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Filming Ride Videos #2: Telling a Story in Ride Clips

by Dan Cohen

Great home video is dependent to a large extent on the person doing the filming, and a one hallmark of a great filmmaker is the ability to be flexible and comfortable with several different techniques. Today you will learn another technique for filming the attractions you love at Walt Disney World.

What we are going to go over is a way to make a compilation of your favorite rides. This kind of compilation is easily created with basic editing software, which you can use to trim your clips, re-arrange them into a montage, and add a few lines of text.

We are going to build on the central concept of telling a story with your home video. Random clips are better than no video at all, but they won’t hold the interest of your audience for long. Luckily, telling a story with your video is fairly easy with a minimum of pre-planning. This is what you need:

1. A beginning – for my tutorial I use a short clip of my daughters having their picture taken in front of Cinderella Castle. This sets the scene. Most any clip will do as long as it shows that you are somewhere in Walt Disney World.

2.  A middle – this is where I’ve compiled several clips of my family on the attractions, or of the rides themselves. You don’t need long clips to do this, none of mine last long at all. When making your own video, also remember that you don’t need to film the whole ride, only something that reminds you of your experience. In my tutorial, you’ll see that I’ve added some text to help “keep the mood” and to remind of us of what we enjoyed about the attractions.

3.  An end – I use a closing clip of the Magic Kingdom and add some “credits.”

And you’re done! This is a great way to pull together a group of clips that may not be particularly interesting by themselves but tell a story when shown together.

This technique can easily be applied to other WDW home video clips that would benefit from a compilation, such as a collection of character autographs, favorite meals, or any other experience that recurs during your visit.

Check out my YouTube tutorial here!

Good luck and happy filming!

 

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About Lou Mongello

Lou Mongello is a former attorney who left the practice to pursue his passion, and is now a recognized Disney expert, author, speaker, and host of WDW Radio. Learn more…

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