BootsnAll Travel Community

Question:


Long story short:
So we're leaving everything we know & Love and are traveling for two years RTW?
I'm curious to know Everyone's Thoughts (Pros/Cons) Regarding making a movie of our travels, experiences ect???...It wouldn't be anything fancy.....although interesting & filled with moments, times that would want to be remembered. I don't have much experience with a camera, but do I need to have?...it's the memories I want to capture?
I do realize the risks that come along with wanting to bring a video camera...wether it be culture, something someone would want to rob etc....but setting that aside, what do you think? If you were our friend would you want to watch it? or would it be boring & not worth my time doing? I guess I want to bring back(if we come back) pieces from around the world that some people (mostly friends & family) would never otherwise be able see?
Am I trying to convince myself I should? Maybe? but what's your opinion & advice?
Thanks for reading & have a scrumpchulescent day, xox-Nancy

Choices:
To make a movie?
Not to make a movie?

 

Hard to say, really. The "travel" movies that I've seen in the past were of holidays with the family and kids at Disneyland and such...to sum up: deathly boring stuff. Now, if you were to take on a different approach and actually make it interesting, I think I'd have a go and watch it. The right approach would be to take a camera with you quite literary everywhere...shoot everything and every experience you come across (good and bad), try to make it into a story of sorts and once you make it back home sit down and edit the whole bunch of tapes you took while on holiday. Cut out all the boring stuff, add a nice soundtrack, perhaps do a VO (voice over a la Hollywood) and than show it to your friends and family during a special screening. While you shoot try to show where you are, who you interact with...daily life things that may be of interest to others who have not been where you went. And I think than, and only than, you will have something on your hands. As for camera, take something durable that can take the beating of rough travel...better to pay a bit more in the beginning and not have to deal with a lot of hassles once on the open road. Cheers and good luck!

ShaoLinMonk is right. Find a way to make a story or at least make it flow. Editting will be key. But do all your editting on a copy. you will want to keep a copy of the original untouched for memorie's sake.
Over all, I think it's a good idea and could be a lot of fun, just don't let it take over your trip.

I'd think hard about it. A video camera is more work to deal with than a still camera.

Here's my suggestions if you do take it:

1. DON'T BE OBSESSED WITH SHOOTING EVERYTHING. Live the experience and maybe pull out the camera for a minute or two to capture the essence of the moment. Get a wide shot of the situation if possible, and then Close ups of the people involved

2. Start filming with your friends before you leave. Practice. Watch it back. Edit it. This will give you a good idea if you'd be into it on the road. It's a pain to keep the camera with you all the time.

3. Watch a few documentaries and watch the different styles. Still shots, run & gun, etc.

Wow Thank you so much everyone for the Great tips & advice? I know there is alot more to it than I think (Like you all mentiones) but I think it will be well worth it...for memories sake. I'll keep it short & Sweet & won't make it boring!
have a great day, xoxo,Nancy

I have started with digital cam corder, i have found that digital movies take a lot of time. for me bout 1 hour of raw footage = about 10 min of edited video. also with many many hours of time in editing. The finished product i think was well worth it because it gives a dynamic element that stills cannot. My finished product is a DVD with "chapters" for each of the major parts of the trip.(this helps when showing to people that are less than interested in the whole trip). But for the length of time you are going, it might be an editing job that would be measured in years. not to mention the hours of finished dvd that you would have. might be hard to watch. On my RTW trip i stuck to slides, and have them edited and organized by country with sub divisions. I then also marked the top of some of the slides in red (these are the highlights to be shown to family and friends) Video is great, but the amount of time may be more than you may want to devote to a large project like this.. as for camera if you get a video get a digital and a 3 ccd unit like the Panasonic pvgs -120. best pic quality on any of the 3 ccd units. good luck. have fun

The worst part about doing things like this..

Is you need to carry it.

I hate carrying my camera. Video or still

which is why I hardly use either

Thanks for the advice and the very good points everyone...As you can tell I'll be kinda new at this..Yeah I've done videos of parties, family events....but nothing like I hope to with this RTW Trip. I've often thought if it's really worth it & what a pain in the @$$ it maybe caring around a camera all the time..but like suggested..I hope to video only the meanigful,important, exciting .. parts of our travels (having the camera always handy of course) and editing what isn't. I think alot of my inspiration to want to do a RTW minnie film...was that movie "the motorcycle diaries" where alot of footage is taken of real people who live in little villages in south america. When I get back and share this short film with family & friends I want them not only to see how wonderful it was out there but have them realize how good we have it & how often we take what we do have here in the Good USA for granted! Thanks for listening(reading)!
Have a great week everyone..xoxo,Nancy

If it comes out as great as your hoping, I hope you'd share it with us.

My advice is have a plan about what you want to do with your footage. That will help you shoot less so it won't take as long to edit. I've been making little videos of my travels for a few years now, and I've steadily gotten better. I know what kind of shots I'll use and which I won't, so I am a lot smarter when I walk around with the camera out. You can see some of my videos at my homepage to see the stuff I've done.

Our current RTW project has turned into a sort of almost weekly internet TV show called BTBtv. It's fun making it, gives me a creative outlet while we're traveling, and so far our friends and family are enjoying it.

Whatever you end up doing, good luck!

All good advice. And of course you can make it as big or small a project as you feel like, when you feel like it. I just always think that I may not be able to shoot a video like this again, you will probably be so many places you may never get to revisit.
I enjoy my travel videos and do show them off to others, I don't think they are boring Christmas vids and they remind me of the crazy times and places outside of my "normal everyday world," back here.
Check 'em out.
Bon Voyage.

I think making a movie is a good idea. although it is probably a good idea to start out with a plan, definitely take extra footage and be open to the fact that something else might evolve.

make the movie...

"memories are only as good as the stories told, movies last forever."

HI there!

When I was in Europe last year, I took a few videos with my digital camera, just a few 3 to 5 minute videos. My family loves one that I took of my 5 yr old nephew playing duck-duck-goose with my husband, my brother and cousin. THe sound and picture quality was terrific. We have a 1gb card and had no problems with storage. I also took some videos of the views from our hotel room as keepsakes,and i think i will keep doing this on future trips.

The Traveling Morans came out with a 15 episode vidcast of there honeymoon/RTW, and for me it's one of the best vidcasts I've ever seen. I'm sure that having a background in television helped in the production, layout and polished feel of the show, but I'd also venture a guess that it took them a good 10-25 hours prepping each episode and making it available online. Conservative estimates put that at around 150 hrs..which is a full month of pro bono....something that should definitely be considering when mulling over a vidcast.