Where to put the phone
Put the phone at the edge of the mat, raised to chest height or higher, a few steps back from where you plan to roll. From that height the camera looks down on both of you and can see hips, hands and the space between your bodies. A phone lying on the floor mostly sees the back of whoever is closest to it.
Start the round side-on to the camera, so it sees both of you in profile. If one of you starts with your back to the camera, it cannot see that person’s grips.
Film in landscape, with the phone on its side. A roll on the ground spreads out more in width than in height, and a portrait frame cuts off heads and feet when someone stretches out across the shot.
Use the main camera without zooming in. Digital zoom softens the picture and crops away the space you need when the roll moves. The ultra-wide lens bends the edges of the picture, so save it for small rooms where the main lens cannot fit both of you.
Keeping both of you in the shot
Leave a body length or more of open mat between you and each edge of the frame when you start. A guard pull, a scramble or a long pass can carry a roll that far.
On a crowded mat, other pairs will pass between you and the camera. A corner with less traffic helps, and so does starting closer to the phone than the pairs around you. A teammate who is sitting out the round can hold the phone and follow you, as long as they keep the shot wide.
When you reach the wall or drift into another pair, restart in the same position back inside the frame. Keep the camera running through taps and restarts until the round ends, rather than stopping it at the first tap.
Telling the two of you apart
In a scramble or a back take, two white gis blur into one shape on a phone screen. Belt color helps only while the belts are visible, and they are often under an arm or pinned to the mat. Wear a gi or rash guard in a color that contrasts with your partner’s, such as blue against white. In no-gi, shorts in different colors help as well. This matters most when the two of you are close in size and build.
Your partner and your gym’s rules
Check your gym’s filming policy before the first time you film. Some gyms allow filming only during sparring or open mat, and some do not allow any filming while children are on the mat. If nothing is written down, ask the instructor.
When you ask a training partner, tell them what the footage is for and who will see it. Permission to film for your own study does not cover posting online, so ask again before you post anything. Offer to send them the file so they can study the round too.
Other pairs in the background have not agreed to be filmed, so keep the frame on your own pair and do not post footage in which they can be identified.
The setup checklist
Check off each step in order as you finish it.
Sound, storage and getting the footage off your phone
Keep the sound in the footage. The microphone records the round timer, a verbal tap and anything your partner says about an injury, which helps explain why a roll stopped or changed pace. Music playing in the gym can bring a copyright claim on a YouTube upload, even an unlisted one, and some claims block the video until you mute the music in YouTube Studio.
Move each session’s footage off the phone soon after training, and name the files with the date and your partner’s name so you can find a round months later.
Most messaging apps compress video before sending it, and the smaller file blurs hands and grips. Use a cable, AirDrop or Quick Share, a cloud folder that keeps the original file, or an unlisted YouTube upload, which only people with the link can open. If you plan to send the round for a roll review, Grappling Breakdown accepts uploads straight from a phone or a YouTube link.