Next section here is down markers, which I've called down in distance. And this is not something that we're going to overuse. But it is an important thing to talk about. Because shots strategically at the right moments, it can really help a viewer understand what's going on in the game. And the first rule we're going to talk about with down markers is to use it when you think that the audience would be unsure of what down it is. So if a team has the first down and they run for three yards, we know it's second down, no reason to film it, then if they run for four more yards, we know it's going to be third down, we don't need to show the audience that it's third down, then they throw an incomplete path.

We know that it's fourth down, we don't need to show the sticks with fourth down, we just have to remember that they're going to be punting. We're going to pay attention and film the punch if you can remember that. So now they kick again, the team punts and the other team gets the ball, they hit a 50 yard pass. We know it's first down, there's no reason to film it. So you can use this kind of logic to help you know when to film the down markers. A great way to use the down markers is during a pitch Little third or fourth down play.

And what I like to do is get a shot of the down marker showing that it's third or fourth down, and then slowly pull out to reveal the play pre snap like we would in any other situation. This adds a little drama to the play, especially on fourth down, you show the stick and it says fourth down, you slowly pull out it builds a little tension and suspense that this is fourth down, here comes the fourth down play. So again, start close on the stick and try to time your camera move so that you can pull back and by the time you are fully wide and can see all the players you're four or five seconds away from a snap. It's a great way to use it and enhances the game situation. And it keeps you from having to do two shots, one of the sticks and one of the play, you have it all wrapped up in one.

I wanted to group something else in this section on down markers because I'm not really sure where else to put it and that is when there is an official measurement when a team is very close to a first down and the referees have to bring out the sticks to measure it. Well in the previous section on penalties. We talked About not rolling until the referee is about to make the call. And in this case, we want to do the same thing. If you see the ball place down and the referees coming onto the field with the chains, we don't want to film them running out on the field with the chains, that's something that we would fast forward through. What we want is the result.

So as soon as the referee puts the first of the sticks down and gets ready to pull the other one out to measure, we can start rolling, get a nice tight shot of the ball and the sticks so we can see where the chain is in relation to the ball and boom, that referee puts the stick down and we can see exactly what's going on. Then you want to widen out and if it's a first down you'll see the referee make the call if not he might say sir 13 inches and that's a good time to also film The down markers because now that they have not made a first down Let's remind the audience of what down it is to see if they're going to get the first down. The best rule to abide by with down markers is kind of the same thing we talked about with scoreboards, if you're watching the game through your camera and you feel like you wouldn't know what down it is.

If you were watching at home, that's a good time to shoot the sticks. So use that as your biggest judgment. You can also enhance the situation like we talked about with fourth downs, but always make sure the audience is aware of what it is if it's not obvious, and if you do that you're once again helping coaches and people watching understand the game situation, and that's the best time to shoot extras. So let's use that and move on to the next video in the final one in this section on extras.