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5 Simple Techniques for Shooting Better Travel Videos

How to make your travel films stand out.

Traveling is a fantastic way to see places and create new experiences. When on a trip, most people can’t wait to get home to share their adventures with their family and friends.

It wasn’t always easy, though. You may be too young to know this, but there was a time when you would need to bring your rolls of film to the photo lab to be processed, and it could take days.

Then, moving pictures came along, and now you can relive your holidays more vividly.

You’ll probably take lots of clips, knowing you’ll only visit each place once in your lifetime. However, it’s not just about how many scenes you shoot; you’ll also want to capture the memories unforgettably.

If you’re a tour business, knowing how to make a travel promo video is essential. Whether you’re an enterprise or an individual, here are five simple tips to help you do just that.

Shoot Lots of Videos

Remember, you’ve got one opportunity to capture the beauty of a place before you move on to another location. So, take lots of clips so that you’ll have sufficient material to edit when you get home.

Don’t overshoot, though, for two reasons. First, you’ll want to have enough time to enjoy the sights and experience the country’s culture.

Then there’s the issue of not having sufficient storage since videos take up a lot of space. You’ll need a few memory cards and a reader because you’ll never know when you’ll be able to upload your data to the cloud.

To ensure you get all the shots you want, list them down beforehand. That way, you’ll spend less time recording, and you won’t miss any scenery.

Make Use of Natural Lighting

If you’re alone, you’ll want to travel light and not bring lots of equipment with you. Since lighting is of paramount importance in videography, what can you do if you don’t have the proper setup?

Experienced photographers say that you’ll get the best light immediately after sunrise and just before sunset. Those periods are known as the Golden Hour.

Plan your schedule to take advantage of these times.

Focus on the Country

Resist the temptation to make videos about you and your holiday. Instead, focus on telling stories about the location, its community, and culture. After all, that’s why they’re called travel videos.

Such scenes allow you to showcase a country’s history and beauty to people who may never have the opportunity to visit it.

Nothing evokes an emotional response more than seeing the facial expressions of another person in a video. Ask permission from the locals to record them as they look into your camera. The best way to capture a natural reaction is to keep filming after they think you’ve stopped.

Set a Clear Point of Interest

It’s best that your viewers know what they’re supposed to be looking at. Bear this in mind when you’re composing your videos.

Ideally, keep your point of interest in the same area of the frame in every shot. Then, your audience doesn’t have to look for it after each scene.

Another way of framing your cuts is to follow the rule of thirds. You do this by identifying your subject and adjusting your camera so that they appear in one of the nine sectors of your screen. If it’s a person, they must be facing inwards.

Diversify the Way You Shoot

You’ll want your videos to be engaging for your viewers from start to end. One way to make your film exciting is to vary the way you record.

Avoid shooting the same way for all your clips. Instead, pan in all directions, use time-lapse scenes, spin around, or capture from different angles.

These techniques will also create motion in what would be a still scene of a picturesque landscape.

Experiment

Every individual has a unique style, so experiment with the above ideas and try out new things. It’s your story. Tell it the way you want to. Once you start varying your methods, you’ll soon see the results.

 

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Filed under: Travel Guide

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