Travel video tips and tricks

Let’s start with the basics: what cameras guarantee you good-quality video? One option is to use a Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera, more commonly known as a DSLR. These can retail for anywhere from US$600 to $5,000, but even those on the cheaper end of this scale can shoot great video. DSLRs can be outfitted with a variety of different lenses, but we recommend a mid-range zoom lens like a 24–105mm zoom, which is the most versatile. But if you plan to share your videos via social media or online, the truth is that an iPhone 6 Plus with the maximum memory (132GB) can reap fantastic results. Install the iMovie app to allow you to edit the footage there and then; this technology is so sophisticated and intuitive to use that anyone can produce well-crafted shows on their handset, ready to upload directly to any social media platform. Of course, you may prefer to consider the equivalent Android option. Don’t shoot in portrait Whichever smartphone option you choose, make sure that yo...

There is a bewildering choice of lenses for DLSR on the market and most videographers need to be selective, for reasons of budget and portability. The best all-round lenses are the zoom lenses with a good range, such as 24–105mm (1). Both Canon and Nikon offer these models with an image stabiliser, which really helps when shooting video. If you’re set on capturing wildlife, it’s wise to invest in a longer lens, but check out the size and weight of the lens in person before ordering online, as some of these lenses will outmuscle the camera itself. Choose a zoom lens with a good range, so you can capture action both far and near. A 100–400mm (2) will do the trick, although it is pricey, so novice shooters might prefer the distinctly cheaper 70–300mm flavour (3). Longer lenses are also favoured by sports photographers, so are good for all-round action shots. A fish-eye lens or ultra-wide (4) is good for indoor scenes. Favoured by hotels and estate agents hoping to use sleight of eye...

Preparation is everything. Before you leave, think about what you plan to shoot and how location, weather and access to power will affect your production.   If you’re out for the whole day , bring a couple of extra batteries (1). Anything longer than a day and it’s time to start thinking about access to power so you can recharge (2). There are some great choices like Goal Zero for solar and battery packs that can charge on the go. Think about how you will carry your camera and gear . If you’re planning to shoot on rough terrain, an adventure camera pack can be a great investment (3). Make sure you choose one with a hip belt, straps for attaching tripods and back support. Check out Dakine and F-Stop packs for some great options. Travelling in a wet environment? Look into drybags and dryboxes like Pelican cases for digital cameras (4). For smartphones there’s a huge choice of waterproof cases available: these also serve to protect the phone from dirt and knocks, so it’s...

Take the time to consider the final product before you start shooting it – or even before you leave for your trip. Are you filming for personal use or to share it with others? Do you want to send the footage back during the trip or store the content while travelling? With a firm understanding of what you’re trying to achieve, you can set yourself up perfectly with the right equipment, the right social media links and any other assistance you might need. Think too about your practical plan of action. For example, do you want to film your travelling companion(s) or film a piece to camera yourself? Do you want to do a voiceover or just a soundtrack? Try presenting to camera before you go to see how you come across and to make sure that whoever is filming gets the composition right and is technically aware of the equipment you’re using. It is dreadful to come home to discover that they filmed everything portrait instead of landscape or obscured part of the lens with their finger (t...

In remote areas, power sources may be unreliable, scarce or simply non-existent. So if you’re going off the beaten track, it pays to think ahead. If you’re using a DSLR, pack plenty of spare batteries and memory cards to carry with you on the road. Take any opportunity to recharge, and never just assume that the power will stay on. If you plan to buy a back-up hard drive, it’s worth choosing one that can be charged directly from a laptop – that way, as long as your laptop has power, your files can be backed up safely. If your accommodation doesn’t have power, check the local cafés for power sources you can borrow. Failing that, seek out a vendor who charges mobile phones, but be wary of leaving expensive equipment there: it may be too much temptation for someone who earns very little money. Stay with them while recharging, or leave a trusted tour guide with them. Waste not want not Be wary of wasting precious battery life on filming for filming’s sake. It’s frustrating to ...

Whether it’s a top-of-the-range DSLR or just a smartphone, visible camera equipment can make you a target for thieves. Be savvy and stay aware of those around you. Check the small print of your travel insurance to ensure it will cover all your equipment for the entire duration of your trip. There are specialised travel gadget insurers: Travel Gadget Insurance, Protect your Bubble, Gadget Guardian and Gadget Cover. Pack expensive equipment in your hand luggage when travelling by plane or bus, never in the hold. Stay in self-contained rooms, not dorms. Shared rooms may be cheaper, but in dorms you have no control over who can gain access to your stuff. Leave expensive items in a safe or with reputable receptions rather than in your room. Best of all, keep them with you. It can be annoying, but not as frustrating as returning to a room and finding them gone. Keep your luggage on your lap or under your feet on public transport. Buy a camera bag that can’t b...

Tripods are a frontline weapon in the battle for better video. Broadly speaking, the bigger (or heavier) the camera, the more stable the tripod needs to be. Tripods are best used for dramatic landscapes or buildings where the action is incidental to the scene. People, animals or vehicles might come in and out of shot, but it’s the iconic Himalayan peaks or the towers of Angkor Wat that you’re after. Combine this with a sunrise or sunset and the opportunity for a time-lapse presents itself, an advanced trick to speed up nature that definitely requires a tripod. Gorillapods are some of the most compact and reliable tripod devices on the market, for use with a smartphone, tablet or light camera. Retractable monopods are another good option for a more elevated perspective. Bigger tripods can be a burden to carry around, but will help to get the money shot if you’ve already invested in a quality camera. As real-world action unfolds unpredictably, you may not always have time to s...

You might have filmed the footage of a lifetime, but if the card corrupts or your camera is stolen, it’s useless. Always keep a copy of the files in at least two places, and not on memory cards which are prone to corruption when being copied over. Online storage providers such as iCloud, Dropbox or Flickr are good options for smart-phone footage. But uploading will require a lot of data, and storing large files will become expensive, so this option isn’t realistic for most DSLR shooters. Take a fast card reader, and ideally two robust hard drives that can withstand being knocked around in backpacks on the road. Check the specifications of the camera and choose the resolution at which you want to film. A 16GB card will give you around 44 minutes in HD on most DSLRs. Calculate how much space you need, always erring on the safe side (better to have too much memory than too little). Keeping a list of what’s been filmed on each card will save you a lot of time when you’re editing. ...

Many amateur videographers spend a lot of time and money on images but ignore the importance of sound. Do so at your peril! Audio is often more important than the picture. With bad audio your piece to camera will be unusable, but with good audio you can lay good pictures over the top of bad images. Always keep the camera close to the person speaking and ideally do a test run and listen back to it before filming your final version. If you’re shooting with a DSLR or smartphone, ensure that any sound you want to capture is within three feet of the camera. If that won’t always be possible, consider buying a top mic: Rode make excellent quality microphones – try the Rode VideoMic Go, which is compatible with many HD DSLRs, or the Rode Smartlav for iPhone – both at US$100 or less. These mics plug directly into your camera, so they don’t require batteries, and the audio will sync up automatically in post-production. Use airplane mode If you’re using a smartphone, remember to swit...

Once you have established your equipment and who is presenting, have a checklist to make sure that you shoot everything you need. 1- A good establishing shot : this tells the viewer your location and gives you the opportunity to add a graphic with the title of the project in post-production. 2- Your opening piece to camera , which again should establish what you are doing and perhaps what you are about to do. Don’t be scared to show your emotions, even if you’re tired, hungry or fractious: it makes good viewing to witness how you react to situations. 3- Shoot plenty of sequences of the sights you are seeing or the adventures you are having. Always hold the shot for at least five seconds. If you are doing a left-to-right pan you’ll need a very steady hand or a small tripod. You can later use voiceover over these sequences or even lay these pictures over the sound from your pieces to camera. 4- If appropriate or available, use sound bites of brief interviews with local pe...

The old adage may be an overstatement, but it will certainly help improve the results. Don’t let the camera make all decisions for you. Consider using some still shots as a marker to set the frame for the video. Almost every device on the market combines photos and videos these days, so take the chance to snap some photographs first and see which composition works best. This is especially useful for those shooting on a tablet, as the huge screen is the amateur answer to a director’s monitor. If time allows, go for more than one take using different settings, and take a closer look at the results. It might be a different app feature on a smartphone or a different white balance on a DLSR, but small changes can add up to big differences in results. It’s easy to shoot on automatic and let the camera make the decisions, but to improve your skillset as a videographer, you need to start making these calls yourself, particularly if you’ve invested in expensive equipment. There’s no need...

Whether you’re shooting stills or video, good composition is critical: without it, even the most compelling of scenes can look unbalanced or boring. The rule of thirds can help you get your composition right. When you look through your viewfinder or at your screen, imagine three evenly spaced lines running horizontally and another three vertically, giving you a total of nine rectangles. Following the rule of thirds, the subject of the shot should be placed on or near where the lines intersect. Non-moving subjects lend themselves especially well to the rule of thirds. In a land-scape, find the main point of interest – a hut on a mountain, perhaps, or an elephant in the savannah. If you’re interviewing a person, the main point of focus should be their eyes. Be careful: autofocus on DSLRs and smartphones is usually in the middle of the frame. Use the focus-lock function on DSLRs by centring on your subject, half-depressing the shutter release until it locks focus, then recomposin...

Modern digital cameras are fully automated and can make the decisions for you. Improve your game by learning how to fine-tune your settings manually. Aperture Refers to the hole in the lens that lets light into the camera and is measured in f-stops. Somewhat confusingly, a smaller f-stop value refers to a bigger aperture and a larger f-stop number refers to a smaller aperture. Your choice of aperture size will dictate the depth of field – see Click here for more details. Shutter speed  Refers to the length of time the shutter is open while the image is captured. This relates more to photography, as the shutter stays open throughout a video shoot anyway. However, for those also shooting still images, a slow shutter speed (with tripod) can be used to capture artistic images of a waterfall by day or traffic by night. ISO   Dictates the light sensitivity of the camera. In general, the brighter the light, the lower the ISO setting: 100 is a good benchmark for dayl...

Depth of field relates to how much of your shot is in focus. A small amount of focus is called a shallow depth of field, the opposite is a deep focus. For a polished, cinematic effect, use a shallow depth of field (giving focus to a single item, with everything else in the shot appearing blurry). To achieve this on a DSLR, use a large aperture setting (that is, a small f-stop – see Click here) to target a precise point of focus. Be careful to double check that your object is sharp – it’s easy to accidentally find focus on, say, the eyelashes rather than the eyeballs, and tricky to tell on a small screen. If you are struggling to achieve as shallow a depth of field as you’d like, try moving further away and zooming in on your subject; this will mark them out from the background. If you’re shooting on a smartphone, tap and hold the screen to lock the focus where you want it. The AE/AF lock sign will appear. If you’d rather shoot with deep focus – perhaps you’d like to present ...

The 180° rule is one of the central tenets of film making. Stick to it, unless you have good reason not to. Imagine a woman and a man in conversation. The woman is sat on the left-hand side of the screen, facing the man on the right-hand side. Imagine a straight line going through both of their heads and continuing either side forever. The 180° rule states that this imaginary line should not be crossed in any of your shots. If it is, the on-screen positions of the woman and man will be switched, so that the man is on the left-hand side, looking right. For the viewer, who now isn’t sure which subject is where in relation to the other, this is both confusing and distracting. This same rule applies to objects, and particularly to how people relate to them in a scene. If a woman is walking towards a tree and you cross the line, she’ll flip positions on screen so it looks to a viewer like she’s walking the other way. If you do have to cross the line for any reason, try to take a ...

Varying the shots in your movie will serve to hold the viewer’s attention and by using certain shots you can direct the viewer’s emotions. A wide shot sets the scene for the audience, letting them know where they are. The closer a person or a subject to the camera, the more the audience understands their significance. A long shot shows the whole person, a mid shot shows the waist up, a close-up shows head and shoulders. Closer than that – just eyes or mouth, say – is more intimate than we would normally see a stranger, so the audience will feel a deeper connection to them. A point of view shot can give insight into the subject’s thoughts. If we see someone looking intently at something, then see a door from their point of view, we understand they’re awaiting an arrival. Tracking the camera forwards or backwards, tilting it up or down and panning it left or right all create movement in the shot. If you want to add a feeling of drama, move away from the eyeline, so th...

Tracking is usually the preserve of handheld shooting and panning is best done with a tripod. These techniques can create movement and bring a static scene to life. Tracking is a film industry term for shots taken on tracks using a camera mounted on a dolly, but this isn’t really a backpack-friendly option for travellers on the road. But the principles of tracking can be applied from any vehicle in any region of the world. Track wildlife from a 4x4 on an African game drive. Track river scenes from the bow of a slow boat down the Mekong River. Anything that moves can be used as a vehicle to experiment with tracking. It’s even possible to track on foot, but you’ll need a steady hand and even ground. Handheld tracking is definitely not for scenes in snow and ice or sand or rocks, so forget any mountain or desert experimentation. One of the most rewarding uses of panning is the reveal, coming off a close-up subject to reveal a wider, dramatic scene. Start on a Buddhist carving...

It’s not just what’s in the frame, but what’s out of the frame. It might be a random tourist about to interrupt your Oscar-winning moment. Or it might be a saffron-clad monk that will add a blaze of colour. When shooting iconic buildings in video, it pays to have some motion in the shot. A photograph can capture the Angkor Wat or the Taj Mahal in all its glory, but when shooting video, life and energy will give the footage real flourish. Keep one eye open on the environment around you before you shoot. Tourists don’t generally enhance the scene, but a local family in traditional costume will bring the building or back-ground scene to life. When shooting with roads in the foreground, look out for iconic vehicles coming into shot. The Royal Palace in Bangkok looks dazzling by day or night, but nothing brings it to life like a Thai tuk-tuk zipping past. Likewise in a local market, the colourful fruit and vegetables will bring the image to life, but having some local hawkers walk th...

Using the zoom option is an easy trap to fall into for first-time videographers making the step up from photography. The zoom button is a great feature when taking still images, as it lets the user get closer to the subject without the need to move. However, migrate the same zoom feature to a video and the audience is likely to end up with motion sickness. Move closer instead. From a technical point of view, the more you zoom in on a subject, the less stable the image and it is likely to result in a wobbly or blurred video. Resist the temptation to zoom and instead move closer to the subject if practical Of course, there are exceptions such as sporting events or restricted areas of a museum where it may not be possible to get closer to the action, but there is still no need to zoom while filming. Simply shoot the wide shot, stop filming to zoom in and then shoot the close up. It will save a rollercoaster ride for your audience and deliver a more professional result. If yo...

The secret to stunning landscape shots can be summed up in one word: light. This means you have to be on location at the right time. The ability of light to transform a subject or scene from the ordinary to the extraordinary is one of the most powerful tools for photographers and videographers. The good news is that warm daylight is available to everyone, free of charge. The bad news is you might need to set your alarm clock to catch it… The best light is created by the low angle of the sun in the one or two hours after sunrise and before sunset. At these times shadows are long and textures and shapes are accentuated. Shooting in this light you’ll find you can capture a sense of the full magnitude of the scene in front of you. In the right light, landscape shots can look warm, dreamy and ethereal. Success in capturing these moments hinges on scouting the area you want to shoot before filming it. When you do, ask yourself practical questions. What do I need to capture this mome...

Shooting wildlife is like fishing; you need to have the patience of a saint. Just make sure you have the camera ready to go at a moment’s notice. Getting the perfect footage is often a matter of luck: being in the perfect place at the right time. It is easy to get frustrated, but remember you cannot control the wildlife; you have to let it come to you. Keep a camera close at hand and ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. If you have to fumble with a bag or lens cap, chances are you will miss the moment. If shooting with a DSLR, use the lens with the longest possible zoom, because it’s unusual to get very close to wildlife. When you spot animals in the distance, the eye will zoom in on them and exaggerate their size, but they will be significant on the sensor when you watch your footage back. Even if you’re travelling independently, joining a tour to see the local wildlife is an option worth considering, and often it’s the only way to catch a glimpse of your target species. You’l...

Shooting video in time-lapse is the process of capturing lots of photos over a period of time and assembling them to create a sequence that appears sped up. If you choose a place with as much movement as possible – a festival or traffic junction – your time-lapse will appear as an onslaught of activity, conveying a sense of hectic energy. Choose a very slow-moving subject – the sun setting or a seedling growing, for example – and a time-lapse will transform it into one smooth motion. If you’re shooting with a DSLR, set the focus manually, so that the image won’t auto-focus mid-lapse. Consider your exposure: if you’re doing night-time lapses, you’ll need a low f-stop to let in a lot of light. Interval times depend on your subject; try out the suggested settings below, but you’ll need to experiment to find out what works best for you. Recommended intervals : * 1 second intervals: traffic, crowds * 3 second intervals: clouds, sunsets * 15–30 second intervals: celestial motion,...

Whether it’s a snowboarder carving up the slopes or a game of football, action sequences can give your video a dynamic edge – if you get them right. The most important factor is communication. Talk to your subject and understand where they will go. Without doing this the shot will never be as smooth or look as good. Sometimes this can be as simple as yelling back and forth to establish the direction of movement. You could even buy a cheap pair of handheld radios or agree a rough plan on paper. Aim to include a lot of foreground in your frame to show the depth of action. Start to move the camera before the subject comes into the frame and you’ll be rewarded with a much more fluid shot, without that involuntary jerk when the action starts. Light and timing are also critical. The light in the morning and evening provides some of the best environments to shoot action, and the contrast really helps the subject pop out of the background. The light also helps you see the contour of w...

It’s not all sun, sea and sand when travelling overseas. There will be many times when the elements are against you, and it pays to be prepared. Travelling in the tropics during the monsoon brings heavy rains, although such downpours are just as likely in Europe or North America at any time of year. Torrential rains and tropical storms are stunning to capture on film, but can be a disaster for your equipment. Travel with a dry bag to keep the camera gear safe. This will also be useful if you are planning any kayaking, rafting or diving. Extreme heat leads many visitors to want to chill out in air-conditioning. This is not always good for the equipment, as the dramatic changes in temperatures can lead to condensation or fogging of the lenses. Remember to take the lens to breakfast to give it time to warm up or leave it in a sealed bag inside a cupboard overnight. Snow conditions are a real challenge for videographers, as the glare plays havoc with the white balance. Use filters...

Lovely as it is, bright sunlight makes it nigh-on impossible to expose your footage correctly. But there are a few tricks you can try in the midday sun. If you’re filming a person, seek shade and try to find a shady background too. Or create your own shade using an umbrella. If you have a light, try filming into the sun while lighting the subject from the front. If you don’t have a light, find something reflective that can bounce light back on to the subject. Moving further back and zooming in on your subject will let in less light. Check the ISO settings to make sure that they are as low as possible and reduce the aperture. Use a lens hood to avoid lens flares. A polariser or ND filter attached to the front of the lens will have the same effect as putting sunglasses on. Some smartphone camera apps allow you to alter exposure. On the iPhone iOS 8, tap on the preview to bring up the focus point; when the sun icon appears, tap and hold to bring up a fine-tuning slid...

If it is truly pitch black, it’s important to get some kind of light source from somewhere, and to make sure that your subject is facing the light source. Use any light source you can find and experiment. Sometimes pointing a light directly at a subject can give a harsh look, and make them squint, so try bouncing the light off a wall at them. Try lamps, torches, candles, anything you can find – then plan your shots around where the light is best. If you have a light on your smartphone or camera, turn it on. Alter the ISO levels to let in as much light as possible. Beware that increasing the ISO will add grain to your footage, so get to know your camera and figure out how much grain is acceptable to you before the shot becomes unusable. Staying zoomed out will let in more light, as will lowering the shutter speed and opening up the aperture. Be focused Be aware that a wide open aperture will make focusing trickier as it will give you a shallow depth of field, so double chec...

It can be daunting for your subjects to be filmed when they’re not used to it, so try to make them as comfortable as possible. » If possible, position the camera on a tripod and stand just to the side, so that the interviewee can look at your face and see your expressions. If not, tell the person if you want them to look directly into the camera or give them another reference point on which to focus, to stop their eyeline from shifting around. » Ask a couple of easy questions to start with, to get them warmed up. Have a list of questions ready, but don’t forget to listen to what they say and ask follow-up questions to their answers. » Ask open-ended questions and make sure you ask about emotions: how did the person feel when that thing happened? » Keep the camera rolling at the end of the interview, but let them think you’ve switched it off. Chat casually; they will speak more freely when they feel under less pressure. » Leave space for editing before asking the next ...

If your video involves people talking to camera, your future self may well thank you for remembering to film a wild audio track while you’re there. When your video is in post-production, you may find you want to edit out irrelevant parts of a rambling interview or cut to a reaction shot or a cutaway. The problem with editing speech in this way is that the ambient sound behind your speaker might change slightly – just enough that the audience will be able to tell you’ve made an edit. The issue is more acute when you’re in a busy marketplace or bar, but it can still be a problem for relatively quiet locations like nature reserves, because of cicada sounds or bird calls. To create a wild track, film a 30-second audio recording of the location’s ambient sound, without people talking directly at the camera. When you edit, you can lay the audio under the entire scene, so that the ambient sound continues and the flow of the edit remains uninterrupted. This can also prove useful when yo...

Talking to camera seems simple, but takes time and practice. The most natural way is to ‘vlog’, aka to hold your camera up with one arm and talk to it. Start small . The bigger the camera, the more intimidating it will be to start talking to it. Start with a smaller compact camera, like your smartphone or a point-and-shoot. Check your lighting . Nothing is worse than vlogging with your face half lit with odd shadows, or completely in the dark, so choose your positioning with care. Learn your camera’s field of view . With practice you will learn to imagine what the camera sees and the frame it will be filming. If you have a flip screen, you can use it to check your frame, but make sure you flip it back to avoid the distraction of staring at the screen. Keep it short, simple, concise and to the point . Holding a camera up gets very tiring very quickly. This isn’t an article or blog post, and if you’re not used to talking in front of people, it will be very hard to hold the vi...

The most successful vloggers are those who can learn to communicate with their audience naturally, allowing their personality to shine through. » Think about staring right into the camera, as if you are talking to a friend. Talk right through the lens so your eyes can connect to the viewers on the other side. » Don’t worry about talking in complete sentences. Feel free to leave in giggles, pauses, mess-ups, goofy moments; it’s what adds that authentic appeal. » Be honest. Not everything is great; things are weird, gross, odd. Talk about them! Pointing out beautiful sunsets gets boring really quickly. » Be more lively and excited than usual, because video is best slightly exaggerated. That’s not to say you should be cartoonish, but speak up and talk with assertiveness. You are trying to engage and entertain others. » Learn the universally flattering camera angle of the ‘downward pointed view’ and try to get as wide a lens as possible. Use a variety of angles: some full...

Every video you make should aim to engage its audience (whether that’s your friends or the world at large) and to draw an emotional response. Any film can dispassionately present a subject, a person and a place, but you’ll have something much more emotive if you can find an element of uncertainty or danger to run through it as a subtheme. Watch nature programmes to see how they engage their audience by showing what’s at risk: if the lion doesn’t find water soon he will die; if the calf remains sick the herd will leave it behind. Find the conflict and delve deeper – show the audience what to care about. Find the angle that has the power to surprise you, as a filmmaker: that’s what will hook your viewer too. Generally, this means seeking the human stories behind what you’re shooting. So if you’re visiting a historical monument, find out what the building means to the local people. If you’re filming a local fisherman, ask him questions about his own experiences. You might be surpris...

Never assume it’s only content that matters. The combination of shots and audio you use fires off synapses in the viewer’s mind, reading significance and attaching meaning. Watching a film is not a passive activity: viewers are constantly examining, analysing and trying to fill in any blanks in their mind using their imagination. As such, they will make connections and read deeper meanings that haven’t been explicitly made. This can be useful when you’re aware of it, but dangerous if the audience reads something you hadn’t meant to imply. The great Alfred Hitchcock said once that if he showed a clip of an old man and followed it with a clip of a mother and baby, the audience would infer that the old man was a nice elderly gentleman. If he showed the same clip of the man followed by young women in bikinis, the audience would likewise make assumptions, this time understanding him to be a lecherous old man. Show a woman followed by a plate of food and the audience will think she’...

The most rewarding trips are always undertaken with sensitivity towards the country’s people, their beliefs and their practices. » Before you go, research local cultures and taboos, especially with regard to clothing, greetings, time keeping and personal space. Remember that you are the visitor: embrace cultural differences, even if you don’t agree with them, and be patient with and respectful of the local customs. As a general rule, if you are warm and open with others, they will be warm and open with you. » Be careful of filming without permission, especially when at close range, which will almost always raise suspicion. Always ask first and explain the purpose of your film to reassure them. If they refuse to allow you to film, respect their wishes. » Carry some small change with you: people will often be all too happy to be filmed if you buy them a drink or give them a tip. » Be careful that your words aren’t lost in translation. Sarcasm isn’t universal, and humour di...

You will probably need to film yourself in a public space at one time or another – a less than pleasant prospect if you’re easily embarrassed. People will stare at you, yes – but it’s no big deal. We live in a selfie culture now: it’s very normal to take photos and videos of yourself. For those who look at you askance, don’t worry: chances are they will never see you again and will forget all about it in less than five minutes. Find a good spot, turn the camera toward you, forget about the onlookers as much as you can, and just talk to your camera. When finished, instantly look down, look away and keep walking. If you don’t make it a big deal, those around you won’t either. If you still simply cannot deal with people looking at you, step aside from the group so you are not in earshot. Find a wall, a corner, a tree or just a larger open space, and when you’re finished join back in with the group. Act casual The less you pay attention to the people around you, the less you r...

The best stories don’t usually present themselves to you in front of your camera. You have to go looking for them, and that requires some planning. » Before you go, use your existing networks to find people in the country you’re visiting. A quick post on social media might uncover friends of friends who live there. These people are an invaluable source of local knowledge, leading you to places and people you’d never find otherwise. » See if there are any online newspapers from the country to learn about the current topics of debate, as well as upcoming events and interesting people. » Pack an old unlocked phone and buy a cheap pay-as-you-go SIM card when you’re there. In many areas internet access is still scarce, but mobile phones are increasingly ubiquitous. Having a local number will make it easy to arrange filming people and events, and will help you keep in touch with useful contacts on the ground. » Most importantly, talk to strangers. Talk to everyone you meet, find ou...

The wonderful thing about filming your travels is that, most of the time, people are very proud of their culture and jump at the chance to show it off. The camera can act as an all-access pass, allowing you to attend events that you wouldn’t usually be invited to. Befriend organisers of events and tour leaders, and explain what you’d like to film, and why. Don’t be afraid to use a bit of flattery: you might get the chance to film cultural or religious ceremonies that have never been seen before. Once you’re in there and filming, the camera gives you a valid excuse to ask questions, delve into people’s lives and spend time with them without feeling awkward about why you’re there. It can dissolve the boundaries between strangers. Share the spoils Get contact details from significant people you film so that you can send them a copy when you’ve edited it. Keep a note of whether they can access an internet link, or if you should send them a DVD instead. If you promise them a co...

Whether they mean to or not, everyone has a mental picture of their destination before they arrive. Don’t just film what you expect to see. The stereotypes presented by the tourist board will only represent a small fraction of what’s really going on in a country. Very few Kenyans are Maasai warriors and Holland is not merely a collection of windmills and clogs. It can be easy to fall into the trap of filming what you expected to before you arrived. Keep your mind open, read local papers, listen to what people are talking about and try to discover what matters to people. Search always for authenticity. Forget the narrative that someone else has written about that place. Find different narratives that no one else has presented before. Try not to ask leading questions: sometimes, you may find people repeating the stereotypes back at you, because they think that’s what you want to hear. Look for ways to challenge accepted norms. Renowned photographer Martin Parr’s iconic shot of...

Be prepared to accept changes of plan graciously. Being flexible and open-minded will often open up more opportunities than you might think. Capturing brilliant clips will always require patience. Events may be rescheduled; people may not turn up when you expect them to. Don’t hurry off as soon as you think you’ve got the shot: check if it could be improved. If you wait another ten minutes, the market stalls could burst into full flurry. Observe your surroundings acutely and train yourself to wait to see what happens next or how the light changes: if you wait half an hour, perhaps the rain will stop and the landscape will come to life again. The same rule applies to audio: that terrible drone of traffic might just peter off as rush hour passes. It’s the difference between quickly ticking off a shot and moving on without a backwards glance and allowing the scene to unfurl naturally and authentically around you. Sure, it can be frustrating, even boring, but with patience you’l...

Advances in digital technology have revolutionised video, but they have also made it all too easy to overshoot. Remember you’ll have to edit it all. In the era of film, there was a financial motivation to be selective with shots, as each roll of film cost money. Money is less of an issue these days, but storage space is a real concern when filming video, especially if shooting on 4K with a GoPro Hero 4, Sony A7 or similar. Large high-speed memory cards aren’t cheap, so we find ourselves full circle to the old adage of selecting your shots carefully. Editing is a time-consuming process, particularly if you are still getting to grips with the software. It’s a simple equation, but the more you shoot, the more you have to edit. Plan ahead and decide exactly what you want to appear in your final video, and it will save a lot of time further down the line. As a rule, you probably don’t want to be shooting much more than a 2:1 ratio, which means 50 per cent of your material ends up d...

Gone are the days of video-editing software costing big bucks. It is now easier than ever to edit videos to a high standard, and do so inexpensively and quickly. From well-established programs like Final Cut Pro, iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, to smartphone apps designed for every conceivable occasion, there are innumerable tools out there to help you, and they’re getting easier to use. With such huge leaps in the quality of technology, the platform you choose generally doesn’t matter a great deal, unless you want to turn your hobby into a full-time profession. So focus on finding a program you find easy to use. Many of the big video-editing programs, like Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere, often offer 30-day free trials of their software, downloadable from their websites. Above all, don’t get hung up on what the technology can do for you. The best movies are ones that could have been cut on celluloid, by hand, as all films were for decades. When it comes down to it, it’s ...

What kind of video do you want to make? How should it make your viewer feel? When in doubt, the internet is a great place to start getting ideas. Make use of the vast reference libraries of YouTube and Vimeo. Study the techniques in videos you like; make notes, if it helps. Vimeo in particular showcases an incredible selection of high-end travel videos and is a wonderful tool for novices. You won’t be making perfect videos straight off the bat, so there’s nothing wrong with learning from, and emulating, more experienced video creators until you find your own style. When you’ve established your tone, keep it consistent. Don’t try to be all things to all people: a movie with an inconsistent tone can be a mess, jumping from funny to serious to philosophical without warning and giving its viewers whiplash as they try to formulate their emotional response to it. Choose your shots as they relate to your tone and story, and not how they relate solely to your sense of visual aesthetic...

When editing your own footage, it’s important to shift your mindset from production to post-production. Time to mix things up a little. There’s a huge difference between being part of a moment in time (production) and watching that moment second-hand and after the fact (post-production); you can’t assume viewers will experience it in the same way you did initially. The way we process any visual information is dictated, intentionally or otherwise, by the compiler’s choice of shot and sequence. When compiled well, they should direct the viewer’s eye, telling them where their attention should be concentrated at any given moment: it’s up to the content curator to decide how they want to tell the story. If we see three shots of beautiful beach sunsets in a row, we as viewers learn that it was beautiful, then we learn the same thing twice more. But show us a beach sunset, followed by a couple walking hand-in-hand on the beach, then a close-up of their faces, and suddenly the sequenc...

Pace is an innate component of any video: think of it as a steady heartbeat, pulsing rhythmically and carrying the audience along with it. » Take a break between shooting and editing. Getting distance from the shooting experience is important: you might have attached more meaning to an event in the heat of the moment than is captured in the footage. » Take the time to watch all the footage with as much of an objective eye as you can muster. Let it wash over you; get a bird’s eye view of the raw material available before obsessing over specific moments. » What do you remember most vividly from the raw footage? This is your hook: pitch the rhythm of your edit to match this. This is also an ideal time to think of any potential connections in your material. The juxtaposition of any two shots can have implications for the viewer that range from the sublime to the absurd, but these reactions will never be prompted if you haven’t taken the time to think through the possibilities. »...

Don’t fall into the trap of making your videos too long, and risk losing your viewer’s concentration. Short and fun is always better than long and boring. Avoid information overload . So-called ‘talking heads’ can be boring unless the subject is saying something fascinating or telling a good story. Keep these sequences no longer than 20 seconds, and where possible cut away to related clips. Shoot cutaways . Have a strong selection of cutaway clips up your sleeve to break up long pieces to camera, or even to turn into a short sequence if needed. Use music . It will help to hold the viewer’s attention by setting a pace for the visual material you are presenting. The right soundtrack can add momentum or excitement, or emphasise the emotion, comedy or tension of a scene. Follow the three-minute rule . Try not to exceed a video length of three minutes. If your content can’t be condensed down to this length, consider splitting it into two or more shorter videos. If viewers are hun...

It’s not just content that counts. The transitions that replace one frame with the next in a video influence what the viewer understands about the narrative. The most commonly used edit professionally is the cut, where one picture is simply replaced in the next frame by another picture. Cross cutting cuts back and forth between two scenes to establish a relationship between them. It’s good for building pace or tension. Flash cutting uses very quick cuts where the shots last less than three seconds each. This adds chaotic energy (the German film Run Lola Run is a great example). Jump cutting chops out intervening action while the position of the camera remains the same. Start with a long shot of a woman setting up her stall, for example, then cut to the same shot but with the stall now fully set up. It can add pace and a sense of fun. Match cuts juxtapose two unrelated images to create meaning. A famous example is in 2001: a Space Odyssey; a bone is thrown into the air befo...

Cutting on action, a hallmark of continuity editing, has been a central component of narrative film editing for more than a century. Put simply, the principle is this: when cutting between camera angles, the action in those shots must match, to give a sense of continuous time. Take a simple example of a girl walking her dog. If your first angle is a wide shot, with the dog walking to the girl’s left, then the dog’s position relative to the girl should remain consistent when you cut to another shot. The dog should not be suddenly lagging behind the girl or running ahead or on her right. Ideally, when you cut between shots, your subjects should be moving at the same pace, with the motion of their bodies matching closely (look for details like the positioning of limbs). In doing this, you create a visual bridge for the viewer, allowing their eyes to interpret the movement as one single action without distraction. The movement must always be true to its own internal logic. If a ...

Embrace the power of music. There’s a reason so many narrative dramas score pivotal moments to well-known songs: the right music track can save the day. If you’ve filmed sweeping pans of landscapes, pair them with epic orchestral music to enhance the sense of magnitude and grandeur in the scene. Action sequences call for a pacy beat, while a sad film may need soft, sparse music. Try different music cues as you edit your story. Cutting to the rhythm of the song is a great place to start. As you gain confidence, you’ll find deeper ways to marry picture and music, and the results will be better for it. The rights for commercial music can be very costly to use, even if your video is only intended to be shared on your own social networks. Investigate free stock music available on the internet – there are many options out there, including YouTube’s music library, which has a great selection of ‘free to use’ tracks: youtube.com/audiolibrary/music. The iMovie app offers its own rights-fre...