
The secrets of good videos
To make a watchable travel video, just follow a few simple rules.
Heres what to doand what not.
By Elinor Stecker-Orel
Parading guardsmen, noisy marketplaces, pigeons fluttering in the piazzathese are images, full of
movement and sound, that capture the essence of a trip. Videos can capture the action.
Before you go
- Pack an hours worth of videotape for each week youll be away.
- Take two or three batteries and the battery recharger.
- Pack a voltage converter and/or socket converter, if your battery recharger needs one.
- Put the instruction manual in your camera bag.
- Make sure the machine is operating flawlessly.
Making a travelogue interesting
Every good movie has a beginning and an ending; so should your travelogue. You might open with
something as simple as someone looking through a pile of travel brochures. One effective trick is to focus
on a photograph in one of the brochures, then follow it with a live shot of that very place. Or try these for
openers: packing suitcases, looking at the flight-announcement board, or getting in the car and driving off.
Shoot an ending too: boarding the airplane, going through customs, or collapsing on your couch at home,
surrounded by souvenirs.
The secret of a good video is continuity: a smooth, coherent flow of images. For example, if
you start with an overview of the teeming crowd making its way up the steps to the Acropolis in Athens,
Greece, you might follow it with a shot of just a few people looking at the Parthenon. Then show the
Parthenon itself; come in closer for a series of shots of columns and architectural details. For a transition,
show a group of people walking from the Parthenon to the next building. Youve started to build a logical
sequence, and sequences are what movies are made of. To make yours really interesting and informative,
shoot from a variety of camera angles and vary the amount of detail.
An initial overview, or what the pros call an establishing shot, sets the scene, letting viewers know where
they are. Youll probably do the establishing shot with your lens set at a fairly wide-angle position. Every
time you videotape at a different place, start with this kind of shot to orient your viewers. After a few
minutes of shots showing details and activity, its a good idea to remind people periodically where the
action is taking place by shooting another overall scene. Thatno surpriseis called a reestablishing
shot. When traveling from city to city or from one country to another, include transition shots. Scenes of the
road from your car or of the water from your boat are good. So are maps, your travel itinerary, or road
signs.
Good technique
Pan sparingly and do it right.
When you want to sweep your lens across an entire scene, plan to go slowly. Then do it even slower. Think
out your pan beforehand, so that you start and end with something interesting in the viewfinder. If you pan
too often, you will bore your viewers and draw attention to the camera; too fast, and youll make them
dizzy. Hold the camcorder still for a few seconds before and after the pan. Tilting is similar to panning,
except youre sweeping vertically instead of horizontally. The same guidelines apply.
Avoid moving the zoom lens in and out.
A zoom lens is not a trombone! Zooming loses its impact when you repeat it for no creative
purpose. Most of the time, its best to use the zoom control just to change the focal length between
shots.
Get people shots, lots of them.
Nothing is as interesting to watch as other people. Tape the local people selling in the market,
demonstrating crafts, or sipping wine in an outdoor café. Videotape your companions, but encourage them
to do something other than wave at the lens. And to make sure you can get in the picture
from time to time, show a traveling companion how to operate your camcorder.
Record comments about a place while you are shooting a travelogue.
Dont state the obvious, but give some interesting facts (gleaned from your guidebooks) about what you
are showing. You or someone else can do the talking, or, even better, stand close to your tour guide and
record his or her commentary. Not only will it make the tape more interesting, it will also jog your memory
when you get home. (After a while, all those castles and archaeological ruins start to look alike.) Another
audio option is music. While youre on the trip, buy recordings of music typical of the region. Playing it
while you show your tape will create the right atmosphere for your travelogue.
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