One of the beautiful things about travel videos is that they come in an infinite variety. Documentaries, road trip montages, photo motion journeys, travel vlogs…the travel video family tree is a massive, swaying evergreen.

These past two weeks we have focused on two perennial travel video genres; time lapse and road trips.

Truck stop coffee and miles of highway. Open windows, sweet tunes and best friends; road trips are a beautiful expression of personal freedom and the traveling spirit.

Road trips are also often the subject of video and photo fun as the traveler passes through metropolis, prairie, desert and backwater townships.

My memory takes me back one year as my grandpa and I stocked his 21ft motor home with spam and instant coffee and set off for 2 weeks in the American Southwest.

Time lapse or timelapse, whichever you please, is an excellent visual expression of the dynamic forces of time and motion. The passage of clouds, rising of tides, migration of pedestrians and the transit of vehicles take on an elemental quality when viewed through the god-like lens of time in fast forward.

Time lapse can capture the essence of a place, giving the viewer the freedom to experience a hour in ten seconds.

Creating time lapse is simple.

1. Choose a location that will undergo dynamic movement and a perspective that will capture the motion effectively, artistically.

2. Set up your camera on a tripod. Before you start filming make sure you will not have to move the camera or adjust the settings.

3. Let the camera roll. Ten, twenty, forty five minutes…how long you record will depend on how much motion and time you want to represent.

Another way to achieve time lapse is to take a photo at a set increment. This will allow you to capture more time using less memory and resources, but you need to be able to program your camera to do so.

4. Import the footage into your editing software and speed up the clip.

That’s it.

Do you have time lapse footage you are interested in sharing with MatadorTV? Leave a comment or shoot me an email: Josh(at)Matadornetwork.com

LAST WEEK ANDY HAYES POSTED MY POLL QUESTION ON THE MATADOR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

“WHO IS YOUR DREAM TRAVEL COMPANION?”

Here are your answers ~

Erick Pound ~ The most interesting man in the world.

Warren Talbot ~ Without a doubt, I have to say my wife. While it is not a deeply insightful answer, I know that there is not another person I would rather go around the world with. She just gets me.

Alaina O’Brien ~ I would love to travel the world with my dog, but that’s a bit more hassle than it’s worth.

Richard Callaby ~ Evangeline Lilly.

Sam Kod ~ Someone who wants to do everything I do, eat everything I eat, and see everything I wanna see

Alva Tse ~ Agree with Sam! i don’t have a specific name in mind but gotta be someone who fits the same traveler type profile.

Cornelia Sproat ~ Truman Capote or Paul Lynde.

Erin Domue ~ I’m lucky I have my dream companion…my husband who I moved half a world away to be and travel with (even featured in Candice’s photo essay on ditching the cube to follow your dreams). In the last 1 1/2 years, we’ve traveled to over 20 countries together & are doing well as Expats, despite only ever dating long distance before getting married. We… See More compliment each other very well and have a wonderful time traveling together.

But….if I did not have him to travel with, it would be a toss up between Anthony Bourdain or Guy Fieri.

Bonita Moroz-Hellberg ~ My first choice doesn’t count…but my second choice would be someone who is on the same “page” as I am…

Elizabeth Tittle ~ First choice: Liam Neeson. Second choice: my best friend and constant travel companion. Third choice: Liam Neeson.

Aye GotPassport ~ To be perfectly honest, I don’t have to dream about this. I travel with them already and that’s a dream come true. My husband (for the last 10 yrs) and my daughter (for the past 7).

Jon Tompkins ~ Tony Bourdain. done and done.

Michele Lougheed ~ Along the same lines as Alaina… my cat! But I don’t think that would work out too well!

Daniel Murdock ~ Tony Bourdain is a great one. Mine would be Eva Holland she seems so cool.

Logan Simmons ~ It would be a tie between The Vampire Lestat, Ghandi, and Socrates.

Susan Siddiqui ~ One that when you look at them they smile and you know they are enjoying the adventure with you…

Michelle Conrad ~ My best friend since 7th grade – she’s the only person I could never get frustrated with because she would laugh ourselves out of any situation.

Expatin India ~ My kayak – it would mean I’m on my dream trip around the world. Can you tell I work indoors? (sigh!)

THANK YOU EVERYBODY WHO TOOK A MOMENT TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS!!

What no vlog?!?
Nope, not this time around. Anybody who creates video content knows how time consuming and labor intensive it is. Even the most humble vlog can take several hours to film, 3-6 more to scrub and edit. Then there is the task of exporting, uploading ( & tagging and descriptions ) and finally, formatting for the site and publishing.

This week has seen Joshywashington catching up on some private video projects that must come to completion before I can move on.

Thanks for hanging out on MatadorTV…happy trails and keep those cameras ROLLING!

Recently MatadorTV has featured the 50 people 1 Question video project, where average people give personal answers to one simple question. To celebrate 50 people Lindsay Clark and I talk to some folks in our respective cities of Indianapolis and Seattle to ask them;

“Why are you here?”

I meant to have this video up a week ago but through several technical malfunctions, inclement weather and general Acts of God I had to re-shoot three times, pushing my work flow and overall vlog mojo off kilter.

All of this led me to ponder the perseverance that can be asked of the video producer and reminded me of the fact that creating videos and having a strong online video presence is hard work.

This is precisely why quality, consistent independent travel video producers are so special. It takes a lot of work to even produce the simplest vlog, let alone a dope video series.

Assuming that your equipment works flawlessly, your environment agrees with you and all of your shots are in the bag you still have a long road ahead of scrubbing, editing, exporting, uploading, dialing-in and finally promoting your video…

That is why so many people shoot footage on their journey that never sees the light of day, let alone YouTube.

Hats off to all the travel video producers editing and releasing their videos.
You have a friends at MatadorTV who appreciate what it takes to do what you do.

TRAVEL VIDEO NINJA!
Congratulations to this weeks TVN, Nick Vivion.
Do you know a traveler who produces killer content? Email me, Josh(at)matadornetwork.com to nominate next weeks Travel Video Ninja.

Travel and taste buds collide this week on MatadorTV.
Food is such an intimate component of travel that it’s no wonder there are a wealth of travel videos that celebrate food in all its forms.

This week I trawl the Pike Place Market to ask folks ~ “What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?”

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING ERIC WARREN AND LINDSAY CLARK TO THE MATADORTV TEAM

In our search for interns for MatadorTV I was impressed by the multitude of qualified and excited travel video ninjas. However, it was Lindsay and Eric that stood out as experienced, charismatic travelers.

Lindsay was one of STA’s travel interns, traveling around the globe and creating killer content with her characteristic charm. She has a YouTube channel chock-full travel videos and keeps her blog, Nomadderwhere.com, going full speed.

Eric Warren, aka Advenjunkie, has been a frequent contributor across the Matador Network and is one of our Montana destination experts. Eric is the model Matador Community member and when he is not snapping photos and shredding on his mountain bike, he blogs at Life’sfast.

TRAVEL VIDEO NINJA

This week’s Travel Video Ninja is Graham Styles whose Brainrotting travel series through Central and South America by motorbike was filmed and edited on the road. Graham’s sardonic wit, guerrilla tactics and persistence to capture his adventure set him apart in the dojo of travel video ninjas.

THIS EPISODE’S QUESTION

What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?

Live from Pioneer Square, Seattle. Welcome to MatadorTV, thanks for tuning in to our vlog! Don’t forget to share this vid and send links to your favorite videos.

Another week in Seattle and all signs point to spring, which is good for me because I would much rather vlog outside! Each week I will choose a new location in Seattle to shoot, keeping things fresh and inviting happenstance adventure!

This week I discovered geocaching as a new way to experience my city and have fun with Bridget. Geocaching is a perfect activity for a traveler who is not currently on some far flung journey. It encourages adventure and curiosity. Bridget joined me on my first geocache find and of course we brought the camera!

YouTube is great, I love YouTube.
Buuuuuut…when I am searching for new, beautiful videos that would feel at home on MatadorTV I find that although YouTube is king of content, there is simply too much UTTER CRAP or just too damn many videos. I mean, have you clicked the “Travel & Events” category , there is a lot of junk listed, and much of the content is very uninspiring…

On Vimeo, on the other hand, it is so effortless to find an entertaining, high quality, well made video that it’s not even funny. The Vimeo travel groups are repositories for hundreds of hours of amazing content.

My problem is that I want a mix of professional and gorgeous and home made and personal. YouTube has the character, Vimeo has the quality…

Do you know of any outstanding vloggers on Vimeo or Youtube? Folks that are consistently putting together fun and engaging travel-lifestyle content…if so send links, leave comments or encourage them to contact the site. I would love to find folks TRAVELING RIGHT NOW and putting up vlogs and videos.

No word yet on the Nomadic Matt / Gap Adventure Costa Rica giveaway…I will certainly keep you posted!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

OF ALL THE PLACES YOU HAVE BEEN, WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO REVISIT FOR A SINGLE DAY?

Live from Myrtle Edwards park on the Seattle waterfront …

Matador News and Travel Video Goodness

I just can’t stay inside on a day like this. As I hopped off my bike and scrambled over the rocks and onto the beach with my tripod and camera I looked up and saw the seagulls. Hardly moving, afloat on the easterly wind I set down my messenger bag and turned on my camera.

There is so much to enjoy and capture. Every day is another opportunity to experience something fleeting and beautiful. For a creative, bringing the implements of your craft into the world is an invitation to create. There need not be an agenda, just the willingness. What you create, what you paint, or write or sing is beyond judgment, at least on this blog

Bring your tools. If you want to write, you have a notebook. If you want to shoot video, grab the camera. I want to see more spontaneous adventures in travel media!

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION

VOTE FOR YOUR JOSH <3

THIS WEEKS QUESTION

When traveling, what do you miss most about home?

Remember to STUMBLE, RATE, COMMENT AND SHARE…AND KEEP THOSE LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL VIDEOS COMING!

Live from the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle.

KEEP THOSE LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL VIDEOS COMING!

Thank you to all my new friends at the Pike Place Market for helping me introduce the vlog and putting up with my shenanigans! This goes to show that you don’t have to go far to have fun shooting video. Why not make a “travel video” about an aspect of your home town? Show us local insights or film from a bustling public space.

THIS WEEKS QUESTION: WHAT WAS YOUR LONGEST TRIP?

LUCKY NUMBER 7!
In which Joshywashington extrapolates on such subjects as;
Featured Content, Help the Iranian detainees YouTube efforts, Matador News

Thank you for watching the seventh MatadorTV vlog, brought to you from pier 62/63 on the waterfront of Seattle. I don’t know about you but when I step out of my door I almost always see something I want to film or have an idea for a video…that’s just the way us weird social media vampires roll I guess. Anyway, I thought I should escape the confines of my loft and do the vlog outside.

Everyone make sure you take 1 minute to make a video response for the families of the three detained American travelers in Iran, Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd. Iranian officials sound like they are willing to strike a deal and support from the online community is being requested by the families.

Do you know anybody who is traveling now and putting up videos on YouTube, Vimeo, Tripfilms ect? Leave a URL in the comments of your traveling buddies or hit me up on Twitter.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: DO YOU TRAVEL BEST SOLO OR WITH OTHERS?

Welcome back to the MatadorTV’s vlog!
In this vlog…
LOVE TO HAITI, PROPS TO JULIE SCHWIETERT, NEW FEATURED CONTENT, TOP TRAVEL GADGETS FOR 2010

LOVE, SUPPORT & PRAYERS TO OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN HAITI.

Remember, a great way to share your videos with your friends here at Matador is to add them to OUR YOUTUBE GROUP. Our group is where I found one of this weeks featured videos, Capoeira in Medellin and I will be checking back regularly to scout for more content. So don’t be shy!!

Huge props to Julie Schwietert for her efforts on the Haiti Volunteer Project and keeping us up to date on the unfolding relief efforts.

THIS WEEKS QUESTION: WHAT IS YOUR “MUST HAVE” TRAVEL GADGET?

Josh’s Answer : My quintessential travel gadget is my digital video camera. My Canon Vixia HF100 is lightweight, shoots in HD, takes beautiful pictures and is tapeless so I don’t have to lug around extra tapes. At this point I can’t imagine leaving the city without my camera and all other items are distant runners up.

We have had tons of great Matador user content this past week including the FULL LENGTH documentary “The Recess Ends” by Matadorian Austin Chu! Also Anna Brones of Under Solen Media brings gives us the 411 on hiking near Mt. Rainier this winter, so strap on those snowshoes and bundle up!

As MatadorPulse tipped me off, Nomadic Matt and Gap Adventures are teaming up to give one lucky traveler two weeks in Costa Rica! Full contest details on Matt’s site, but don’t wait too long, the jig is up Feb. 14th.

Thank you for the comments and ratings this week, you folks have been awesome! Getting a community dialog going around these videos is what it is all about. Everyday new travel media is uploaded by intrepid travelers and filmmakers and our support, convo (shoot, even criticisms) make their efforts worthwhile.

Anybody who shoots and edits video knows that it is extremely time consuming and has to be a labor of love! So thank you for being here and showing your love on MatadorTV!

LAST WEEKS QUESTION : WHAT IS YOUR 2010 TRAVEL RESOLUTION?

Michelle : “Oddly enough, my first expedition of ‘10 will be Seattle…”
Lola : “Travel Resolution for 2010? – Just go! Wherever it may be.”
Skobes : “Travel resolution for 2010 is to move out of Chicago and get that job opportunity in Morocco or Egypt.”
Candice : “Love it. My resolution? To go somewhere, anywhere.”
Christine : “Get on over to Europe again, and South Africa or India. Or Thailand. Wait. Anywhere?”
Darrell : “2010, planning on returning to Burning Man and seeing Patagonia.”

THIS WEEKS QUESTION : WHAT IS YOUR FIRST TRAVEL MEMORY?

Here’s mine.
I am falling in and out of sleep in my car seat while the evergreens that fringe the Hood Canal swoosh past. The air smells salty. My mother, father and I are driving to the Hamma Hamma river to go camping. I remember the camp fire, my mom and dad with cans of beer and the secret rush of the river close by. I still drive that route and camp in the same spot that I did as a toddler.

HAPPY NEW YEARS! RING IN 2009 WITH MATADORTV AND JOSHYWASHINGTON!

To celebrate the last vlog of 2009 I hit the streets of Seattle to interview some travelers about their 2010 travel plans.

2009 has been a huge year for Matador. MatadorU and MatadorTV were launched, the team has grown by leaps and bounds and the Matador Network continues to publish great content and connect passionate travelers.
Thank you for tuning in, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube page and share this video with your friends!

THIS WEEKS QUESTION:

WHAT IS YOUR 2010 TRAVEL RESOLUTION??
Leave a comment or make a video response.

Be sure to check out our friends at www.tripfilms.com who supplied three videos this week for our features.

With over a month under our belt we are swimming happily in the sweet waters of travel media goodness. The more travel lifestyle videos I discover the happier I am that the largest indie travel publishing site on the web now has a foothold in the video space.

In October of 2009 YouTube reached 1 billion views per day – or 41 million views per hour. Not only are people watching, people are creating and uploading at an astonishing rate. People are sharing, connecting and creating together and for the entertainment of all.Not to say that every video is good. Most of it is crap. But the fact that everyday people can broadcast both the profound and the proletariatwith the click of a mouse is amazing.

Also peek at my latest article at The Travelers’ Notebook : Tips for Travel Video : Shoot good B-roll! (and lots of it) and poke around for more video tips from yours truly.

Thank you for stumbling and sharing videos. Remember to keep those cameras rolling and send links to your latest travel videos.

Don’t be a stranger!
See you next week!

~ Joshywashington

Welcome to our V-LOG!

Happy Holidays videophiles, thank you for tuning in!

This week I peppered the featured videos with vids featuring India, Nepal and Mt. Everest. The mountain has long held a mystique on my perception of adventure and the limits of human achievement. The videos captures different aspects of the region from very different storytellers. You can catch the concluding episodes of “Dark Side of Everest” in the MatTV video library.

This week the winner was selected for Lonely Planet & YouTube’s huge “My Journey” video contest. “Taste of Philly” by Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Benj Pasek grabbed top honors, earning them the opportunity to film for Lonley Plant and score some sweet gear. Congrats Keenan and Ben!

HERE IS THE WINNING ENTRY

Shoot me those links to your travel videos to be included in the MatadorTV travel video library and perhaps even be featured on the MatTV homepage.

Use a tripod. Utilize Creative Commons music and images. Export in high quality. And share your videos!

Pass the turkey,
Joshywashington

IN THIS EPISODE: We congratulate team members on their successes, I discuss featured content on the homepage and debut a quick video I made in the spirit of hometown travel videos.

THANK YOU for watching our little vlog here. Expect an episode or two a week where we chat about Network news, dope new videos and general travel media happenings.

IF YOU ENJOY A VIDEO… rate it! By rating videos and leaving comments you let us know what you like and what you don’t. If there is a series you want to see more of give it 5 stars. If you think something is crap give it one star. This site is for lovers of travel video and travel filmmakers, so jump in and let your voice be heard!

GOT LINKS? Hit us up with your links to already uploaded travel videos. If it suits our fancy it will end up on the site, perhaps featured on the home page!

GET PAID… Hit us up with your ideas for original videos. If we like your flow we will commission a vid for some cash and exposure across the Matador Network.

Remember, bust out those cameras and get ready for some video collaboration with yours truly.
I feel a mashup coming on!

Welcome to Matador TV from your friend and host, Joshywashington.
In this video I talk about the site, what we are doing here and what we want from you.