Sometimes, you take yourself by surprise.
This week, I’ve been hiking through the Peak District for a couple of YouTube videos. This involves walking around with a camera held out in front of me, a mic attached to my rucksack strap, and a loose script from which to riff. It’s hard work, but a country mile (if you’ll excuse the pun) from the hard work I used to undertake in my previous working life.
It’s actually enjoyable.
So, why did I surprise myself this week? Because I realised that I’ve built quite the process for vlogging, and I have a feeling it could help you, too.
The most important element of vlogging efficiently is the gear you throw into your backpack. Too much of it and you’ll spend the entire day cursing the resulting weight. Equally, if the chosen gear is fiddly and the antithesis of plug-and-play, you’ll have a horrible time shooting in the field.
Particularly if you’re literally in a field.
I’ve pared down my vlogging gear to the point where I shoot with an action cam (the DJI Osmo Action 4) and capture my voice with a DJI mic. Videos shot in my studio look and sound objectively better (just) but I really don’t want to be faffing about with ND filters, massive mics, and a multitude of annoying settings for changeable conditions. I just want to hit ‘record’ and begin waffling. This setup enables me to do just that.
The preparation for these excursions has been significantly refined over the last 12 months, too. I now have a small but incredibly efficient team of people who are much better than me at organising vlogging trips. Trust me - the more time you spend on sussing out the best location, accommodation, and timings for everything from leaving the house to when you’ll finish shooting - the easier time you’ll have when you’re eventually out there doing your thing.
Perhaps the most important aspect while vlogging in the wilderness - beyond the gear I’m using - is Apple Notes. These videos are the only time I’ll ever stray from Notion for my scripting, although, to be clear, I don’t script every element of the video; bar the hook at the start and, sometimes, the call-to-action at the end, everything is ad-libbed from a set of bullet points.
Regardless, I have a bunch of things I need to say that include spec details, my thoughts on the product being reviewed, and, often, a sponsor read.
To make this as easy as possible while vlogging, I simply chuck those bullet points into a note in Apple Notes and add checkboxes to each of them. Then, as I film each section, I tick off those that have been done. This does two things. Firstly, it ensures I don’t miss any element of the video (trust me, these are videos you don’t want to re-shoot) and, secondly, it makes progress feel tangible. I can see how much footage I have left to shoot and ticking off each bullet point is immensely satisfying.
I couldn’t let you into this process without talking about what happens after shooting. I’m very anal about dealing with the footage and audio shot during these trips, but that’s because the thought of losing anything makes me feel physically sick. This is why, at the earliest opportunity, I offload all of the media onto my editing drives. Not only that - I also create the Final Cut Pro project, import said media, sync up all of the a-roll video and audio and basically get it ready for the edit. Usually, this is done at the hotel at which I’m staying, or in the car, if time is limited.
The alternative is to leave this task until you return home, but dealing with what will, at that stage, feel like an utter mess of video and audio which needs sifting through and preparing for the edit, is very unpalatable. I’ve always found that dealing with it while the shoot is fresh in your mind is the best way to ensure a smooth transition from filming to editing. I also hate the idea of media sitting on SD cards that could so easily be accidentally formatted.
That’s it! This is a process that has been refined considerably, and which I’m still refining. I’m incredibly boring about processes, but I’ve experienced plenty of occasions when the process gets in the way of my creativity and it’s the most frustrating thing.
I have a feeling that vlogging is regaining popularity among creators, therefore I hope my process helps you find your own rhythm. It remains my favourite way to make videos, which is why you’re probably going to see a lot more made in this fashion on Mark Ellis Reviews and Solo Club.