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5 Tips for Vacation Videos

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

With holiday time coming upon us, we put together our 5 Top Tips for creating great Vacation Videos.

1. Travel Light

You’re on holidays and one thing sure to make you grumpy is carrying heavy loads of equipment in the heat. This isn’t a commercial project, so relax a bit and only carry what is comfortable. You will probably want a spare battery. A camcorder cover can be vital if you are shooting around sand or salt water. You could just use a plastic trash bag as a cover or you can check out these covers on Amazon.

2. Don’t move the Camera Constantly

Try and take one detailed shot at a time and if you must move the camera, try and keep it slow and steady (holding the camcorder with two hands can really help with this). We’ve all seen holiday footage that scans frantically over the scene trying to take in everything or the holiday maker who simply walks around everywhere with the camcorder constantly recording. All it does is leave the viewer pretty seasick. You probably don’t want to carry a tripod around with you on holiday, but you could look into a cheap monopod that can double as a walking/hiking stick – (check out these pretty cool ones on Amazon for $15) – or if you are using your camera, these Digidude Tripod keychains are very cute. Try and take a few moments and set up the best shot and you can then edit them altogether afterwards.

Here is a great example of a holiday video made up with some great detailed shots by Cameron Moll on a trip to Rome.

3. Shoot Street Signs and other images for Cutaway Footage

Record signs, street signs, maps and other images that identify where you are and what you’re looking at. These shots can make great video cutaways for bad cuts, dodgy camera work or simply as a bridge from one scene to the next.

4. Edit Your Video Once you get home

Everyone has a drawer full of old photos that never got sorted into albums. Unless you edit your holiday video shortly after coming home, chances are you never will. Give yourself a free afternoon or evening that you can sit down in peace and put your video together (with trakAxPC of course). It doesn’t have to be very long – I spotted this video from Marco Abis on Vimeo – it is only 1min 30 and seems to encapsulate a great holiday to New York.

5. Be Careful & Enjoy your holiday!

Camcorders and cameras are always prime targets for thieves in holiday destinations, so be careful with your stuff – especially in places when you could be leaving your stuff down like having a coffee or getting cash from the bank machine. Mark Shapiro of the San Diego Union Tribune is a big fan on the “ugly box” theory. Instead of using a camcorder case that proudly displays the manufacturer’s name, he uses his personal favourite – a diaper bag – “No one steals a diaper bag, especially if you get a few clean cloth diapers and wrap them around your camcorder to provide padding.” Although if you wanted something a little more classy, I did see these pretty cool Cloak Camera Bags, which look slick and allow you to take photos without getting the camera out of the bag.

Finally enjoy your holiday. You don’t have to capture every moment – you’re meant to be on holidays. Pass the camera around – let your kids, wife, husband, partner, friend take some shots and footage, so you don’t feel “on” the whole time.

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Posted by Catriona in Tips & Tricks  

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