Travel Diaries 101: Travel Video Tips That You Can Practice at Home
Travel videos are the hottest trending videos on Youtube today, especially as we lay in bed and wish we were elsewhere. The influx of them makes it seem like everyone has gone abroad and captured their trips on film to then share with the world—leaving the rest of us to sulk at home in awe of the beautiful sceneries and fun adventures.
But not to fear, The Edge has put together the five most essential tips you must follow (and can practice while you’re at home) to capture your best travel diary, so you too can produce jaw-dropping content.
1: Be consistent with what you use to film
Our current obsession is the Canon G7x. It has such amazing quality and it is small enough to bring everywhere. It is easy to use and is excellent to capture travel moments. It is also a great vlog camera because it has a flip-up screen that allows you to see yourself to make sure you’re in the frame. Now is a great time to practice your vlogging skills in the privacy of your own home, where only your pet can judge you talking to yourself. By the time this is over and you are on your next trip, you’ll be a pro.
When making a travel video you want to be consistent with your film equipment, to ensure the quality of the videos remain high. It’s okay to switch things up and use your iPhone, GoPro or DSLR camera, but you have to make sure all your settings are aligned.
2: Capture EVERYTHING
It’s easy to think that you only need a few clips to make a travel video, but that is simply not true. It may seem like in travel videos, people are only using a few different clips to show their travels, but you need to take A LOT of footage which you can narrow down later on to find the few really good clips. It is crucial to film a bunch because until you sit down to edit, you won’t know how much of your footage is usable. Let’s be honest, a lot of it might be out of focus or shaky.
We recommend filming many aspects of your daily life during this time to get used to taking a lot of videos. You can see which angles you like, what lighting works and you have all the time in the world to get it right.
3: Be Creative
Let your creativity flow. Making travel videos is a fun and great way to capture the unforgettable moments you experience during your adventures. The more creative you are, the better the outcome. Get creative with the different shots you take. Try different angles or different perspectives; this will make your video more dynamic and more appealing to the viewers.
While in quarantine, play around with different trending camera techniques to spice up your environment. Try putting Saran Wrap over your camera’s lens and then add a little vaseline on top. The Saran Wrap will create an ethereal glow in the videos and the vaseline will capture the light to make your subjects shine.
4: Editing
Three words that we can’t stress enough: TAKE YOUR TIME. I know that after my travels I’m always so eager to finish my video so I can share it with friends and family. But if you rush your video, it may not come out the way you want it to. Take your time to sit and go through your footage. Pick out your favorite clips and play around with them when putting them together. Take your time when it comes to picking out music too. You want to make sure you pick out a song that goes with the story you are telling with your video.
5: Get Inspired
Watch other people’s travel videos and find some inspiration! See how they edit or the different shots they got. Use this to help inspire you on how you will make your video. If there is a particular style you like and want to mimic, it will help make your overall process easier.
Now go off and film to your heart’s content and show us how you capture your travels (even travels around the house or your backyard) by tagging @theeddgemag.