If there’s one thing certain about traveling, there are many uncertainties (especially in today’s travel climate). However, the unknown nature of your travels can sometimes make a travel video more entertaining and authentic.
Whether you are a seasoned content creator or just starting, there are some things you can do to set yourself up for success.
In this guide on making a travel video, we’ll cover:
- Equipping Yourself for a Travel Video
- Creating a Travel Video with a Story
- Choosing Songs for a Travel Video
- How to Think Like A Filmmaker
- Leveraging Post-Production for Your Travel Video
1—Equipping Yourself for a Travel Video
As with any content you create, choosing the correct camera largely contributes to the end result. While the story is essential, having the proper vessel to tell the story is equally important.
Before your trip, deciding what type of equipment you will need for your travel video is helpful. When traveling, you will need to be more mindful of what you bring because of weight and luggage restrictions.
There are plenty of great beginner and professional cameras options out there for any budget. Be sure when choosing a camera that you understand how different lenses, settings, and modifications will affect your shot.
Having different types of cameras can also add a unique and dynamic feel to your content. For example, drones have become very popular in travel videos because of their cinematic perspective.
Many travel drones on the market will fit right in your camera bag like they aren’t even there.
2—Creating a Travel Video with a Story
Content should always tell a story, even if it’s a simple video. You want to take your audience along for a journey. When you’re recording, ask yourself, “what story am I trying to tell?”
Throwing travel video clips together in post-production with random music will not yield great results. There will be parts of your trip that you may not find interesting, but some of your audience might. Therefore, include events in chronological order.
Share the airport experience, plane or bus ride, and other aspects of the trip that might seem uneventful, but these little details often complete the entire picture.
You may find viewers who are inexperienced travelers who look to your videos as a guide or inspiration for their own trips. This type of content is becoming popular as people love a glimpse into others’ lives and experiences.
It’s not uncommon to see people recording their daily routines, workouts, traveling, cooking, etc. It’s a content style that has quickly taken over platforms like Reels, Shorts, and TikTok.
3—Choosing Songs for a Travel Video
Music is a crucial aspect of creating a travel video because it sets the tone. You wouldn’t want to pick a slow, sad song for fast-paced or upbeat footage.
When music and storytelling join forces, they have the unique ability to conjure up emotions. While there is no incorrect genre of music, it’s best to find travel video songs that pair nicely with your content. If you’re traveling through Greece, it might not be the best choice to use heavy metal as the sound.
Another thing to think about (and this is relatively new) is the current trends on social media. TikTok’s and Instagram Reels perform better when creators choose audio that’s currently trending within the app.
According to a study by Kantar, 88% of TikTok users said that audio was essential to the experience. Users can choose from a range of trending sounds or upload their own to match your travel video’s vibe.
Epidemic Sound is an excellent choice if you’re looking for royalty-free music for your videos. The music can be used on any social media/ video sharing platform without worrying about copyright claims.
4—How to Think Like a Filmmaker
Play with Angles
When filming, you always want to provide multiple perspectives. Everyone has been guilty of the quick point-and-shoot. Don’t be afraid to change up the angles and experiment with your style.
A good way to do this is to change your camera’s height, orientation, or angle. For example, if you’re using a phone, flip it upside down and get closer to the ground. Doing so will make subjects appear taller and pop against the background.
If you’re flying a drone, perform the risky stunts to get those Hollywood-like shots that make people’s jaw drop. It’s all about suspense and building up to the end of the story.
Changing up lenses can also create a nice bokeh look (background blur. You can also achieve this on smartphones and action cameras.
Changing the Motion
When filming, the motion of your shot should be smooth and continuous. The last thing you want is distracting movements and cuts that negatively affect the video flow. Take your time and imagine how the shot will look. Doing so can help you practice and make corrections to capture a cinematic moment.
General Tips
- Hold your camera and pan in the desired direction in one sweeping motion.
- Avoid including clips that show camera adjustments, shakey movement, etc.
- When using a drone, practice flying and performing gimbal adjustments simultaneously to master reveal shots and smooth transitions.
Incorporating simple hand motions is a fantastic way to keep your transitions fun and interesting.
Here are some travel video transitions to try:
- Quick Flick: The camera is moved quickly in one direction, causing a blur, where the video will transition into the next clip.
- Slow-Fast Pan: Start by panning the camera upwards slowly and then increasing the speed significantly to transition into a drone shot.
Water-Cut: As soon as the camera goes underwater, cut the shot as the water hits the camera to transition into a swimming shot.
Additionally, integrating slow motion, hyper-lapse, or timelapse is another method for breaking up footage and adding more variety. Many cameras, smartphones, and drones have these recording modes built-in.
Slow & Fast Motion
A slow-motion shot is achieved by recording at a high frame rate (120 or 240 FPS). The video clips can be slowed down to a lower frame rate without losing quality. For example, at 120 FPS, the camera takes 120 images per second, resulting in much more information to work with. While many cameras have this feature built-in, footage can also be slowed down or sped up in post-production.
Adding in slow motion effectively tells a story in a dynamic manner. However, as with anything, you’ll want to use it in moderation to avoid overdoing it. This principle also applies to ramping up the speed and any effects that alter the flow of the video.
Drone footage provides an excellent example of why too much speed ramping is bad. Any image shake caused by wind or moving objects like waves can look unnatural.
5—Leveraging Post-Production for Your Travel Video
Post-production is where everything is put together to create a beautiful travel video. Let’s look at what areas to focus on when editing.
The Power of Colour Grading
Colour grading is the process of enhancing the colour in footage by adjusting contrast, saturation, curves, and shadows. Choosing the correct colours can change the look and feel of your travel video when done right.
Colours will always vary from camera to camera, which can make editing challenging. You want your footage to look cohesive; colour is one way to achieve that. It’s common to stitch together video clips from phones, cameras, and drones.
Colour grading helps blend different shots as if you were not using multiple devices to record your footage. The key is to practice, and before you know it, you’ll know exactly what adjustments are required.
Syncing to the Beat
When choosing a song, pick one that will align well with the video and build up to important moments.
Beat drops also provide a great opportunity to transition between clips and keep the footage moving. The type of song you choose will also help determine the number of video clips needed and their duration.
Individual clips that are 3-7 seconds long are great for slower-paced songs. If you’re going for a faster pace, you can use something upbeat to allow for more clips and quicker transitions. While everyone has their own creative approach, most creators avoid not syncing the music with their footage.
Avoid Using Too Many Effects
One of the luxuries of post-production software packages is their abundance of built-in effects and transitions. While these features can be fun to play with, they are often overused or become distracting. With that said, don’t be afraid to experiment and use effects. Some creators do use specific effects with great results.
As previously discussed, using hand motions to create transitions is a highly effective way to keep your content fresh and exciting.
Ready to Make Your Travel Video?
I hope that you found these tips for making a travel video insightful. Interested in content creation but don’t know where to start? Check out my brand new 10 Day Creator Challenge here!
Let’s get lost in the next one!