If you have never made or edited a video before- Don’t be worried! You must essentially realize that this is a learning process in and of itself, much like everything else. Like everyone else, you should also begin at some point, irrespective of your filming/editing skills – this is your time, to begin with, travel video editing. For that, you have to be very organized and know about the choice of the camera because that makes a big difference. Hence, you must pay a great deal of attention to the camera you will utilize to record your travel video.
Most travel vloggers either use their iPhones or digital SLR cameras to film their adventure chronicles as that’s convenient and highly effective for capturing the views under most circumstances. You can carry them everywhere and use them at your convenience to photograph your surroundings. Now, on that note, let’s start with the five tips!
Tip 1: Trimming the Fat
First and foremost, you must realize that video editing has two categories of footage: A-roll and B-roll. Any shot that has you speaking to the camera is your A-roll, while the others (containing the people, places, details, food) are essentially B-roll. It’s essential to mention that A-roll serves the purpose of laying the groundwork for your video. Similarly, the B-roll provides the support to develop the plot.
Ideally, you should go through your videos one by one and sort out the bits that aren’t working. You may have the same thing twice or thrice, each from different angles or with different lighting. Settle for the best version and remove the rest. And if you are not sure how to do it, opting for a video editor is wise. Many editors are available these days to help you make and edit travel videos easily.
Tip 2: Telling Your Story
This is where you begin to tell your travel story through your videos and photographs. It would be best if you considered rearranging the content once you have sorted out the B and A-roll clips without any fat. It would be best to lay the appropriate B-roll on top of the A-roll parts to develop the sequence and bring the scenarios to life.
Ideally, you must begin each scene with an establishing shot, couple it with a supportive B-roll, and conclude each scene with suitable finishing shots. It is essential to mention that layering the B-roll on top of your A-roll perfectly will reduce the overall video duration by a whopping 40-50 percent- thereby bringing you quite close to a finished film.
It would be best if you then explored the idea of attaching any additional supporting or beauty footage of your trip to the video. This could be anything from GoPro to drone footage- this will provide that extra spice to your scenes. Moreover, you could also improve the quality of your movie by adding a time-lapse or a revealing drone image of the location you’re in.
Tip 3: Bring in the Music!
Travel vloggers need to use music in their videos to keep the audience engaged and not move on- due to their short attention spans. This is where background music comes into the process. You can scour the internet to find copyright-free and royalty-free music- so now add music to your videos to give them the feel you need. This will generate interest and curiosity among the audience and keep them waiting for more content in your video.
Furthermore, it would be best to realize that music would help you determine the pace and duration of every shot in your video. You may use a shot that took you ten minutes to film for just a second-and that’s it.
Then again, you must also realize that you can keep your pace going for maintaining a smooth transition by editing every beat. This will also help you to achieve a clear picture of how the film should be laid up. Most travel vloggers rely on visual shots like time-lapses and drone video to play with motion and adjust each scene and the transitions between them. This will essentially help you to keep the edit fresh and retain the viewer for the longest period possible.
Tip 4: Your Intro
Admittedly, this isn’t exactly something that everybody does in the business. However, a sleek intro has its own set of advantages in your travel video. Since most viewers have short and impatient attention, you should ideally employ a fast-paced opener in every video. This could include the most breath-taking shots, impactful sound bites, or hilarious clips to hook the viewers.
This will help your audience get an idea of what’s there on the menu inside the first five seconds, which can contribute to picking their interest- presumably enough to watch the entire thing. It is essential to mention that there’s no point in producing the most wonderful film if your viewer clicks away during the initial few seconds.
Tip 5: Voila! You’re almost done!
You have come across a long way, and you’re right at the finish line- all you need to do now is export and upload your video. If you are planning to share the video on your social media channels, you may want to make some last-minute adjustments:
- A high-resolution 16:9 export for YouTube and Facebook
- A short export of just the intro which can act as a teaser
- A square export for your Instagram
- A short 15-second clips vertical export for your Instagram stories
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, it only fits to admit that editing travel videos is an exceptionally tough challenge. However, this article will help you in your pursuit to edit a travel video. You must strictly adhere to the steps mentioned above to develop stunning videos without falling prey to an unwanted mess.
Traveling is a fun exercise that generates lots of joy and happiness. But this requires a lot of work if you want to document that joy and share it on your socials. Here’s hoping that you will enjoy your video editing sessions more from now on.
