Infield videos: what they show and what they don't

An infield video is a recording of a real approach, made "in the field" instead of in a classroom or on a stage. A coach or student walks up to someone, talks, and the camera runs. Viewers get to see an opener, a voice, a conversation length, and an ending, none of which a book can show.

That's the appeal. It's also why it helps to know how the footage is made and what ends up on screen.

What infield videos usually show

• The opener. The exact words, and how fast or slow they're said.
• Delivery. Tone, volume, pauses, eye contact, and distance.
• Her reaction. Whether she stops, smiles, answers, or keeps walking.
• Length. How long the conversation runs before a number swap, an instant date, or a goodbye.
• The exit. How the interaction ends, with a number or without one.

Different channels use the format differently. Simple Pickup, a 2011 channel, filmed three friends asking for numbers on Southern California streets and included the rejections; see Simple Pickup. Bootcamp companies built their teaching around live, in-field sessions. A coach demonstrating a method will usually pick clips that match it.

What a published video leaves out

A video is an edit. You see the clips the creator chose to publish, so a few things aren't visible:

• Approaches that weren't posted. A channel with 100 clips may come from many more hours of filming.
• The lead-up. The 20 minutes of walking, hesitating, and skipping people.
• The after. Whether the number led to a reply, a date, or anything else.
• Context. Who the woman was, what mood she was in, and what she expected from the camera.

None of this means the clips are wrong. It means one clip shows one moment, so treat a video as a worked example, not a statistic. The most useful thing you can pull from infield footage is a technique to try yourself, not a success rate.

How some footage has been filmed

In some cases, the women in the footage weren't told they were being recorded. This is documented in reporting on the genre.

• Street Attraction (Scotland, 2019). BBC Scotland's The Seduction Game, with reporter Myles Bonnar, looked into a bootcamp company run by Eddie Hitchins. The Scotsman reported the bootcamp cost £600 per student with six students per camp, and that the company posted infield videos of coaches with women, claimed to be covert footage of fast seductions. After the investigation, YouTube removed the whole channel for violating its policies on nudity and sexual content. Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said videos of sexual activity filmed without consent could be illegal.
• Justin Wayne (VICE). VICE reported on a channel with 127,000 subscribers that published footage with women's eyes covered by black bars. VICE said this suggested the women hadn't consented, and that explicit videos on YouTube were still getting through.
• Glasgow (2019). The Glasgow Guardian reported in January 2019 that a pickup coach known as Addy "Agame" Ahmed faced a police investigation and protests over secretly filming women in Glasgow.
• Newsweek (November 2021). Newsweek reported that a daygame coach had secretly recorded sexual encounters and sold the recordings to customers; see Tom Torero and daygame.

A note on the law

UK legal guides generally say filming in a public place is allowed, while recording someone in a private setting without consent is not. Publishing a video can create separate legal risk, particularly if it focuses on one person or causes harm, and sharing footage made without consent can lead to civil action. Laws differ by country and by state, so check yours before you film anything. If you film, get consent. If she says no, you stop.

How to watch infield videos for practice

1. Watch for the first 10 seconds. Pause after the opener. What did he say, from how far away, and what did she do?
2. Time the conversation. Note when it started and when it ended. Compare with day game timing.
3. Copy one thing, not everything. Write the opener on a card and use it three times.
4. Listen to the voice. Compare volume and pace with voice and tonality.

What to do next

1. Watch three approaches from three different channels and write down each opener, the length, and the ending. See best pickup YouTube channels.
2. Pick one line and try it five times in one outing. Log each as Success, Rejected, or Pass in Flow.
3. Write a field report within an hour of coming home: what you said, what she said, what you'd change. The field report guide has a template.
4. Compare your five attempts to the clip. Where did you differ in voice, distance, or timing?
5. Record yourself, not strangers. After the outing, say your opener and the next two lines into a voice memo and listen for pace and volume.

Sources

• The Scotsman, YouTube removes pick-up artist videos after BBC Scotland investigation
• VICE, YouTube seduction artist has made a business out of filming women without their consent
• The Glasgow Guardian, Pickup artist Addy Agame faces protest and police investigation (January 2019)
• Newsweek, November 2021