10 Practical Tips for Making a Great Travel Video

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Travelling is fulfilling, soulful and is an experience cherished by everybody. The stunning travel videos are quite the head-turner and fill one life with a sense of adventure and passion. Combining the passion for travelling and exploring with video making expands the horizon. However, as a beginner venturing into the world of travel video making is a huge learning curve.

The popularity and positive response of travel video are immense and have given content creators a new edge to enter into the realm of travel documentary and video making. Unless the videos stand out as a competitive domain, they can be lost in the content pool. Here are ten tips to up the game for making great travel videos.

1. Pick up a Style for the Videos 

Before creating travel videos, one of the preliminary things to do is much experimentation and research. As a novice, experiment with different travel videos and stick to the kind you find ease at. Whether it is a vlogging style video or a documentary telling a story or cinematic compilations of a journey, choose a style that suits you the best. An example of a style is vlogging, where an individual talks to the camera while sharing the journey and destination. The travel videos by Lost Le Blanc are examples of travel vlogs. 

2. Do your research by watching travel videos 

Although it is not advisable to copy the style and content, taking inspiration from existing travel videos is great to start with. Seeing travel videos helps learn composition, shooting at right angles, and lighting. Several YouTube videos by experienced content creators are put out as tutorials on camera setup and tips on making travel videos. This would help me learn the basic skills and use them while shooting and editing the videos.

3. Know your Camera 

The camera, whether a point shoot camera or DSLR or phone, helps take wonderful video shoots with the right knowledge. Knowing the camera and the correct settings for taking beautiful videos for making travel videos is necessary. A camera has many features, and hence knowing it and its in-built tools and functions help in experimenting with the shoots. Prepare the camera and its setting before venturing into a trip.

4. Edit it with a Professional Touch 

Editing the video and putting all the sequences together in a meaningful manner changes the entire dynamics. A professional video editor helps with colour grading, transitions,  voiceover, and good background music. The way the video is edited makes a lot of impact on the video’s entirety. Incorporating high-quality stock footage can further elevate the overall visual appeal and storytelling of the video.

5. Plan the Concept or a Story 

As a video content creator, it is necessary to either tell a story or make the video information to generate interest. Lack of order is the biggest disappointment when it comes to travel videos. Plan the sequence for the video as if it is not organised well or if it does not tell a story, it would lead to a gibberish video. Make sure to stitch the video footage and use a video editor in a way that appeals to the audience.

6. Shoot from Different Angles 

Break the chain of monotony by adding diverse shots while editing the video. Make sure to shoot from different angles and, while shooting, pan the camera up or down or left and right to add creativity to the shots. Add different shots like timelapse, worm eyes view, cinematic shots, or drone shots to make the video engaging and beautiful. Using diverse video shots makes the travel videos interesting and engaging.

7. Add Elements of Motion in the Video 

A stagnant video without any motion tends to reduce people’s interest. Hence, adding motion and transition to the video is crucial to make it stand out. Static videos, especially of travel, are not likely to catch the viewers’ eyes. Create motion either using the camera movement or through the addition of exciting transitions while shooting for the video. You can watch this video by Cup of TJ for a transition video. For landscape videos, simple time-lapse addition or a cinematic drone shot helps in transforming the overall video.

8. Use Natural Light to Shoot 

Sunrise and sunset have a great appeal and add too much beauty to a travel video. As a travel video creator, make sure to wake up early to capture footage during dawn. Likewise, shooting landscapes or travel videos during sunset gives beautiful footage adding an edge to the video. While shooting travel videos, it is best to use natural light to make the whole experience wholesome and pleasing to the audience’s eyes.

9. Make the Video about the Destination or People 

The essence of the travel video is that it is about the place or people and not about yourself. The travel video shows the place or documenting people rather than showing off. The best kind of travel videos is the ones that showcase a particular place, sceneries, locals, food, and culture. Add a unique touch and angle to it and create genuine content, unlike the travel videos flooded across the internet.

10. Avoid Excessive Shooting of Videos 

Although, as a video content creator, it is tempting to shoot randomly excessive video clips, leading to confusion. While using an online video editor back home for editing the video, excess video footage leads to cluttering and confusion. As a beginner, it is highly recommended to avoid creating extra footage or repeated shooting from the same angles. Decide how much to shoot, the angles, and plan before starting on the video beginning journey.

Conclusion

Creating a travel video is an uphill graph of learning to make it to perfection. It does not require top-notch gadgets and tools, but even the basic ones are enough to start making the video. These tips are great for starting with the process of travel video content. The great thing about travel video is the flexibility and depth of elements added with simple, thoughtful shots.