Here’s a fact: travel videos are some of the most popular videos. So, if you are not someone who likes shooting and uploading your travel videos, you probably should.
Shooting videos and converting them to mini-movies is beneficial for two reasons: One, it makes your vacation timeless and gives your followers a sneak peek into the place you visited. Secondly, you can monetize your travel video and make decent money if done correctly. Travelling mini-movies are special because they offer a panoramic view of the destination, something pictures or collages can never do.
However, making a mini-movie might be challenging if you have never done this before.
This article highlights the best strategies and techniques to create fantastic travel mini movies you can share with your friends, family, and followers.
6 Incredible Tips to Create a Mini-Movie of Your Vacation
Choose the Destination Wisely
Unplanned trips always create good memories. But, they might not be good for creating mini-movies. Creating impactful videos is an art, and planning is vital to set priorities properly.
When your goal is to create fascinating travel videos, you must prepare a tentative schedule containing the destinations. The schedule must include the location, time of visit, duration of stay, and travel time (morning/afternoon/evening). Knowing the travel time is important because the picture or video quality and feel depend on the time.
Before embarking on a trip, it is wise to create a list of the places you plan to visit. Also, check the weather forecast to modify your plan. Carry protective gear if the weather forecast shows rain or thunderstorm.
Another thing you must consider is the theme of your video. Refrain from deviating too much and stay on track.
For instance, if you plan to visit France and shoot the Eiffel Tower, you should focus more on the Tower from all angles rather than showing people or food or anything else. Conversely, if your goal is to paint a rosy picture of the area, the focus must be on everything else while the Eiffel Tower adorns the background.
Pick the Camera and Gears
The camera is the most important equipment that helps you realize your dream of making a travel movie. Although a DSLR can give your campaign a different lustre, a normal camera would do equally well if you know the techniques.
You must consider camera gear, including lenses, microphones, SD cards, and tripods. However, the actual equipment depends on your destination and video style.
Several apps are available on smartphones, making them a viable alternative to super expensive digital cameras.
Shoot Like a Pro
Shooting humans or a natural landscape is bound to be different when you know its purpose. Travellers often capture more than they can process. As a fact, capturing more visuals does not guarantee high-quality videos; it can confuse you.
Every footage you shoot is important for you. But, there is no guarantee that the audience will also like it. So, it is wise to control the amount of information you provide in your video.
Focus plays a crucial role in videography. Only if you enjoy the natural landscape can you capture the perfect shots. Try figuring out essential things you cannot do without.
Concentrate on the beauty of visiting the place and display that in your video. You may also cover the principal landscape from different angles and try presenting a unique approach.
Choose the Best Editing Software
Editing directly affects the acceptability and indirectly affects the impact of your travel movie. A poorly edited movie will shove off viewers and reduce your popularity. In contrast, a professionally edited video can add a few stars to your popularity.
Editing is expensive when you hire a professional editor. But, thanks to movie maker online tools, you do not have to worry about hiring an expensive video editor anymore. Online movie makers provide enough resources and tools to produce insanely attractive video movies.
Some online movie makers provide millions of songs and templates for free. All you need to do is create a free account, upload your travel video on the dashboard, use the tools to add music, images, graphics, text, etc., and modify the feel and appeal of the video to make it more relevant eye-catching.
Arrange Scenes
Before editing, you must put yourself in the viewers’ shoes. You need to analyze the structure of your travel video from an impersonal angle. Think about your audience and figure out what excites them.
Once you know what your audience wants, you can design the structure appropriately.
For example, some travel movies start with a teaser. The teaser shows the most interesting parts of the video very quickly, often within 20 seconds.
You can be as innovative as you want while designing the structure. The timeline is there to help you excel in the task. Use the timeline in the video editing platform to arrange, modify, or reorganize the scenes. You may also use it to trim uninteresting parts, merge two clips into one, or split a clip into two.
While using timelines, you must consider the narrative you wish to frame for your audience. You must ask yourself, “Should I create a chronological video or mix the scenes?” The answer you arrive at will help you make the best use of the timeline in an online movie maker.
Check, Compress and Publish
You need to preview the masterpiece you have just created as the final step. Previewing your video will enable you to plug the loopholes and perform last-minute adjustments before the project is finalized.
It is one step where you should not hurry. It is natural to set a deadline before starting the movie creation process. But, it is always wise to have some buffer time to fall back on in case things go awry.
Besides checking the video, you must also reduce the file size to optimize it for popular social media platforms. Social media platforms usually specify the file size you can upload. So, you must enquire about the same and compress the video if needed. Compressing enables you to accommodate more content while being social media-friendly.
When your content is checked and compressed, you get ready to share it on the right platform. From Facebook, Whatsapp, and LinkedIn to Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, options galore when you want to show your creativity to the world.
Conclusion:
If creating a travel movie is an art, the tips mentioned above can make you an expert in it. Ensure to keep a good camera, editing software, and structure ready, and you are good to excel in the task. Stories make a bigger impact on the viewers’ minds than only clips of nature. So, frame a story to let your followers immerse in your video and experience a travel destination from a first-person perspective.
