Behind the Journey: Kruger National Park
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- I'm answering your most asked questions by taking you behind the journey, showing you my creative process while filming 'Safari Journals, Kruger National Park'. I run through what camera equipment I use, how I go about filming wildlife in Kruger National Park, how a story is discovered and my basic editing process in Final Cut Pro.
00:00 What This Video is About
01:08 The Equipment I Currently Use
05:30 Filming in Kruger National Park
21:23 My Editing Process
I hope you enjoy. Thank you for watching.
Website & Wildlife Prints: wildwildjourneys.com/
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Music: Artlist.io
Camera & Mic Equipment (not sponsored):
Canon R6
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 III
Canon RF 100-500mm
Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8 II
iPhone 14 Pro
Rhode VideoMic Go II
DJI Action 3
DJI Wireless Microphone
Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
Instagram: / wildwildjourneys
Email: wildwildjourneys.com/pages/co...
“Incompetent” is literally the last word that comes to mind when I watch your videos, Byron… More like “talented”, “creative”, “respectful” and “damn lucky” 😉 I don’t think the average viewer realises how difficult it is to record a behind-the-scenes video alongside a feature like you did 🤯 Kudos!! Great to see how you edit - it’s very different to my style, but I may just steal an idea or two… 😏 Can’t wait to see the difference between our videos when we go to…wait, no spoilers! 😉
Means a lot to hear that, Villiers - thank you! 🙏🏼 ironically learned a lot making this BTS video… I’m also so curious to see the difference and some of your process in action when we…. Oh wait… I mean.. what? 👀
@@WildWildJourneys 😂 #epicjourneysahead 🤫
Wait a minute…are you two about to collaborate? Yall are amazing.
@@jbuehlerjr4289 yup, got something planned for later this year!
@@WildWildJourneys Hopefully in Kruger...
My husband and I have just binged some of your content! Thank you for these epic tales. For being so forthcoming with your process as well as your feelings and thoughts.
You're super talented! Can't wait to see more!
Thank you so much! Happy to have you here 🙏🏼
We just wanted to say how much we have enjoyed your videos and this behind the scenes was very interesting. The thought and care you put in really comes out in each one you post. Karl & Alison.
Hi Karl & Alison, I really appreciate that, thank you so much! Happy you enjoyed the behind the scenes and even more happy to have you here 🙏🏼
YOU ARE GREAT AT WHAT YOU DO. Thank you.
Thank you, Sifiso 🙏🏼
Great video Byron. Thank you for answering a lot of the questions I had. Nice work….your videography is so much better than the other wildlife channels I also follow. You should be super proud of your work.
Thank you so much! Glad it answered some questions. Appreciate the feedback
A very interesting video with a good balance between nice wildlife experience and filming technic, struggles etc. Very authentic and I will be looking for more of that. Maybe about photographic. Well done!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the feedback. Will maybe do some more shorter and more focused videos like this in the future. Appreciate it!
Brilliant !!! Keep them coming
Thanks Mark! Will do
Absolutely love this! Super informative, just love to see how the process is broken down 😍👌
Thanks so much B! 🙏🏼
I'm loving your video's. Your children are making good friends at school. Keep it up. I love the balance. I fall asleep if it is just lots of animals. You break it up very nicely.
Thanks Jan, good to know the children are making friends! Appreciate it
Cool to see what your creative process is like, Byron! I don’t know you, but it does feel like your personality shines through in your videos. It feels very authentic. Your story-telling combined with your beautiful shots is keeping me at the edge of my seat. Looking forward to your future videos!
Thanks so much, Romy! Glad you enjoyed it and it’s great to hear that you get an authentic vibe from these videos. Appreciate you watching!
Very cool, well told & most enjoyable.
Thank you, Mike. Happy you enjoyed it!
Dont worry, it’ s not to be supposed to be perfect its’s nature and life! I love it!
Well said, thanks for the reminder! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching
Brilliant video - my new favourite wildlife channel
Wow, thank you! Happy to have you here
I can safely say I’ve binged watched all your videos and can’t get enough of them coz I’m learning so much. Definitely taking some ideas and will be applying on my videos! Thank you for taking us with you into the wild!
I’m really happy to hear that! Thank you so much for watching and I’m glad you found some value 🙏🏼
It’s no surprise that so much time and care go into your videos they are second to none. You are going from strength to strength and your work is an inspiration. I eagerly anticipate your next work of art. Keep going Byron.
I really appreciate that, Kathy! Thank you for being here 🙏🏼
This is brilliant Byron, really appreciate you breaking your thought process down. Love bts things like this :)
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you 🙏🏼
A wonderful video. I really enjoyed listening to you explaining the video editing process. Thanks for the tips on adding music. Keep up the great work.
Thank you, Simon! Glad you found some value in it
Byron - another enjoyable episode, and the really enjoyed the "behind the scenes". We have posted a few videos, so even at our "entry level", know how much time and effort it takes. Your style elevates you above anything else we have seen from SA (and especially Kruger). Have taken some tips from this, but interesting to see that you share the same headaches with camera focusing, used cards, etc. And don't you just wish drivers would turn their engines off at sightings!
Thanks Christine, so glad you enjoyed it and got something out of it. Oh, I’m sure you know all about the little headaches that come with creating a video then! Totally agree with the running engines in sightings, it can become quite frustrating at times…
Top class content from a top class creator. Keep them coming!! 👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks Daz!! 👊🏼
I love these documentaries
Thank you! Appreciate you being here
Hey Byron, I have a Canon R6 as well and have found it struggle sometimes with Eye-AF.
A couple of things I’ve tried and found help is to check if the camera has the latest canon software installed which you can find by googling. The other thing that helps is flicking the switch on the lens itself for its focus length. Something I always forget to do and easily missed but if it’s on full it’s trying to scan everywhere to find what you want it to focus on. Hope that makes sense, I’m sure it’s stuff you’ve done but thought I’d offer my advice.
Love the storytelling in your videos, truly you must believe it’s some of the best story telling I’ve seen on CZcams.
Ps thanks for the newsletter
Hey Tom, thanks for the suggestions, that really helps a lot. I have the latest firmware (I think) but I do always forget about switching the focus range on the lens so that’s a great reminder…
Thanks for the kind words as well, it’s really encouraging! Happy to have you a part of the journey 👊🏼
It’s a pleasure mate, always keeps my passion for the bush burning with such great story telling and great sightings while I sit in a stormy rainy England. Can’t wait for my next trip to the Kruger in August. Brining my parents over for their first trip to the Kruger with me. 👍🏼
@@tomroper913 happy to being the bush to you in the meantime! Must be counting down the days there already
Woahhh! You are too good, Keep teaching us.
Thank you. Very much a beginner here, just sharing my process 👍🏼
Dear Byron,
again a great congratulations to your film.
I love every second of you epic storytelling. This is miles away from all the CZcams stuff. Next level, this a typical wording in SA :-)
I love the kind you tell. You say, what you feel! The thing with the book is great.
I would prefer also stuff like this film. A view behind the scenes. Luck, Faith, Disappointing, Emotions. And you show, how much work is in the post after the nice time in the bush. I can feel the same, when i sit here with my footage in DaVinci for cut, grade and build a story.
Next week i will go to Namibia and i hope, i will get good conditions, good light and a great adventure.
All the best for you from Germany Byron!
Thank you, Raik. I appreciate that you can relate to the whole process of making videos like these.
I’m sure Namibia is going to be amazing! I’ve never been. May the light, conditions and luck be on your side 🙌🏼
We asked for a behind the scenes and man did you deliver Byron😲
Crazy to see how much goes into one video thanks for all the effort and time Byron 😁
Thank for sharing the story behind the story, very informative and insightfull.
How do you know you stay in Joburg...water outages and hadadas 🙄
Literally had no water again yesterday, it never ends… more basic needs are met in the bush 😂
Super happy you got some value out of this video, Christiaan!
This was such a helpful video. Thanks so much for documenting your process and taking the time to share it with us. I came upon your channel very recently and find your videos so beautiful. Did you notice a huge difference in your final footage quality once you started filming in LOG? It's something I've honestly been putting off as I'm nervous about the file sizes + how difficult it will be to edit and wonder if it's worth it. Thanks!
Hi Ella, thanks for the awesome feedback, I’m glad you got some value out of it! I did notice a nice difference but wouldn’t say I personally found it to be a big game changer. That might be because I need to learn a lot more about colour grading to get more out of it? Did enjoy the extra freedom though. I later found out that the file sizes were not increased thaaat much (it was another setting I changed that caused that). I hear you, I was also quite nervous! I’d say give it a go for fun and see what you find out 😎
P.S. just seen your channel now too, got some watching to do!
@@WildWildJourneys Thanks for your reply! Yep, I think all that’s left is for me to give it a go and see how I find it. Ah, thanks! I am planning on heading to Kruger in a couple of months and hope I get as lucky as you with sightings!
This was an incredibly informative video Byron! I think it is so interesting to see and for others to see and appreciate the hard work, creativity and hours that go into the making of a video.
As a photographer I appreciate a fraction of it but have always wondered about the video process!
I think you are an incredibly talented young man and I love your writings, thoughts, narration and content, it is all so inspirational!
May you continue to go from strength to strength. I have no doubt that you are going to build up a fantastic and loyal following 🙌🏻
Ps: one question - what is the support or bracket that you clip your cameras onto the window with?
Wow, that is some amazing feedback, thank you so much! I feel like I left a lot out, but it was becoming quite drawn out… thanks again, I really appreciate you watching and leaving such an encouraging comment 🙏🏼
Great video as always and thanks for sharing camera equipment that you use,now n can get an idea of what n will be working towards
Thanks you, I really hope it helps in some way
It’s a great video… certainly highlights the problems in the field and demonstrates and explains the choices in editing…we made our first safari video….and we can see our mistakes 🤦♂️…👏👏👏.. subscribed 👍
Thank you so much! Glad you found some value in it… awesome, will check it out. To be honest I feel like there’s always going to be mistakes - just part of the learning process 😎
Please have a look “ our Africa Botswana and idube”… we took too little video and concentrated too much on photos but it was our 1st effort… but got Tanzania in September and planning is going well 👍
@@alisonandguywildlifephotograph great, will do. I have the problem of not taken enough photos now, it’s a tough balance 😂 Tanzania is a dream destination!
Thank you.. it starts off a bit slow at vic falls .. but gets better in sabi sands.. please give us some critical truthful comments … we’re going through your back videos 👍
And the kind of Mac you’re using? What are those specs? Love your channel. You and Villiers are incredible.
Thanks so much! It’s a MacBook M2 Pro 14” 16GB. It’s JUST keeping up with these video projects. Villiers is a legend, also love his channel.
a couple of thoughts come to mind...
You are clearly an accomplished stills photographer.... It is an excellent foundation for leveraging a rapidly improving facility with video... Story telling is really hard, whether one does it with a single stills image or an edited series of video clips. In the detail the skillset is different but in principle remarkably similar... You have this gift and all it requires of you is to be exercised! (And it is!)
Sound is an exceptionally important part of video and film. You do seem to get this and the better you exploit this all the better for your story-telling! Many CZcamsrs who do the game-watching, overlanding thing make the mistake of turning their videos into a series of music videos.... The volume is too loud and poorly chosen music that hides the ambience of the bush and destroys the story.... Here is a trick for you... When editing close your eyes and listen to the clips... What do you hear? What emotions do they evoke? Do those sounds place you back where you shot the clip? The sounds of grass rustling in the wind, the grunting of a hippopotamus, the rumble of thunder in the distance as the storm approaches, the chirping of insects, even the sound of the fire, bacon frying, or the utter slience of open country in the heat of the day... Perhaps this is difficult with action sequences or when driving but this is where your B-roll must shine! A visually arresting clip is only a small part of what can be communicated! I no longer live in RSA, but travel there often, and I also follow a few excellent CZcamsrs producing content in your neck of the woods... The attraction is very much their attention to detail when it comes to sound design... The best allow me to close my eyes and just listen rather than merely watch, and I can be there! Even to the point of being able to SMELL the bush, the vegetation, the widlife...
I have the greatest confidence in you and nothing I have mentioned needs to put pressure on you and weigh you down,,,, Instead I see your love of the wild shining through along with your stellar knowledge of the bush and animal behaviour driving you to bring the joy and wonder and the sheer exhilaration of the wild places!
Salute!
Hi Tony. This might be the most valuable feedback I've received so far, so thank you!
I certainly don't feel weighed down the constructive advice here but rather inspired. I'm going to be keeping this in mind going forward and will be putting things into practice immediately (where possible). I do wish I could include more sounds of the bush but unfortunately most of the sound captured is often disrupted by running car engines or wind muffle, never mind the excessive white noise I have to EQ out which I find leaves an unnatural sounding clip. I'm going to try find some solutions for this before eventually finding a more suitable microphone. I think once I get this right I can select a very different type of music to compliment the sounds, visuals and emotions.
What are your thoughts on adding nature SFX in a tasteful way?
I also wanted to ask what your backround is in video/sound design? I really enjoy the way your articulated your thoughts and advice there.
Thank you!
@@WildWildJourneys My background is sort of similar to yours in the sense that I started with stills photography and then moved on to video. I have never really done anything other from outdoor photography and videography. In another world my background is in intensive care medicine....
Point is that I identify with your scenario in a general sense!
Possibly, from the point of view of actually shooting, since my great love is overlanding in remote locations much of my game viewing is done in situations where the nearest other human being might be tens to hundreds of Km's away! I currently live in Australia and so getting really remote is a real thing. And this makes getting good sound easier... I do my videography on the principle that getting good sound is even more important that getting good pics....
Nonetheless, preventing sound distortion from wind requires both a good mic and a good dead-cat for that mic. It should really be possible to eliminate that raspy sound distortion one gets using mics unprotected by dead-cats, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with having the sound of wind in your shots per se... Now I pointed out that when you are shooting on a busy road in Kruger with more BMW's and Merc's present than head of game, all with engines and air-con's running then that is what it is... You need to present that reality...
However, with B-roll, when you are choosing to shoot an African sunset or sunrise or whatever, and you want to find a quiet location where you choose your composition and all technicalities like do I want to shoot this as a timelapse for example... And, if you choose to just shoot in real time then you ALSO want the best sound you can possibly get... And these kinds of shots you need to plan and you need to keep sound in mind in that planning....
The same goes for your in-car commentary - use that lapel mic, with a dead-cat (or whatever it is called for that particular mic) to make sure that your voice is as clear as it is possible to get. However, if you are driving all your viewers EXPECT to hear the noise of the engine and perhaps tyres as well (particularly if one drives with aggressive off-road tyres like I do)... Having the sounds of the vehicle driving - as long as your voice is not drowned out and distorted is more than fine - it is expected.
You like to do post-mortems of your day or your trip until that point in time with reference to your diary. They are great! And mostly they work really well. Sound is not generally a problem, but if you are recording in a rest camp camp-site it may be deserted, apart from you, as I have noticed on a few occassions, but again who cares if one hears the sounds of children giggling and playing in the background or a vehicle in the distance or something like that. Unless that sound is truly intrusive, usually by virtue of its volume, live with it....
If one is doing a voice-over in post then viewers will expect stellar sound quality of the voice-overs in the final product.
Part of the art of B-roll is to collect sound! Buy yourself a dedicated sound recorder, that Rode mic you use on your camera is plenty good enough with a good dead-cat and collect sound. Perhaps consider buying a 64-bit sound recorder... It is almost impossible for a 64-bit recorder to limit the sound input and distirt it and there is, again, almost limitless ability to modulate that sound in post - particularly with respect to volume! The wind blowing in the trees, a thunderstorn in the distance, a hippo grunting away in the river, the fish-eagle calling. Look to get these sounds at a time when you are alone - even in southern Kruger I could get always away from the crowds by doing the dirt roads... Build a good library of bird and animal sounds and calls and general sounds of the bush at all times of the day... Use them for your B-roll if for some reason the original sound from the clips is problematic.... If you come across good sound on clips that you have shot then also create stand-alone sound files from those shots for your library. Look for opportunities to collect sound as enthusiatically as you shoot video... As a small example, how many nights have you been in camp, it is dark, you can't really see much, but right near you in a tree somewhere there is a Scops Owl, you cannot see it - but you can HEAR it... Record it! Even better if you get a jackal, or a hyena, or a lion in the background as well.... How many times have you actually seen a Scops Owl? How many times have you HEARD a Scops Owl?
Just to emphasize, the sound you get when shooting action shots of animal activity, perhaps even with your running commentary as you are shooting, is what it is. Get the best sound you can technically and live with the sounds of other vehicles or other people talking etc. Your audience expects that because the footage may not be able to hide the fact that there are enough cars and people about to qualify as a traffic jam on the M2 in Joburg... So trying to hide all that sound won't make sense to your viewers....
Distinguish between action and narrative, and B-roll. With B-roll you are trying to capture a mood, beauty, serenity, isolation or desolation or whatever and it is here that the sound MUST match the scene without human presence or reference, unless you are shooting sizzling bacon cooking on the braai or something like that....With respect to action and narrative the key with sound is to ensure that it is not distorted but otherwise whatever you get is whatever you get! The SOUND must be as important in placing your audience as the image they are watching. Just as an aside, have you ever HEARD the sound of bacon sizzling without immediately being able to TASTE it in your mouth and feeling instantly hungry! This is the kind of response you are trying to create for your audience and it is the sound that will do it!
Possibly, the best bit of advice I can think of is to learn from others doing similar travel/overlanding/game-watching stuff to you... There are PLENTY of RSA-based individuals such as Nicole Eddy, Edward Barth, Adrian Abrahams, Christoff Eilerd, and others producing really good stuff with high production quality as one-man or woman bands.... I would also highly recommend watching Andrew St Pierre White... He is now based in Australia, however he has a unique advantage in that Andrew started life as a film editor and it definitely shows in his videos which are always superbly presented! The idea is not to try and ape them stylistically - you already have a unique and very appealing style - but to learn from the production value of those videos... Andrew, in particular, is very effective at weaving beautifully crafted stories, and the reason why is, courtesy of his film editing days, he knows exactly what to shoot in the field in to assemble the final product... In other words he knows how to shoot for the cut! One doesn't even notice the "sound" because it is invisible in the larger production - it is seamless and organic to the bigger picture (literally). That goes for narration, natural sound, and music. He is one of the very best at not allowing music to dominate and distract - and ultimately turn people off - but rather it becomes an organic part of the show...
Those individuals I recommended I picked them out because they all share the same deep love (and that is the right phrase) and awe of wilderness that you do and so you will be able to identify with, and understand, their creative choices even if you would end up doing different....
Thanks for elaborating, Tony. It all makes a lot of sense. I will be applying a lot of this in videos moving forward. I'll also have a closer look at the people mentioned and take some notes of what is learned there.
Appreciate the in-depth comments, they are a great help!
Great Video, good explanation of everything. May I ask which window mount you are using?
Thanks Elly! I actually answer this in full in a video that just went public now. Answer is at 1min20secs:
A Q&A Safari in Pilanesberg National Park
czcams.com/video/-e6v8vXfVvs/video.html
In short though, I’ve been trying the StediLens Window Kit but still shoot handheld 90% of the time
So amazing tutorial video! To create an artistic wildlife video, do you always add LUT effects, or does it depend on the creator's style?"
Thank you! This was my first time trying it so I don’t know much too much about it. I only used the standard rec.709 LUT so far. I’m sure you could get a bit creative with it though
@@WildWildJourneys Thanks so much
I would be interested to know if you shoot video on aperture or shutter priority. From my reading shutter speed should be twice frame rate (50fps with shutter 100) - do you shoot at faster shutter speeds with wide aperture ? I don't have a lot of experience with videography. Thanks
Hi Richard. I probably should’ve touched on this better… I’m shooting video manually, so no priority with controI over ISO, aperture and shutter. I’m not even sure if this is the ‘correct’ way for me to shoot out there… I do often shoot at much higher shutter speeds to avoid overexposure with wide apertures. Sometimes well into the thousands. I’m aware of the 2 x fps ‘rule’ but I keep it in mind as a minimum shutter speed rather than a constant.
Hope that helps. I’m also only a year into videography now and really winging it at most times and learning by making a lot of mistakes to be honest.
@@WildWildJourneys Thanks. Your videos are awesome. I am been doing wildlife photography for going on 40 yrs - started with 35 mm slides. Lol. I am trying my hand at videos too so any advice is welcome. Like you am winging it but have limited my shutter speeds to slower speeds based on what I have read. I am SA but live n Oz so don't get too many opportunities these days and not really interested in Oz widlife. Not the same as Africa.
@@richardtustin thank you. Oh wow, sounds like it’s been quite the journey from slides to today’s tech! I am also going to be a bit more thoughtful about being more technically correct from now on. Oh, that makes sense. You’ll have to plan a trip back to the motherland sometime then 🇿🇦
@@WildWildJourneys I guess one has to experiment - problem with wildlife is you ony get one chance and then its gone. Am heading to SA in 3 week time and will spend 10 days in KNP up north Punda Maria then Letaba and Tsendze. Can't wait. Just purchased a second hand Land Cruiser. October heading to Hwange participate in the annual game count. First time I visited KNP asa 4 yr old in 1963 with a small instamatic which only took black and white photos. Still have the photos and camera. KNP in those days was wild like Botswana. No fences and only basic infrastructure. Kind of miss it.
@@richardtustin 100%, that’s what makes the challenge so enjoyable I guess. Sounds like some great times ahead, love the North. I wish I could’ve experienced KNP back then - it sounds amazing!
Hwange on the bucket list for sure. Enjoy it!