Digital Video 101

Step 1: Before you even leave the house, decide on simple story lines for your videos (say, food in Italy or wildlife in Australia). It’ll leave you with less footage to pore over later, and turn out compelling movies.

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Step 2: Variety is the spice of a vacation video. Get establishing shots to show viewers where you are, as well as plenty of close-ups. Shoot a single subject from multiple angles. And keep your recording time short—15 seconds tops. Longer scenes tend to be boring and can be time-consuming to edit.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

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Step 3: Don’t zoom: it can cause nausea. The same goes for shaky footage. The good news is that many camcorders now have anti-shake technology. But to be sure, position your camcorder on a ledge or lean against a wall to keep a steady hand.

Step 4: Edit your movie while the memories are fresh. Thanks to built-in editing modes on most camcorders—not to mention mobile versions of programs (iMovie for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad; VidTrim and Clesh for Android)—it’s easy to make short films ready for YouTube and Facebook in as little as five minutes.