“Video or it never happened.”
Whether you hiked the Grand Canyon, explored the rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula, or simply lounged on the beach in sunny Florida, you’ll want to put together an awesome video of your vacation to share with friends and family—and social media, of course—when you get home.
A highlight reel of your vacation is the perfect way to show friends and family the amazing time you had RVing across the country.
The idea of piecing together a video may sound intimidating, but it’s actually quite simple if you know where to turn. Below are some great apps and software programs to give you the tools you need—whether you’re a novice filmmaker or a pro–to make an awesome video that people actually want to watch.
Editing for beginners
If you’re not very tech savvy and want the most simple way to create a video, then this is the way to go. There are many apps that will put together a movie directly from clips on your phone, like Magisto.
It’s free to use and you can include both photos and video clips to create a fun highlight reel. The app will add transitions between the clips based on the style that you choose and creates the video automatically in four easy steps (see below).
- Download the app on your phone
- Browse through the available styles and select one that you like
- Choose the clips you want to include from your photos
- Find a song that fits the vibe of your video
- Voila—you’re done!
Intermediate level editing
If you’re looking to customize your video more than what’s available in the above tools, then iMovie & Windows Movie Maker take things to the next level. You’re able to be a bit more creative with these programs since you can add title cards, choose your transitions, reorder the clips, and upload royalty free music as background tunes. These programs are very user-friendly and relatively straightforward. There are some great beginners guides that you can follow step by step instructions with, like this one for iMovie and for Windows Movie Maker. The best part about both of these programs is that they are entirely free!
Professional editing
If you’re shooting videos on a video camera instead of your phone and are looking for a more professional quality final product, you can use software like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere. You can do all of the above, but with many more features, like color correcting clips, stabilization, enhancing audio, etc. Note: These programs are not free and actually cost quite a bit of money. If you’re just starting out, use the other programs first to see if you can accomplish your video goals without having to shell out your hard earned cash. If you enjoy video editing and need more features, these programs can open up a whole world of possibilities for your videos. The sky’s the limit!
Music tip
If you plan to upload your videos to YouTube, make sure that the music you use is royalty free. YouTube has a free audio library that you can download songs from to use in your projects. Or, if you make a lot of videos on YouTube, you can pay for a subscription to Epidemic Sound for unlimited music.
Whether you spend 5 minutes or 5 hours editing your video, the most important step is sharing your masterpiece on social media so your friends and family can see the amazing time you had on vacation.
Now rent the perfect RV today and go make some memories!
