7 Practical Tips for Making a Great Travel Video

best online video editor

best online video editor

Being an avid traveler means you have vivid memories. There is always an urge to save those memories and share them with fellow travelers and enthusiasts in audio-visual format. Thus, travel videos are becoming extremely popular over the years. Although you may have been making such travel videos and may have the required technical knowledge, many tech tools can make things easier for you best online video editor.

Here are a few steps that would help travelers make excellent travel videos.  

Tips for Making Travel Videos

This blog spells out a step-by-step process that you can follow for making high-quality travel videos.

Choose a Definite Style

To begin with, you would have to do extensive research and watch several existing videos to get an idea of the kind of output you want. Your references can range from cinematic to compilations to vlogs to story-led narration. Pick a style that suits your requirements the best. To shoot travel videos with a distinct feel, it can be good if you can avoid the beaten track.

Try to shoot your travel videos without joining other travelers exploring the more prominent locations. Instead, shoot at less-frequented places and make videos of those mini-discoveries. Your audience will be thrilled to see something new. By doing so time and again, you will have more chances of hooking the audience and making regular followers out of them.

Carry out Good Research

Before venturing out to a destination, it is essential to study the location and what you are likely to encounter when you travel to that place. Get a good knowledge about the history and geography of that location when you plan your travel. This will make you more confident about shooting videos without being dependent on the local guides or residents to explore the unseen parts of the place. With this, you would only be reinforcing your knowledge while exploring the location and spending more time shooting quality videos.

In addition, watch how videos have been shot of the place before. Carry enough gear and the right equipment to shoot the location and pre-plan the angles you want to shoot in the area. If you remain unsure about a shooting style, you can always explore free video platforms like YouTube, which has several tutorials. Keep in mind to shoot the video with a good amount of patience as negative results are likely to show up when done otherwise.

Know Your Gear

The crucial piece of equipment you will need during the shoot is the camera. Try to know your functionalities inside out before venturing for the shoot. If it is a new camera, it would be good to shoot some raw footage to check its maneuverability. If these still do not instill confidence in you, it might help to study videography under someone more experienced and may give a grip on your camera skills.

Once you have experimental footage from the camera, try analyzing it to improve the quality of the footage. Try to explore how the footage can be made better with the existing functionalities on the camera. Next, check all the accessories of the camera before packing the gear. On top of it all, always have a plan B in the form of a smartphone in case the camera develops a snag in between. Be prepared to switch to a smartphone to create a video in the middle of the shoot as things do not go as per plan.

Go by the Story

Get your video to narrate a story that is one of the easiest ways to catch the audience’s attention. This can be done with a voice-over where you are taking an audience in sequence from A to B to C in order. So, there is no confusion, and the entire video unfolds in an orderly fashion without the audience having the figure out the entire trail by themselves. This makes the whole video all the more enjoyable and is retained in the memory of the audience for a longer time.

Resist the Temptation to Overshoot

When someone is given a camera, it is the natural instinct of the person to shoot anything that catches their attention. At all times, such temptation needs to be kept at bay. Stick to your planning and what you intend to showcase to the audience through the video, everything else needs to be down on priority. In this manner, you would end up having an easier time at the editing table.  

Use Natural Lighting

While there is no hard and fast rule as far as lighting goes. Most experienced travel video-makers would prefer to shoot only during sunrise and sunset. They ensure optimum utilization of natural light. Try to wake up early and shoot the travel video during dawn to get sun-kissed video footage. Similarly, if you can wait till the sunset, nature will help you grab stunning footage before darkness falls.  

Edit the Videos for a Professional Touch

Editing is the crucial phase that can make or break a travel video. Have a macro view of what you seek to cover in the final video. If necessary, try to draw up the plan or paper for reference during editing. Use the best online video editor to make the task more seamless with voice-over, transitions, and color grading.

The way a travel video is edited will impact the final output. Start by removing all the unnecessary footage you have accumulated during your travel. By all means, make the video crisp, short and simple – even though you managed to capture a lot of footage while going through a lot of trouble. Get the intro right from a selection of intro templates that are readily available online, as this is going to be the part of the video that will draw in the audience.

Use Natural Lighting

While there is no hard and fast rule as far as lighting goes. Most experienced travel video-makers would prefer to shoot only during sunrise and sunset. They ensure optimum utilization of natural light. Try to wake up early and shoot the travel video during dawn to get sun-kissed video footage. Similarly, if you can wait till the sunset, nature will help you grab stunning footage before darkness falls.  Also, look for a good place to shoot your content at. Karaoke studios can provide the right lightning for an excellent shot. For more information, check out lifestyle blog TheSmartLocal.

Final Thoughts

Making appealing travel videos is a top-notch skill that is best learned on the go. One may begin the journey with the most rudimentary tools and equipment and develop a distinct style and identity. Once proficient, you can invest in high-end equipment and gear to render high-quality videos shot from the most complex angles. 

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