Vlogs: they can be epic and fun, or drab and boring. Here are some horse vlog tips about staying epic, reaching out to new viewers, and making an impact on your current fans.
Equipment
A good quality camera or phone camera is a must for shooting high-quality horse vlogs. Maybe you need a go-pro or are just going to ride with one hand and film with the other. Maybe you need a tripod to film yourself training a horse from a fixed point in the arena. The sky’s the limit- unless you use a drone of course. Think about what you want to do, then find the appropriate equipment.
Tell a Story
Sometimes, people post vlogs about waking up, eating breakfast and walking around somewhere. Unless this person has an enormous fanbase that loves to hear them talk about anything, few people will care and fewer will watch because they fell asleep in the first minute.
Don’t be that person who thinks everyone is super interested in random morning routines. (hint: They’re not) While some may watch 3 hours of trail riding footage (especially if the scenery is breathtaking) most will not.
Instead, show them the most dramatic scenery for about five minutes max with awesome music.
To really engage your audience, go one step further and talk about how there’s a thunderstorm threatening, how it’s arrived and there’s dangerous lightning, how your horse almost spooked off of a cliff, and how you finished your ride drenched to the bone. Tell a story that makes people care so they will stay and watch instead of nodding off.
What’s Your Message?
What message or feeling do you want viewers to take away from the vlog? Do want them to laugh? To feel motivated and encouraged? To learn from your mistake? To be amazed?
Usually, this message will be apparent when you’re wrapping up the vlog. But, maybe have an idea in your head of what you want the takeaway to be. While filming, your ending/ feel/ takeaway may evolve or change completely, and that’s ok.
Having something to take away from the video, may inspire people to like, share and re-watch your vlog. When they come away with a meaningful message, you and your video will stick in their minds and hearts.
Formating a Story
A good story usually consists of three parts: beginning, middle, and end. Try to hint at the end in your title, but don’t give it completely away. Here are some examples of different horse vlogs one could create:
- “We were late to the show, then this happened.” Being late to the show, barely making it and winning Reserve Champion anyway.
- “When Lightning Strikes on the trail… Literally.” The scenario described previously.
- “Extreme Mustang Makeover Time Lapse: Benni’s Huge Transformation!” Benni’s amazing transformation from being scared of people to working cows, letting kids sit on him and loving neck scratches.
Editing Your Horse Vlog
This wouldn’t be a complete horse vlog how-to unless we talk about editing. There are several basic, free video editing tools for phones such as iMovie and InShot. With either of these programs, you can edit out slow/ unneeded footage, add music to set the mood and add screen effects and filters. When you play around with an editing program on a regular basis, you can dream up and learn how to do all kinds of awesome stuff!
Hopefully, these points will help you film and produce, fun, interesting and educational vlogs that can be shared across multiple social media platforms! If you would like a professional video editor to make your horse vlog shine, contact Catherine for a free 30-minute consultation where we’ll talk about your video needs.
