Last Updated on February 29, 2024
Traveling is one of the last few true ways to experience freedom in the modern world. You don’t need to be connected to anything or anyone, you can just let go and explore to experience the most out of what life has to offer. The ability to travel, see new locales, enjoy exotic foods, and meet plenty of new friends across the globe inspires people to put aside their daily life in search of adventure.
A highlight of adventuring for many is being able to retell their stories to their friends and family. Retelling stories might not be enough for some, so a good solution is to document the adventures as they unfold. Photographs are good, but they still don’t tell the whole story of the fun and excitement you had. This is why travel videos are such a great and popular idea.
More than that, it gives you a chance to get really creative with it to make special content. Editing videos and stringing together a video retelling of your travels is an awesome way to show people what you experienced, so you need to do it in a unique way. Here are some ingenious ways to make your travel videos look more awesome.
Choose a compelling thumbnail
Everyone knows that a good video doesn’t begin and end with the footage you recorded. YouTube and social media platforms are littered with travel videos, and it is getting harder and harder to get noticed in the vast pool of travel videos. The Youtube thumbnails of your videos needs to be compelling enough for viewers to click the “watch” button. Luckily, Adobe Express makes it very easy these days to create thumbnails – and it’s completely free!
Pay Attention to Your Audio Quality
Too many good videos are ruined by bad audio so there are a few things you need to focus on. Paying attention to your audio quality is about knowing when a good time to shoot is (still hours vs. windy weather), mixing and mastering audio during editing, and using the right equipment. It takes a while to learn how to mix and master audio well, but you should invest in a camera mic because the integrated mic just won’t cut it.
Use a Variety of Tripods and Stabilizing Accessories
A shaky video feels vomit-inducing at times too and you want your footage to come across as clear as possible. It can be a stylistically amazing video, but if it feels wonky and the viewers can see that it was all handheld, it ruins the vibe. Invest in a variety of tripods and stabilizing accessories. Traditional tripods are cheap and an essential part of your camera bag, but you should also consider handheld monopods for more maneuverability for action sequences. If you can afford one or feel it’s worth it, a Steadicam rig could also be a great way to boost your content quality.
Mix Up Your Video Formats
While 1080p HD, 2K, or 4K video recording quality is seen as the pinnacle or the standard that you should strive for with your content, you shouldn’t get tied down to just one format. People craze authenticity, which is especially true for making travel videos. You can switch up the formats by using cell phone footage, older camera quality for a natural grain, or if you can manage it, use film for an unmistakable level of authenticity. Combining different formats makes the video content fresh and it can add some aesthetic appeal when shooting different kinds of scenes (HD for sport/action, film for late-night dining/pub crawling, etc.)
Mix Up Your Recording Devices
This goes hand in hand with the video formats because different formats may require different recording devices. It’s a good idea to diversify your equipment so you don’t get overly attached or reliant on one camera. Smartphone, DSLR, video camera, film video camera, or handicams are some good choices, along with action cameras like GoPros, which add plenty of versatility to your camera arsenal. Having a wide range of devices gives you more opportunities, and it helps if you ever lose or break a device as well so you’re ready to go.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
The key to good photography and videography is not being afraid to step outside of what you’re comfortable with. It might be easier to stick with recording easy scenes that are comfortable, but if you don’t take risks with your footage you won’t capture anything cool. It’s also nothing to feel self-conscious about recording in public and it’s good to just shut off your inhibition and go with the flow to make content that feels real. Don’t be afraid to bring your camera with you on an adventure, but be smart and try not to break it.
Make Montages With Music
The good old fashion montage really never goes out of style so you should always think about how you can add good music and beats to amplify the mood you’re going for with your travel videos. It’s a good way to cut through dead air and make sure that the content keeps people’s attention. There are so many different songs available too that it’s a really fun way to play around with sounds to see what fits for certain shots and what doesn’t. Consider this when you’re in the editing phase and need to inject more life into the videos.
Creating compelling content can be hard, but when you have legitimately exciting things to record, it makes it much easier. This is why plenty of people decide to document their travels with video, but it doesn’t’ end there. Using these tips, you can help make your travel video content much more exciting and really impress the next person you show your latest globetrotting adventure to.
