Plenty of people film diligently on a trip and then leave the clips on the phone. Six months later it's hard to remember which day was which. A travel video doesn't have to be a vlog for strangers. Three to five minutes that the family can watch together is worth having in itself: a honeymoon, a graduation trip, taking your parents abroad, the first long journey with a child.
Decide who it is for
- For yourselves and family: three to five minutes, in order, with more shots of people.
- For social media: a 30-to-60-second vertical cut of the best-looking shots, quick in pace.
- A YouTube vlog: five to ten minutes or more, which needs someone talking to camera or a voice-over to hold the length.
One set of footage can become several versions, but the choice of shots and the rhythm are completely different, so say which you want at the start.
Choosing footage
- Folders by day: Day 1, Day 2. The phone album is already in date order.
- Three shots per place: a wide view, one with people, and a detail (food, a sign, the ticket in your hand).
- Delete the obviously unusable: wild shaking, the floor, the same view five times. If in doubt, keep it and let the editor decide.
- Mark the must-haves: the family photo, the proposal, a child seeing snow for the first time. Tell us the file name or time.
Three ways to shape the story
- Chronological: departure, each day, the way home. Hard to get wrong.
- By theme: scenery, food, people. Good for long trips where days look alike.
- Best first: ten seconds of the most beautiful shots, then back to day one. Suits social media and YouTube.
Filming on the trip so it edits well
- Hold each shot steady for five to ten seconds. No swinging about, and no three-minute takes.
- Decide on orientation. Mainly for TV, film sideways; mainly for stories, film vertically; for key moments, do both.
- Film the in-between: the airport, the view from the window, walking from behind, opening the door to the room. These linking shots are what edits lack most; see what B-roll is.
- Record some ambient sound: a market, waves, a train arriving. Laid under the music it brings the place back.
- Ask someone to film you. The person holding the camera is often missing from the whole trip.
- Back up to the cloud each night. If the phone is lost, the footage isn't.
Music and titles
Music sets the mood. For private viewing the choice is freer; for YouTube or social media, use licensed music or the video may be muted or taken down. Travel videos usually need only place and date cards, with subtitles added where people speak.
Before you hand it over
Tell us where you went, for how many days, who was there, what the video is for, the length you'd like, and the style (a link to a reference video helps; see describing the editing style you want). For uploading, see how to send large video files. Examples are on the travel video portfolio page.
FAQ
The footage is a mix of phone, action camera and drone. Can it be combined?
Yes. Colour and quality differ between devices and are brought closer in the edit.
The trip was years ago. Can it still be edited?
Yes, as long as the files exist. Older phones recorded at lower quality, and the export follows what the footage allows.
Nobody talks to camera. Will it be dull?
No. Music, ambient sound and title cards make a fine travel memory. For more of a story, a voice-over can be recorded afterwards.
