08/07/2025
Kudos to those videographer/editors out there that create vacation videos for memories without getting paid. Lugging expensive camera equipment to exotic locations in salty environments, making sure that your batteries are charged, your lenses aren't fogging, your drones to end up at the bottom of the ocean and your equipment stays dry... all while trying to enjoy the "vacation" that you paid money for. Rest and relaxation for these people is usually felt only when sleeping at night. It's a job for a team of people but when you do it by yourself it's even more difficult.
Once you return home from your "vacation", your job isn't over. It's just the second phase beginning... the editing. This is an image of the hours of work that awaits you once you sit down at the computer to edit. The timeline shows all the footage captured and ready to manipulate into a finished video. 5.5 hours of footage to mull through... to search for the best of the best footage to include in your edit to tell a visual story of the trip. The small highlighted strip to the far left represents 5 minutes. I try to cut the videos down to 3-5 minutes so as to not bore the people watching it. The goal is to "Get in and get out" and leave the viewer wanting more, or better yet.. have them want to join the next trip to experience it for themselves.
I didn't post this to complain. I posted this to share with others the complexity that goes into making videos like these for no monetary compensation, just for the memories. I have watched countless vacation videos online that have impressed me immensely. My hope is that the people who share these vacations with me and possibly people that I have not, nor will ever meet, will enjoy them as well. So to the creators of these videos I want to tip my hat and say, BRAVO.
