Travel Video vs documentary: which one should you make?
How many thousand travel vlogs, highlight reels or cinematic travel videos have you watched?
Do you enjoy making them?
You might, or you might not, there’s no wrong answer.
But it’s important to ask the question, because there is another way.
If you:
Don’t like filming yourself.
See many stories not receiving attention.
Would like to immerse yourself more in local culture when travelling.
Then you might be more inclined to produce a short documentary.
But what does that look like? How do I decide and how do I get started? Let’s answer those questions right now. As always, you can skip ahead using the headers below.
Chapters:
Definition : Travel Video
A travel video is a broad term that doesn’t have a textbook definition. Generally it includes videos of journeys, adventures, cultures or destinations and the people visiting them. For many people, this means creating a video of their journey, including themselves and their friends as main characters.
These kinds of videos are usually one of two things
Motivational or reflective.
Either they aim to share their enthusiasm for travelling, or lead you to reflect on your beliefs and values. In any case, their primary goal is to encourage you to travel too.
Definitions: Documentary
The formal definition of a documentary is to create a “factual report of a particular subject.” In truth, documentaries can be much more broad, and I would actually say that travel videos can be documentaries, if they stay true to the actual events.
Personally, I use the documentary format to tell stories of people other than myself. This means travelling to a place, but shifting the focus entirely away from myself and towards people and places with stories to tell.
Should I make a travel video or documentary?
This is a very personal question, and I would HIGHLY encourage you to make at least one of each to start with, That is the only way you will truly know what you prefer.
Having said that, there are a number of ways to tell which style might appear to you more:
Realistic day of making a travel video
I often find it easier to see the ‘day in the life’ doing something than listening to the benefits and downsides of doing said thing. So, here is how I would describe a typical day shooting a travel video while on a trip with some friends:
Wake up is at 6am so you can catch the sunrise with the beautfiful morning light. Camera equipment was charged overnight so you head out on motor scooters to, with one of you filming the rest laughing and having fun. Someone in the group is sick, so prefers to stay off camera, while the others walk around the lookout taking photos and filming reactions. You then head to your accommodation for breakfast before heading out for an action packed daytrip to a nearby waterfall, where you film some of the stunning landscapes and shoot casual interviews asking your friends to describe their experience. You come by some local villagers and take photos together, trying to communicate somehow with hands and feet. In the evening, you seek a downtown area to capture some cultural performances and to add a cultural element to your film. The camera has been on all day and the group is worn out so you leave all equipment (save for a GoPro) at home and head for a night out at a local party.
Realistic day of making a travel documentary
A realistic day filming a short documentary goes quite differently:
You still wake up at 6am to head out for the morning light, but this heading to or two locations you researched before as busy areas in the morning time. Here, you approach locals with some basic local language skills or in English. You introduce yourself and try to capture some scenes of them going about their morning, but get rejected by most people until a young family seems more open. Their kids end up following you and leading you back to their village where you meet their grandfather, For the next four hours, you end up talking to him and other elders about topics you had not even imagined you’d want to film. Writing some quick notes, you quickly change the whole outline of your story and ask where you can find more people doing what they do. Realising your batteries are empty and your lens is fogging up, you quickly head home to get your equipment sorted and grab a bite to eat. Heading back to the village in the evening, you are invited to a campfire dinner with food so spicy you can hardly eat it. Quickly you develop a stomach ache and head home late at night before quickly scripting out the next part of your story before bed.
AS you can see, the process for making a travel video and a documentary is very different. I have shown you slightly more extreme versions of a typical day, but I hope it might help you understand what you are getting into.
