenience of tablets with equal enthusiasm so that those who once fired up a laptop and used InTheAction for instant feedback may now use an App such as Dartfish Express instead. That certainly doesn’t make Dartfish software redundant in education as James Pillinger from Fettes College in Edinburgh explains here. For the last four years the PE and Games department have been trying to tap into the power of observational learning. The effect of visual feedback is undeniable. Dartfish has allowed Fettes College to use film to motivate and inform pupils as well as reinforce learning. Tagging We currently use tagging panels to ensure pupils’ time is used efficiently, the Hockey coaches have then been able…

In News

Emmy award winning broadcast enhancement

September 10, 2014 No Comments

It might surprise you to learn that Dartfish, so well-known in the fields of instruction and coaching, started its life as an invention for television. Simulcam proved itself as such an invaluable way for broadcasters to illustrate where alpine skiers made and lost ground that the Austrian national ski team bought it. Thus began the development of our Dartfish software and the rest is… Well… not history, because those roots continued into a branch of Dartfish which reaches to the present day. The technology, for which we won an Emmy award in 2005, is still in use by many, many broadcasters and production companies around the world. You’ll have seen it if you watch winter sports, taekwondo, motorsport, athletics, baseball, diving… or any Olympics since Sydney 2000. The list of sports and events is impressive. Dartfish has brought to the broadcast community the stunning SimulCam™ and StroMotion™ special effects. Those…

In CASE STUDIES

The National Collegiate Sales Competition uses Dartfish for coaching, judging & sharing performances

August 26, 2014 No Comments

Despite its roots in sport, Dartfish has long been used by diverse activities for which video can contribute to understanding and assessment. Here’s one such example. Held each spring at Kennesaw State University’s Cole College of Business in Georgia, USA, the National Collegiate Sales Competition continues to draw interest and participation from both elite university professional sales programs and corporate recruiters searching for top flight college graduates. Participants nationwide prepare all year for the NCSC, culminating with 20 minute sales presentations to a ‘buyer’ that are judged by university professors and corporate sales experts. Founded 15 years ago by Dr. Terry Loe, Director for Selling at Kennesaw State in the Department of Marketing and Professional Sales, the NCSC grew out of Dr. Loe’s long-held belief that “Engaging students is a continuous challenge facing university faculty.” To address this, Dr. Loe brought competition into the classroom in conjunction with experiential role-play…

In Hardware

The video analysts’ guide to buying a video camera

August 26, 2014 No Comments

Robert Carrol is the Dartfish representative for Ireland and he’s also Thevideoanalyst.com, which has become one of the go-to blogs for those involved in, or wishing to be involved in sports performance analysis. His new eBook ‘The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Sports Video Camera’ is available by registering for his newsletter. Here, he has plucked out his favorite tips. Do you know your megabits per second from your megabytes? Your HD from your SD? And what are IP cameras all about? Choosing the right camera for your analysis needs can be hard work. The technical specs seem to get longer and longer but what are the key features you really need to worry about and what can you ignore. Height: For match video, this is the most important element to budget for, even before you spend money on a camera. Anything over 10 feet (3 meters) is good. The higher…

In CASE STUDIES

British Table Tennis Federation Case Study

August 5, 2014 No Comments

Contributed by Chris Loxston, English Institute of Sport Performance Analyst. In September 2007 the British Table Tennis Association moved to Sheffield and enlisted the services of the English Institute of Sport to help support the programme through to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Chris Loxston is one of the performance analysts, from the support services, who has been working closely with the programme. Table Tennis is a very technical sport and being able to develop a sound and robust technique is essential to producing a successful performance. With Dartfish being such a versatile programme we have been able to use the various tools and functions to aid in the reviewing of performance and technique with the coaches and athletes. How Dartfish is used Dartfish has enabled the GB Table Tennis programme to build a performance analysis support system into its day today workings as a programme. The programme is very…

In CASE STUDIES

Physical Education at Anderson High School in Lerwick, Shetland, uses Dartfish daily.

August 5, 2014 No Comments

Kevin Smith, Principal Teacher of P.E., shares his experience working with Dartfish in this interview. Kevin, how and when did you first discover Dartfish? I first discovered Dartfish at a P.E. conference in Stirling, where Iain Stanger introduced it in a seminar and has been very supportive ever since. We have been using Dartfish since December 2006. What motivated you to integrate Dartfish’s video technology in your teaching? We have integrated Dartfish into our daily routine because we recognise that it is a quality software package that had so many possibilities. From using the basic function of live delay in a trampoline lesson, to using pre-roll in a game of basketball while capturing good examples of pupils driving to the basket, to using Mediabooks for creating resources to assist with the theory side of the course, to using Dartfish classroom for analysing performance. Dartfish does it all and it does…