10 SIMPLE RULES TO FILM
YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE LIKE A PRO

1. CHARACTERS ARE KING

It doesn’t matter what the
film’s about, it has to have interesting characters that the audience can care about.

2. FILM LIKE NO-ONE WILL
EVER WATCH IT

You can always choose what
goes in or gets left out of your film, but you can never use it if you didn’t film it.

3. DON’T SELF CENSOR

The audience aren’t stupid. They
know if you’re not being genuine. Just… be… yourself. I can’t stress this enough.

4. DON’T CREATE DRAMA THAT
ISN’T THERE

Drama is a great tool
to create a story arc in your film. Just don’t try to film drama that simply doesn’t exist. Honesty is key.

5. GO THE EXTRA MILE

A little bit of effort
every so often will make a huge impact on your film. One example of this could be adding a couple of hours to your day to walk to the top of a nearby hill and film a super wide shot of your team in the middle of a vast wilderness panorama.

6. SHOOT ON THE RIGHT
GEAR (not necessarily the BEST gear)

Sometimes the most appropriate equipment
is not always the top of the line camera. Think about how you’ll be using it, what you’ll be filming, under what conditions, what constraints and choose accordingly.

7. SHOOT OFTEN

Film consistently and in small
bites. Lots of little shots each day add up to a lot of footage at the end of your trip. I try to average 15-20 minutes of footage a day (usually filming a few minutes at a time).

8. SHOOT THE BAD STUFF

The worst times for you
are the best times to film. Stop being a wuss and prolong the pain for an extra couple of minutes to get those shots you’ll be glad to have later.

9. SHOOT SEQUENCES

Films are made up of
sequences, not single shots. There’s no point filming something awesome if it’s not useable in the wider context of a film. Get wide, medium and close up shots from various angles, intros, outro’s and anything else to give your shots some context.

10. BE SYSTEMATIC

Plan ahead and make a
check list of shots you know you’ll need to get. This could be travelling shots, wildlife, daily chores and video diaries. After that it’s a simple matter of ticking off the list and then filming anything extra that happens along the way.

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www.AdventurePlaybook.com