Filming Skateboard Tricks Without Forty Failed Attempts

Last updated: September 22, 2026

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Put your phone on the ground or against your backpack, point it at where you land, and leave Videotapr open. The app keeps the last 30 seconds at all times. When you land the trick you tap, and exactly that attempt is saved — including the run-up, because the clip ends at the moment you tapped. The thirty-nine attempts before it are simply overwritten and never end up on your phone as clips.

Key facts

Free on Android and iOS — 3 clips a day, no account needed.

Why is this the purest use there is?

Because the ratio in skating is more extreme than in any other sport. You try a trick forty times and land it once. Film all of it and you have an hour of footage for eight seconds you want to keep, and then you have to sift through that hour yourself.

The classic solution is asking someone to film. That person then stands still for forty attempts with a phone in their hand, and hits stop at exactly the moment it works. With a rolling buffer you need nobody: you put the phone down, you ride, and you tap when you have it.

What a rolling buffer gets you in skating

ApproachFootage you end up withWhat it costs you
Film everythingAn hour, with 8 seconds you wantSifting and cutting it yourself
Have someone filmOnly if they hit stop in timeSomeone stands still for 40 tries
Tap after the landingOnly the attempts that workedNothing — you ride on

Where do I put the phone?

Low and close to the obstacle. A phone on the ground, against a backpack or against the edge of the ledge, gives you the look skate video has always had — you see the board, the truck and the landing up close. At eye level it gets much less interesting immediately.

Point it at where you land, not where you start. The clip ends at the moment you tap, so the run-up comes along automatically. What you have to frame is the point where it goes right or wrong, and that is the landing.

How do I save a clip while I am on the board?

With your watch. The phone sits by the obstacle and films; one swipe up on your watch saves the clip. You simply ride out, swipe, and go again — without walking back and forth to the phone.

No watch? Then tap on the screen itself after you have rolled away. That works fine: with a thirty-second buffer you have plenty of time to walk back and still tap. Only at ten seconds do you have to be quick about it.

Try it yourself

Videotapr is free to download for Android and iOS, with 3 clips per day. Pro is a one-time purchase — not a subscription.

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