I’ve been traveling the world for many years now and I’ve picked up loads of tips that can make your trip easier, cheaper, more fun and often safer.
The Terminal C Panic That Taught Me Everything Toronto Airport. 5:47 a.m. I’m speed-walking through Terminal 1 with two Pelican 1510 cases—one stuffed with $22,000 in camera bodies and lenses, the other packed with batteries, monitors, and hard drives containing the only existing footage from our “Going Home” shoot. Gate closes in 11 minutes. My … Read more
Introduction: Seattle Filmmaker’s Walking Tour Look, I’ll be honest with you. As someone who’s made the trek from Victoria to Seattle more times than I can count (thank you, Mariners, Seahawks, and Kraken for draining my wallet), I’ve learned that this city is an absolute goldmine for content creators and filmmakers. Whether you’re vlogging your … Read more
How to Become a Travel Filmmaker: The Guide Nobody Tells You About I still remember sitting in a cramped hotel room in Thailand at 3 AM, battling corrupted footage from my first paid travel gig. The client wanted their promo video in 48 hours. My camera had overheated during the most crucial interview. And I … Read more
Intro: Pack Light & Never Check a Bag: A Filmmaker’s Guide I stood at the baggage carousel in Prague at 2 AM, watching everyone else’s luggage circle past while mine was… somewhere. Probably Vienna. The airline had no idea. That was the last time I ever checked a bag. Since then, I’ve shot films in … Read more
The 4 AM Wake-Up Call I’m standing in a freezing parking lot in rural British Columbia at 4 AM, loading gear into a rental car for a 12-hour documentary shoot. My back already hurts just looking at the pile of equipment. Camera body, lenses, tripod, audio gear, batteries, lights—the list goes on. By hour six, … Read more
Travel Videography Mistakes That Kill Your Footage (And How I Learned to Fix Them) I was three days into filming in Iceland when my main camera died. No warning. Just… dead. And because I’d convinced myself that “real filmmakers travel light,” I had no backup body. I spent the next four days shooting everything on … Read more
Introduction: Why Film Nightlife in the First Place? There’s a reason cities come alive at night—and it’s not just the lights. Neon signs buzz. Street musicians echo through alleys. The glow of a food cart lamp feels like a stage light in the middle of chaos. Filming it, though? That’s where the magic turns messy. … Read more
Why Skip Drones and Voice-Overs for travel filmmaking? Most travel films look the same—drone shots sweeping over a beach, followed by a voice-over about “finding yourself.” It’s fine the first time, maybe even the tenth, but eventually every video starts to feel like it came from the same template. The problem is simple: leaning too … Read more
Why This Guide Is Different: Tested by a Hotel Pro, Filmmaker, and Globe-Trotter I’ve seen travel disasters from three perspectives—and that’s what makes this guide unique: Hotel Insider Perspective: As a four-star hotel doorman, I’ve handled guests arriving at 3 AM with broken luggage, dead phones, or misplaced passports. I know what fails—and what actually … Read more
Last Updated: September 14, 2025 | By Trent Peek That 2 AM phone call. The email marked “URGENT” that hits your inbox at 6 PM on a Friday. The text that makes your heart drop. Life doesn’t schedule its emergencies, and scrambling to pack while your mind is reeling is a special kind of hell. … Read more