Getting the Shot on Your Motorcycle: Tips & Tricks for Capturing Great Travel Footage

Traveling by motorcycle is an exhilarating adventure, providing a distinct perspective of the world. Whether you’re winding through mountain roads, exploring scenic coastal highways, or navigating lively city streets, capturing your journey and sharing it with others can be inspiring to the riding community! However, filming while riding a motorcycle comes with challenges. Here are some tips to capture great video footage while staying safe and fully enjoying your adventure.

SAFETY FIRST

Capturing epic video is a fun experience, but safety should always come first.

• Always be mindful of the road and traffic conditions at all times; don’t become distracted by your filming setup.
• Ensure your camera mounts do not obstruct your vision or interfere with your riding.
• Check that all mounts are secure before setting off.
• Avoid adjusting your camera while riding. Find a safe place to stop if you need to adjust your current setup.

STORY IS KING

Structuring your footage to create a narrative is what keeps viewers engaged, so outline the story you want to tell with your ride. Even a simple planning session can make content much more impactful.

Unless you’re filming an in-depth part review, technical walkthrough, or bike-specific video, stick to a narrative. A general audience is interested in your awesome bike-riding lifestyle and doesn’t want to be distracted by close-ups of your latest upgrades. Your bike can certainly be a starring role, but don’t let it be so much to the point that you lose sight of the journey.

AUDIO > VIDEO

Bad audio off-puts users almost immediately, so be sure to consider how audio is incorporated into your content. 

• If you plan to narrate while riding, having a well-thought-out setup inside your helmet will make your post-production work much easier.
• Consider an external recorder for evergreen sounds like your motorcycle and environmental sounds.
• To add some variety to your shot list, capture talking head footage at stops/highlight points instead of narrating while only in motion.

CAPTURE CONSIDERATIONS

With a story in mind and your audio thought through, it’s time to shoot! Content creation is a whole subject unto itself, but here are some tips to get the most out of capturing your ride.

• With any outdoor environment, lighting is always a huge factor. Shooting mid-day will make the majority of shots over-exposed and naturally displeasing to the eye. Think about shooting during times when light is naturally softer; early morning, sunset, and the small window of time before darkness fully sets in each evening. It’s fine to have some bright, mid-day shots, but less is more.
• Choose the right camera based on the story you’re trying to tell. For motion shots, a GoPro or Insta360 makes capture a breeze. However, for static shots, you can utilize higher-end mirrorless cameras to up your production value. And of course, any modern smartphone provides plenty of capture power.
• Use different angles to show interesting perspectives and a variety of views. Action cameras have plenty of third-party options for mounts, so you can combine footage from helmet, handlebar, and frame mounts to create more dynamic clips. Don’t be afraid to get creative and set the tripod for some interesting entrance, exit, or passing shots.
• Aside from angles, consider a variety of shot types; wide, mid, and close. This keeps the subject intrigued by not letting the brain assume they’re going to see the same types of shots over and over.
• Users respond better to shots that involve human interaction, so if you want to feature your bike in a scenic way, pose next to it or sit on the seat to check out the view.
• B-roll is a great way to interject some additional context into your story and break up riding footage. Stop at an interesting location, grab a snack with a view, capture some of the crowd at your destination, or anything else that contributes to your story.

Use these tips and tricks to get out there and share your incredible rides with the community!

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By Ally Hardgrave
Content Creator, Ride With Us