Travel films are becoming ever increasingly popular these days (See 5 Reasons Why You Should Start Making Travel Films). With technology getting cheaper and better every day, the choices are endless and sometimes, overwhelming. There really is no right or wrong combination of gear as it just depends on your style and needs.

But we are often asked what’s in our camera bag to help us make our growing list of award winning and internationally featured travel films. Therefore we’ve created what will be a constantly updated list of what we are currently using.

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1. SONY A7III – This mirrorless DSLR camera is the perfect balance of price, size and features. Its small size makes it a less obvious target to thief and gives you the perfect balance of performance, features all in a packed into a small, lightweight body.

2. SONY A7SII – This has become my backup camera. If you can afford it, I can’t stress enough the importance of traveling with two cameras. If one gets lost or breaks you will be left with nothing to capture your memories or finish you film. This camera is called the “king of low light” for its superior low light performance over any other DSLR. Although it lacks the drastically improved AF-C of the A7III, this camera is still a professional industry standard and my go to in low light situations.

3. SONY 16 – 35mm f/2.8 GM – This is probably my most used and versatile lens. With a great focal range and a fast f/2.8 aperture, the lens rarely comes off my camera. If the price tag of the f/2.8GM is too intimidating, an alternative is the cheaper f/4 version.

4. SONY 55mm f/1.8 – This is probably my second most used lens. Fantastic for portraits and great bokeh, it’s just enough zoom for some compression but also wide enough to be useable in most environments.

5. Batis 85mm f/1.8 – This lens is an absolutely beautiful b-roll and portrait lens. Rarely do I use this on a gimbal as the telephoto is too extreme but portraits and bokeh look absolutely beautiful with this lens.

6. Ronin S Gimbal – The Ronin S is my current gimbal of choice for it’s features and weight limit. Although larger than I’d like and not the easiest gimbal to fit in your camera bag. It’s easy customization via the app and build quality are outstanding.

7. Zhiyun Crane v2 – This was my main gimbal until I got the Ronin S but now it spends most of its time at home. It has a lighter payload which can’t handle heavy lenses like the 16-35mm GM but it’s smaller than the Ronin S and will fit in my camera bag.

8. Mavic Pro – Although I still travel with the Mavic Pro, I recommend you get the new and drastically improved Mavic Pro 2. If you need to save a little, the Mavic Pro is still a phenomenal drone that will fit in your camera bag.

9. Accessories

   1. Batteries – You MUST have extra batteries. Be wary of third party batteries as they can often times be deffective or even cause harm to your camera. OEM batteries cost much more but it’s not worth the risk of damaging your camera going with generics.

      SONY: Thankfully the battery life has improved on the newer Sony camera’s but you should at least have one backup to get you through the day.

      MAVIC PRO / MAVIC PRO 2: I’d recommend having at least two extra.

   2. Fireproof Battery Bag – Some airlines have battery restrictions so placing your drone batteries in a fireproof bag can insure they aren’t taken away.

   3. ND/UV Filters – Cut down on light and protect your lens.

   4. Microfiber cloths – These are a must to keep your lenses clean

   5. USB Card Reader – If you have the Mavic Pro you’ll need a card reader to download the footage.

   6. Travel Hard Drive – Don’t forget to have a place to backup your footage. I’ve been using these hard drives for years and have yet to have one die on me.

   7. Sony Battery Quick Charger – If you have one of the newer Sony Alpha’s that use the NP-FZ100 batteries, you’ll want a quick charger as these things can take up to five hours to charge internally using USB.

   8. Power Converter – It’s not just about adapting to the right country plug, it’s also about converting to the right voltage (220v, 110v) so you don’t blow your gear!

10. CineBags CB25B Revolution Backpack – This has been my main camera bag for years now. With room for two camera bodies, multiple lenses, my Mavic Pro, a gimbal (depending on model) and my 15” laptop, means I can fit all my expensive gear in the planes overhead and not risk anything being stolen or broken.

The CineBags CB25B fits a lot of gear. Featured here: 2 Sony Alpha cameras, 3 lenses, Zhiyun Crane v2 gimbal, and DJI Mavic Pro drone, plus room for batteries, accessories and 15” MacBook Pro.

Want to make travel films but not sure how to begin?

Nathaniel Connella is an award winning professional travel filmmaker who has been featured by National Geographic, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet and more. His eBook titled, ‘A Beginner’s Guide To Travel Filmmaking’ is an easy and to the point read that explains all the essential tools and ideas you will need to take your travel films to the next level.

Travel films are more popular than ever. From YouTube, to Vimeo there are a lot of talented and inspiring filmmakers out there. Many people are fooled into thinking expensive gear is the key to achieving the look of the filmmakers they admire but a lot can be achieved with even the simplest equipment if you follow these 10 tips.

Don’t get me wrong, technique is important and can enhance your films and help you tell a better story. But technique alone will never make a film worth watching, unless it’s purely instructional. If your film has an engaging and worthwhile story, viewers will be much more forgiving of your technique, than if you have technique and no story.

2. CHEAP CAMERAS CAN NOW DO MORE THAN YOU THINK

Don’t under estimate the abilities of your cheap camera. Even camera’s like the Sony RX100 or RX10 can capture stunning images. If money is holding you back from getting creative realize that you may already have an amazing tool at your fingertips. From incredible frame rate choices to 4K video capabilities, you have no excuse to not be sharing your perspective on the world. Believe it or not, smaller and cheaper gear can actually be an advantage as it will draw less attention and in many cases be smaller and lighter than more professional gear allowing you to document more discretely and even create more innovated and nimble camera moves.

This proves tip #1 AND #2. Check out this short doc shot entirely on an iPhone. Yes it looks good, but the gear is cheap AND the story is great.

Of course you can be in your film and of course you can be a piece of the story but you’re a travel filmmaker. People didn’t hit the play button to just see you. They hit play so you could show them a place, a people, an experience or an activity they’ve never seen. Let your destination and its people be the star and if you wan’t, join in as a supporting role.

4. MAKE YOUR FILMs RELATABLE

Are you making something people can connect with? There are lots of ways to do this. It can be through the humanity of faces, the beauty of the landscapes or your personal perspective on a culture. No one cares (outside your family and friends) about your 15 minutes of footage hanging out by the pool.

During my first and only trip to Portugal, the thing that impressed me the most was its people. The spirit and joy of the Portuguese stole both Marta’s and my heart so this was the most important thing to me to capture in this film.

Does your film serve a purpose? Does it offer something that changes peoples perspective, teaches them something new, opens their eyes to the now of a situation or a place. This doesn’t mean it has to be journalistic but make sure it leaves your viewers knowing more than before they clicked play.

6. MAKE YOUR FILMs PERSONAL

If it’s not personal, why should people be following you or watching your films? Again, this doesn’t mean it has to be the “me” story. It means you felt something when you traveled. You connected the people or a place and you put your heart and soul into capturing what you felt. It’s through your passion and own emotions that you will craft your story and connect with your viewers.

Jose Pando Lucas makes this beautiful short film in honor of his father and grandparents who are Portuguese, using a cast, culture and country he is not from.

Editing is not only the key to making good footage great, it’s also the key to making mediocre footage watchable. If you can crack the code on crafting a good story and flow in the editing room through pacing and shot selection, you will hold your viewers’ attention from the first frame to the last. If you’re just getting started, for every minute of filming you do, you should be spending 20x that at your computer playing with it in your editing software. For every tutorial on camera technique you watch, you should be watching twice as many on the art of editing.

8. THE RIGHT MUSIC CAN MAKE OR BREAK IT

Make sure your music counts. Ask yourself why you’re choosing it and how it enhances your story or helps transport your viewers to that land. Music taste is of course very subject but choosing with location and culture in mind, will help you tell better stories. You are making a travel film after all and not a music video…

9. GOOD SOUND WILL TRANSPORT YOUR VIEWERS THERE

Get creative with your sound work. Film is a powerful tool in the sense its multi sensory. It’s visual and auditory. So think about how you can use the power of audio to give your viewers an even more intimate experience, whether it be recording sounds from your destination, enhancing with sound design or recording interviews or maybe even a personal voice over.

Friend and filmmaker Rod Gotfried takes you on this beautiful journey through Turkey. He filmed this two weeks after the attempted coup and terrorist attack in 2016. His subtle and beautiful use of news sound bites, music and sound design make this film a fantastic example of tips #5, ,#6 ,#8 and #9.

This may be obvious, but absolutely true. The more you shoot and edit, the better you will get. Don’t underestimate the power of practice. Are you home and your next trip isn’t for six months? Great! Find something to shoot at home. Find a local story. Always be filming, always be practicing, always be telling stories.

There’s no excuse not to shoot. There’s a story waiting to be told right out your front door.

If you’re feeling inspired after reading this and want to learn more, you’re in luck.

Nathaniel Connella is an award winning professional travel filmmaker who has been featured by National Geographic, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet and more. His eBook titled, ‘A Beginner’s Guide To Travel Filmmaking’ is an easy, to the point read that explains all the essential tools and ideas you will need to take your travel films to the next level.

Morocco was one of the first few countries we traveled to when we started backpacking in 2016, and for sure it was the most exotic destination for us. We spent about a month total in Morocco traveling from the big cites, through the mountains to more off the beaten path places. We truly enjoyed our time in Morocco and we can’t wait to go back one day. We hope that these 20 photos will inspire you to visit Morocco. 

Why visit Morocco?

Morocco is a country with a deep culture, a mix of African, Middle Eastern and some European influence. Although Morocco is located only 13km from Europe, it’s culture and environment is totally different.  It’s unique in its ways and has withstood invaders throughout history. To some extent being in Morocco feels like stepping back in time, especially when visiting the old cities like Marrakesh or Fez, where the same buildings have been there for centuries.

Many tourists travel to Morocco because they want to experience the “authentic” culture, and perhaps a bit of mystery, and that is exactly why we decided to travel there too.

Morocco offers many unique experiences that you won’t find anywhere else. During the day you can walk through the markets tasting exotic spices and food, shopping for hand woven rugs, and at night you will sleep in a beautiful riad. A riad is a house with a garden and or central courtyard inside. These homes are often very quiet inside unlike the street just outside the wall. The temperatures are also much cooler than outside on the street. No A/C needed, riads are engineered for hot climates. You can find riads to stay in throughout Morocco, and they are usually chique and trendy. If you are visiting Morocco in the summer, make sure the riad you are staying in has a pool!

Morocco cuisine is absolutely delicious. Tajine, a stew cooked with meat or vegetables, is a staple dish at every Moroccan house, and restaurant. If you get tired of Tajine you can also try some French food, which is very popular in Morocco. Another common food item is the mint tea, which locals call “Moroccan Whiskey”. This tea is often served sweetened with lots of sugar, but you can ask for no sugar, and its tasty and refreshing especially on hot days. The mint tea is offered as a welcome drink at hotels, and even street vendors will invite you for a cup of tea before they conduct any business with you. You never refuse the tea., even if  you have already drank several cups that day.

You should also try visiting a hammam, while you are in Morocco. Hammam’s are pubic bathhouses, separate for women and men, where you can relax and get a body scrub. Many local homes don’t have showers or baths, so instead people go to the hamman to bathe. It’s a popular place for the local women to socialize, since they don’t socialize in public cafes or restaurants like men do.

You can easily relax spending your time in large cities like Marrakesh or if you like adventure, you can hike in the mountains like the Atlas Mountains or Rif. Of course, the biggest reason why tourists come to Morocco is to visit the Sahara desert. Riding on a dromedary and sleeping under the stars on the desert will make you feel like you are in some kind of fairytale movie. There is nothing more romantic than watching the sun set on the Sahara.

 Need help packing for Morocco?

Women’s Packing Essentials for Morocco

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We’ve all experienced a moment of envy for those beautiful travel videos you see on YouTube and Vimeo. I’m not talking about Instagram Stories or those crappy home videos we’ve all made with our GoPro and selfie stick. I’m talking about the kind of travel videos that transport you to another world with jaw dropping cinematography that captures the authentic beauty of the exotic locations, local people and cultures. Wouldn’t it be awesome if on your next vacation you could make something worth sharing? Here are 5 great reasons why YOU need to step up your game, and start making travel films on your next trip:

We are living in a golden age of travel. More than ever are people are realizing the value of experiences over material things. After all, things will come and go, but experiences will stay with you forever… or at least we hope they will. But even if they stay with you for a while, eventually memories can fade. So why not capture your experiences in a way that will not only preserve the most important visual moments of your life, but might also inspire others to do the same?

Preserve your most precious travel memories.

Whether you’re heading out on a two-week vacation or doing what I did, leaving your job for a long term adventure, creating travel films gives your experience a whole new sense of purpose. It’s easy to get side tracked, especially the longer you travel. Having that much freedom to do what you want and go where you want can actually become overwhelming and eventually, you can feel lost. 

3. CONNECT WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Creating travel films gives you a focus that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Sure, you can always be making your list of next “top 10 temples I need to visit”, but a film just about temples is something few want to watch. So what if you don’t just go to the temples, but you go there and meet with the monks? What if you go there to film daily life at the temple? Suddenly you have a greater purpose that will not only carry you outside your comfort zone of just sightseeing and reading informative plaques, but connect you with the local cultural community, which is what travel is really all about. Ten years from now, good luck remembering temple #23. But that monk, who invited you in for tea after filming him, and told you his life story, while you told him yours, is something you will remember forever. 

Making travel films brings you closer to the people and places you visit.

Shooting travel films also gives you “busy work” when you don’t know what else to do. There can be a lot of downtime when you travel. From overlays at airports to 14-hour train rides… at times you need something to do! So why waste your time watching reruns on Netflix for the 100th time, when you could be busy creating your own incredible visual masterpiece to share with the world?

Give yourself something to do on long rides and layovers.

Making travel films might not just give you a new hobby. It could also lead to new opportunities. You may discover a talent you never knew you even had and could lead to a career change. Sick of your day job? Practice videography on your vacations and who knows, maybe when you get home you’ll feel inspired to start a new career as a wedding videographer or local commercial production company. Even if you don’t decide on a complete career change, you never know what other opportunities could present themselves while you are filming such as exclusive access to events or monuments.

Filmmaker Nathaniel Connella capturing the opening shot to his National Geographic Short Film Showcase, ‘Rhythms of Peru’.

If you’re feeling inspired after reading this but don’t know where to begin, you’re in luck.

Nathaniel Connella is an award winning professional travel filmmaker who has been featured by National Geographic, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet and more. His eBook titled, ‘A Beginner’s Guide To Travel Filmmaking’ is an easy, to the point read that explains all the essential tools and ideas you will need to take your travel films to the next level.

This film was made as a proof of concept for a tourism campaign that never came to be. Compiled from b-roll from another shoot, a script was made and the film was edited to hopefully reshoot, with better logistics, storyboarding and planning. Despite its​ non-perfect execution, I like this film because I love Ecuador and I think a lot of people don’t realize​ how much this country has to offer.​ The script was crafted as a love letter to this country and is supported by imagery that hopefully shows this as well. Music for this film is provided courtesy of our subscription with MusicBed. Almost all of the songs to my award-winning films have come from them. If you need music for your own videos, get a free trial here using this link! http://share.mscbd.fm/thetipsygypsies

Packing List for Women traveling to Morocco

After you’ve determined what type of clothes are right for you and the time of the year you are traveling, you need to decide what type of a trip you will be doing. Is it a visit to Marrakesh and other big cities, or perhaps a trip to the beach? These questions combined with the examples below should help you decide the perfect balance of clothes for every activity and weather.

1.     What to wear in big cities in Morocco?

 I was totally comfortable wearing dresses and shorts in the cities. I visited Morocco during the hot summer and wearing long pants was the worst idea. Loose clothing, either a short or long dress is the best to wear in the heat, but you absolutely don’t need to be fully covered up.

Don’t forget to bring your swimsuit with you even if you are only staying in the city. Many hotels in Morocco have indoor pools, where you can lounge or cool off during hot summers. Morocco is very sunny even in the winter so bring a pair of sunglasses.

2.     What to wear to the beach in Morocco?

 If you will be spending time on the beach in places like Essaouira, a popular beach town in Morocco, bring beach clothes: swimsuit, hat, shorts ect.

I travel with a sarong wrap pretty much everywhere I go. It’s perfect for a trip to the beach, and you can also use it to cover up or protect yourself from sun. 

3.     What to wear on a hiking trip to Morocco?

Depending on the level hiking you want to do, you will of course need appropriate shoes. Wearing running shoes on an easy trail is perfectly fine. Yoga pants are comfortable and practical to wear on hikes. If you are hiking in the summer remember to bring a scarf, or a hat for sun protection and plenty of water!

It gets cold in the mountains at night even during summer, so bring some warm layers either a sweater or a light jacket.

4.     What to wear in the winter in Morocco?

 You might need a pair of long pants like jeans if you are going to Morocco during the winter since it gets cold. Bring some layers and a jacket with you to wear at night.

5.     What to wear on a desert tour in Morocco?

 If you are joining a desert tour in Morocco, and you definitely should, bring comfortable clothes. You will be sitting on a dromedary (like a camel but with one hump) for hours and it can get a bit uncomfortable. Leggings or loose pants are the best. Bring a scarf with you to protect your head, face, and shoulders from sun and wind! Also sunglasses are a must! In the winter you might need extra layers at night!

If you are bringing any camera equipment make sure to secure it properly from sand. It can ruin your lenses and other gear in just a few minutes! If you are not using your camera put it away in a bag.

6.     What Shoes to wear in Morocco

Comfortable shoes are necessary in Morocco. If you are staying in cities you should bring a pair of comfortable walking shoes like sandals, or sneakers. High heals are very uncomfortable to wear on uneven streets. Flip-flops are great for pools, and you might need them if you are staying in a budget place where the cleanliness of the shower is questionable.

Packing List for Men traveling to Morocco

Men have more freedom when it comes to clothes in Morocco. It is less about what is appropriate, and more about the comfort. Although some say that shorts or undershirts are not ok in public, I have seen plenty of tourists wearing this exact outfit and nobody cared. The only time you will need to consider being more covered up is when going inside a mosque, and there are only a few you can actually visit as a non-Muslim in Morocco.

1. What to wear in cities in Morocco?

Many locals wear jeans even during summer time, but if you are not used to the heat you might find it extremely uncomfortable. Shorts and t-shirts are totally acceptable, but if you want to look more elegant you can bring a light fabric button up shirt. Linen clothes are a great choice for men to wear in big cities like Marrakesh. Linen clothing will keep you cool even in the extreme heat.

Don’t forget to bring swim trunks with you when traveling to the cities in Morocco. Many hotels have a pool that you can use.

If you have room in your suitcase bring something to cover your head to protect it from sun.

2.     What to wear to the beach in Morocco.

Many people don’t realize that there are very nice beach areas in Morocco. Essaouira is a trendy surfing destination for locals and tourists.

Bring a pair of swim trunks with you to Morocco, and don’t forget sunglasses and a hat!

3.     What to wear on a hiking trip to Morocco.

 If you are planning on doing any hikes in Morocco, bring appropriate clothes with you and make sure you plan accordingly to the weather. Winters are cold in the mountains and summers are extremely hot. If you are doing a day trek, you will be fine hiking in your running shoes, but if you plan to spend weeks in the mountains make sure you have comfortable shoes, and perhaps a tent to sleep in.

4.     What to wear in the winter in Morocco

Make sure you bring long pants and some layers with you, since winters in the northern parts of Morocco are cold. Many tourists like spending winter in the south of Morocco, where the temperatures are a bit warmer.

5.     What shoes to wear in Morocco?

Although many guides discourage you from wearing open toe shoes, sandals are the most practical to wear on city walks in the summer. It is true that the unpaved streets are dusty and you feet will get dirty, so just be ready to scrub them when you get to your hotel room. For that same reason many locals wear closed toe shoes, like the traditional babouche slippers. Nevertheless, it is better to wear sandals in the heat than having your feet sweat in sneakers. If you bring sneakers choose a dark color, otherwise one trip to the city and they will get filthy. Flip-flops are great too, especially around the pool area!

6.     What to wear on a desert tour in Morocco

Even if you are only spending one night on the desert you want to make sure you are comfortable. Bring a backpack where you can pack extra layers in case you get chilly at night. Loose fitting pants are the most comfortable while you sit on a dromedary for hours. A headscarf to protect you from the strong sun (plus sunscreen of course) and sunglasses are a must! You can wear flip-flops to protect your feet from hot sand, but they are uncomfortable to walk in the desert. Ankle-high shoes, like Convers, are better for walking and they will keep the sand from getting inside.

We hope this guide helped you decide what to pack for Morocco on your next trip.  Remember to wear whatever makes you comfortable. If you are a woman who is more modest, bring clothes that are less revealing. It doesn’t mean you need to be covered from head to toe. Instead of a short dress simply wear a maxi dress with a scarf over your shoulders. Some western women traveling to Morocco, in order to blend in with the local Moroccan women, wear a scarf on their head. You absolutely don’t need to do this, but it can be fun and fashionable.

Remember to save a bit of space in your suitcase to bring some souvenirs home with you. Morocco is known for high quality art and handcrafts.

Have a great time on your holidays in Morocco!

To all the ladies out there, don’t be afraid to travel to Morocco. It’s a wonderful place and you can safely wear your favorite shorts and dresses. If you’re traveling alone, just use the same common sense you would in any other country. I hope this post helps you all!

If you’re a travel enthusiast and on social media, there’s a good chance you’re a follower of at least one of the digital media platforms known as UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels. 

If you aren’t, in brief, these are companies built entirely around filtered self-submitted content, combined with soliciting and asking travel bloggers, filmmakers, and photographers to provide them for free, with travel inspirational content that they can then re-edit if they wish, re-label, and share as their own for profit, and in trade, the content provider will receive credit in the comments (or if they’re lucky, the post description) and in theory, drive traffic to the content creator. 

These digital media platforms have millions of travel-hungry followers who eat up the material these “regurgitators” provide. According to Cityam.com, “Between June 2014 and March 2015, UNILAD recorded a turnover of £377,727”. Forbes during an interview with founders Liam Harrington and Sam Bentley in 2016, learned that UNILAD can charge advertisers up to £40k for an original branded video.

We couldn’t find any financials for Must Do Travels but it is a for-profit business and its follower base is a million and a half more than UNILAD Adventure at the time of this articles writing. 

Needless to say, these kids have built fantastic little empires for themselves, by doing what? By sharing content they paid nothing for. Quite brilliant if you ask us. 

So is this good or bad for content creators? Let’s take a look!

In December of last year, both companies reached out to us, asking to share an excerpt from our trending film Rhythms of Peru. Excited about the possible of the publicity and potential follower growth to our blog, we agreed. A few days later, their mutilated and rebranded molestation of our precious film material was released, and we can now confidently say the pay off was… less than lackluster. “Well, your content must have sucked!” you’ll say. “Maybe it just wasn’t popular enough!” you’ll shout.

We’ll let these screenshots speak for themselves:

A huge success!!! A job well done, The Tipsy Gypsies! So after 1.1 million combined views, our Facebook must have caught fire right?

Let’s take a look!

From December 11th, the date of the first publication, to December 18th a week later and well past the life cycle of this type of content, we had gained 512 followers. A descent growth you might say for one week’s work! “Tragically”, we had also received a Vimeo Staff Pick for Rhythms of Peru that same week, and every time we get a Vimeo Staff Pick…. up go the followers. Unfortunately, there’s no way for us to collect the data on the source of each new follower but it can easily be assumed that these new followers came from multiple sources. Later on we also gained over 1000 followers just by uploading and sharing Rhythms of Peru on Facebook ourselves and letting it get a virus… we mean go viral!! Way more than UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels gave us combined.

On top of that, when Must Do Travels first shared our video, they didn’t even credit us as promised and it wasn’t until hours later when we noticed, and the video had been liked and shared thousands of times before they corrected it. I spoke with the founder of Must Do Travels after the incident and to his credit, he seemed extremely apologetic and promised if we shared more with them, it would be done correctly. Which in our eyes is basically the equivalent of saying, “We were going to pay you $1000 for this job, but we forgot half the money at home so here’s $500. But on next job, we promise we’ll pay you the full $1000!”. If your only method of payment is a credit, you have to get that right every single time and we talked to multiple people where this was botched. Once the cats out of the bag, there are no re-does. 

And this shows why the credit-as-payment system doesn’t work. The fact is, 99.9% of viewers will watch the video, like the video, and share the video, but only .1% are going to see your name, click your name, visit your page or wall and then if you’re lucky, like or follow it. This leaves UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travel receiving 99.9% of the benefits of your content, FOR FREE! 

The largest complaint we heard from content creators is that these sites aren’t even properly crediting them. While this video received more than 1.9 million views, the content creators credit can’t be found anywhere. Not on the video, and not in the video description. The credit is buried in the comments as with the majority of other videos. Ours was the same until we demanded they change it.

Must Do Travels claims they care deeply about their content providers. Yet one filmmaker reached out to me, sharing that his film had been featured on Must Do Travels without his consent. It turns out some unknown person had submitted it as their own and Must Do Travels accepted this submission without question or proof. Their response to the filmmaker after plagiarizing, reaping the benefits of 190k views, and not even crediting the actual creator was,

“I assure you that we do not rip off filmmakers, as we are filmmakers ourselves and actually only share other people’s footage who have quality work and willingly ask us to share that on their behalf to help them grow awareness of their own fan pages or professional services.”

Were there any repercussions to Must Do Travels or compensation for the hard-working filmmaker? Of course not. Because these companies are completely unregulated or held accountable. They did eventually agree to take the film down.

So what’s a model that could work? Well, we can tell you that there are other sites just like these two with the same travel focus, same style of videos, same millions of followers, and they pay their content creators. Is it a lot? No. About the price of 1 1/2 clips from our stock footage business, for a polished one minute video. But it’s something. It’s a gesture. 

Which leads to our final point. Whether it be small pay or no pay, it’s our choice as content creators right? Whether to share or not to share. None of these sites are breaking the law (aside maybe from when they share content without proper permission… but hey, that’s just a mistake right?) So the final question we want to ask the travel community is…

just because it’s legal, does it make it right? 

Just because someone who spends thousands of their own dollars/yen/pesos… on travel and equipment agrees to create content for these companies, for free in hopes of a few new followers… does that make it okay? Travel content creation is already a hard enough business to make a living at, so do we really need some of the most popular travel influencers in the world encouraging the idea that our material isn’t worth anything?

Ultimately this is bad for everyone. If content creators can’t find sources of revenue, they’re ultimately going to stop creating content. Although we would never encourage anyone to try and make a full time living producing content for these types of sites, they can potentially provide some additional income. 

An example you say?? Why sure! We recently had some extra footage, some free time while resting in Quito, made a little video for the travel platform TasteMade Travel, and guess what? Not only were we credited…

we were paid!

Another media platform doing it right, would be Passion Passport, who makes it their main goal to focus on and feature content creators when sharing. 

Not only do they feature the content creator prominently, they typically don’t re-edit the original material, providing it as the content creator intended.

We were not paid for sharing our film with them but still found it completely worth the trade.

Therefore, there are business models that work. Models that are mutually beneficial, but when platforms like UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels continue as they do, encouraging their type of “business” model, they are setting a terrible industry standard for what our material is worth… 

nothing.

After reaching out to Must Do Travels and UNILAD Adventure for comment (UNILAD has not responded to our requests), we began an email discussion with Steven Kenniff, the founder of Must Do Travels. Although our opinion still stands about the previous and immediate state of these companies, we were really impressed with Steven’s engagement with us and what felt like genuine concern and an interest in improving his company to be more beneficial to his content providers. He claims they are already implementing some of our suggestions and are currently working on several ideas for this year that could include a form of payment for at least select content creators.  Therefore, we feel optimistic about Must Do Travels future but we can’t comment more on UNILAD Adventure as they won’t speak with us. Despite the many issues discussed in this article, we are actually rooting for these companies and want to see these platforms reach their full potential: continued success as a business, but also a respectable and profitable place for professional content creators to contribute. 

Having said that, this is, in the end an op-ed, and just one blog and two bloggers opinion.

If anything in this article resonates with you, offends you, or you find it a worthwhile discussion, please consider sharing your opinions or experiences in the comments below and also consider sharing this article with friends and colleagues so together as a travel community, we can keep this conversation going and maybe, just maybe… get them to see the light.

(To protect the privacy of the content creators, no names have been provided)

Travel Filmmaker

“It’s like expecting to get followers for your broccoli farm because a popular restaurant uses your produce in their salad.”

Travel Filmmaker

“Before editing and sharing this video, they asked me my permission. I gave them but I wanted to have a link to my youtube channel. I thought they were going put it in the description of the post. What a bad surprise when I saw that the link was only in comments… Indeed, this post didn’t increase my views on my original video. But it was an honor for me to be published by this page.”

Blogger

“Honestly, I don’t think people really look to see where the pictures or videos came from, so no, I don’t think it made a difference at all in traffic on any of my sites.”

Bloggers / Travel Filmmakers

“We think that submitting your work or letting platforms with millions of followers use your content for free definitely has some benefits, however there are a few issues with the whole idea of claiming others work as their own. If they do choose to share a piece work then it can definitely receive many views, comments and/or shares that it otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. One of the annoying issues though is crediting – to be honest, most platforms suck at it! We really had to fight with one platform to make sure that our credit was given in the description of the film and not buried in the 3rd or 4th comment that no one was ever going to find, let alone read… After being shared on large platforms it brought us a minor boost in followers – nothing to write home about though. But, it does give us creditability when we are discussing a project with a client and we can say that our content has received over a million views across different travel platforms. We liked the way Matador Network went about sharing our work. They offer some money for a license of parts of your film, and although it is not a huge amount of cash, it shows that they understand that people work hard to create the content and deserve at lest some sort of renumeration.”

Travel Filmmaker

“When I was just starting I was absolutely stoked to be featured anywhere and I let everyone do it no matter who it was. Maybe it helped maybe it didn’t. But nowadays I’m really particular about what pages I post my stuff on. Because on one hand, these “feature pages” are just getting loads of free content. Content that would cost thousands and thousands of dollars to produce on their own. They are using the system to their advantage hardcore. And as much as I don’t agree with that and I’d never do it myself, you have to see the other side. As a creator, when unilad shares your video you are almost guaranteed a half a million views on a video you created. This can be then used to pitch to other brands and leveraged to help you grow your brand. But not all the content creators know how to do that, so the opportunity goes largely unused. I think it would make it a lot better and a lot more incentivized if these huge companies started paying small amounts to the creators. Even throwing someone $20 to some of these smaller creators would go a long way. Seeing as they are making hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars from each video that’s the least they could do. As much as I don’t agree with it I can’t deny I still do it from time to time. You just have to know how to leverage that and come away on the + side of things”

Travel Filmmaker

“…my opinion is that we do get something in return even though it’s not money. Exposure. And something to add to our portfolio… Keep in mind I’m very much a hobbyist, people doing this professionally may have a totally different outlook. However, I don’t think posting on these travel websites is a good way of making money because the cost involved with travel is massive and the pay off is small.”

Must Do Travels:

“A few of my friends and I started Must Do Travels about 18 months ago with our own footage of various destinations that we had traveled to or lived in, and from there we started to get approached by other content creators to collaborate on their footage and to promote their personal blogs/websites/social profiles, etc. Much like how you had reached out to us in hopes of having us consider your personal footage. Since we saw that relationship as a mutually beneficial one, we developed a standing partnership with many high quality content contributors that enjoy seeing their work published on our page. It gives many videographers a chance to reach a larger audience with their work than they might otherwise be able to reach if they were to just publish it on their own, especially when they may just be starting out.

Our small team still continues to travel on a regular basis to film locations that we enjoy, or that we have always wanted to go to and needed a reason to get out and do it. That’s why we formed up in the first place. Sometimes it feels like we are always on the road, living out of a suitcase or backpack.

I think we are quite a bit different than what many people might have in mind. Unlike some of the other travel sites and pages out there that I am familiar with, we do not take ownership of your content as a part of the submission process. We know the time and work that goes into filming/editing/traveling and all that, and wish to allow all contributors the right to retain all ownership of their hard work. We simply agree to share the ones that we enjoy the most. If you check the terms and conditions of many of the other pages out there who work with other content creators you will see that they often take exclusive ownership of all content submissions (meaning that they own the video or photo from that moment forward, and you no longer own your footage that you submit for consideration to them), whether they choose to use the footage or not, and often only compensate when and if they do publish the footage online.

Many of the contributors that we work with prefer our type of arrangement, as they are able to not only get distribution and promotion of their content at no cost to them, but they also retain the rights to their hard work that might otherwise not be worth giving up for the chance to possibly earn a small portion of money that wouldn’t even cover the cost of producing the footage in most cases.

We do not run ads in tandem with our content, which means that we do not generate an income off of the video views that our own content or other submitted content gets on our page. I think that the general perception out there might be that if you have a lot of views online you must be making a lot of money, but when there are no ads available to show along with the content on Facebook at this time. We also do not have banner ads on our website articles, so we don’t generate income from that web traffic either. Likewise, we do not have a television channel or a print magazine on the shelves of book stores to generate any sort of revenue. If it wasn’t for our love of travel and being videographers and video editors too I don’t know if we would still be doing it. It’s definitely a labor of love!

In addition to what we film on our own and what is submitted to us unsolicited, from time to time we come across really cool videos online when we are looking for personal inspiration on where to travel next, or get recommended a cool video on YouTube after we just watched another similar video. In those cases we may reach out to some of those content creators to let them know that we enjoyed their work, and invite them to submit their content to us if they wish, so that we can edit it and share it and then link back to their profile or wherever it is that they prefer us to link back to from the video post. Some people never respond to us for whatever reason, and some do.

I wish we could guarantee that every time we shared a video on behalf of someone that it was going to generate some specific level of success for either of us, but we are ultimately not in control of how many views, likes, shares, comments, link clicks to their profile, followers, etc. that any given video can generate. We always hope for the best, and position the content in the way that we feel it will have the highest likelihood for a successful outcome.”

UPDATE AUGUST 2019:

Content creator Thomas Norway wrote us:

Thanks for a very nice post, and I agree fully with your opinion. As a content creator myself, I have had similar experiences. Sites like Unilad Adventures and Must Do Travels is great for getting views to boast about, but little more than that. I recently submitted a video to Must Do Travel. After a week I had more than 120 000 views which I felt very good about. However I gained very few followers as a result of this. As in your experience I was credited only in the comment section and not in the post description, which was a negative surprise for me. Furthermore they included my Instagram name in vertically in the upper right corner of the video, which is not very visible on a mobile format, and the logo is much smaller than Must Do Travels. Given mr Kenniffs comments here I would have expected this situation to change one year down the road.

I got my first piercing when I was 14. Like many other teenage girls in the 90’s, I chose to pierce my belly button. It was my summer break and my parents were away on holiday. I had about $8 in my pocket and I chose to spend it on a piercing. My mom was furious when she found out, but the piercing stayed and everybody forgot about the whole thing. At one point when I got older I took the belly ring out because I thought it was uncool.

Fast forward to 2016, when I was 33 and together with my husband we started our travel adventure. Call it a midlife crisis, but I wanted to get some cool piercings. So when we arrived in Lisbon, Portugal I instantly started to look for a piercing studio. I found a perfect place and I scheduled an appointment for placing a new piercing in my bellybutton and new upper lobe piercings.

The procedures were done in a very sterile environment by a professional, and I never expected to have any problems with it.

First signs of infection

A few days after the piercing, we arrived in Morocco. It was hellishly hot, about 45 C. My ear started to hurt and the color resembled a sunset on a desert. Perhaps it was the hot, dusty weather or not having been properly cleaning my fresh piercing but a small infection started. I got some over-the-counter medicine and continued to properly clean it for the rest of our stay in Morocco.

Indian Healers

By the time we got to India, I knew that my infection was not going away. I had to take some antibiotics. The day we started our journey in the Himalayas my year was better, but it was still bothering me. It had been almost 4 months at this point since I had been dealing with this chronic infection. As you can imagine lot of people told me to take the earrings out, but I desperately wanted to keep them. I believed it was just taking a while to heal and soon any signs of infection would be gone.

After few days of traveling in the Himalayas we arrived in Mudh, a small village. There was no pharmacy in the village, and the closest medical center was about 10 hours away.  In the evening my ear turned red/purple, doubled in size and I was in pain. At the dinner table I met a doctor who insisted that the earrings be removed. He explained that the bacteria was trapped inside and the infection would not go away. Because the ear was so swollen I wasn’t able to take the earrings out myself. I turned for help from our host lady, whose name I am unsure of but I just called her Tara. India is famous for piercings and most Indian women have at least their nose or ear pierced. Tara looked at my ear, made an “ooouch” noise that confirmed all my worries. She told me to come back in the morning.

As soon as I woke up, I ran down the street to the guesthouse to have my piercings removed. Tara was in the kitchen prepping food for the arrival of the Lama. It was a big day for Mudh, but she still had time to help me. We walked outside the house where I sad down on the warm, sun soaked cement stairs. I could not wait to have the earrings removed already! The screws from the earrings where jammed so tight, that no matter how hard Tara tried to unscrew them it wasn’t doing anything. Then Tara’s husbands decided to bring some old rusty plyers from the garage and used some force. Do you see where this is going? Yeah… Mind you this was all happening very fast and I didn’t understand anything these people were saying. I didn’t resist the use of the plyers at first. I thought Tara’s husband was going to unscrew the stubborn piercings, but instead he decided to pull on both ends of the earrings as hard as possible, which caused extreme bleeding and almost tore my ear off. I swear the Lama, who was about to visit the town heard me screaming my heart out. I can usually tolerate high levels of pain, but this was beyond what I could handle. I started to cry, the blood from my ear was dripping on the ground and Tara was screaming at her husband for causing this mess. When I finally calmed down, a few young girls from the village showed up to help. It was funny because when they came over they still had pieces of dry dough on their hands from making rotis. I think they must have heard me screaming and crying and came to the rescue. One of those girls, with her tiny hands very quickly removed the earrings one by one. The relief was almost instant.

The Indian girls also put small pieces of neem wood where my piercings had been. That way the holes would not close. Neem wood has natural antibacterial properties and it is widely used in medicine. They also told me to apply hot oil with turmeric. For the next few weeks my ear was oozing with puss, blood and crust, but it finally got better. This time for good!

I seriously don’t know what I would have done without the help of these girls from Mudh. I felt like maybe they saved my life and my ear for sure!

I got my first piercing when I was 14. Like many other teenage girls in the 90’s, I chose to pierce my belly button. It was my summer break and my parents were away on holiday. I had about $8 in my pocket and I chose to spend it on a piercing. My mom was furious when she found out, but the piercing stayed and everybody forgot about the whole thing. At one point when I got older I took the belly ring out because I thought it was uncool.

Fast forward to 2016, when I was 33 and together with my husband we started our travel adventure. Call it a midlife crisis, but I wanted to get some cool piercings. So when we arrived in Lisbon, Portugal I instantly started to look for a piercing studio. I found a perfect place and I scheduled an appointment for placing a new piercing in my bellybutton and new upper lobe piercings.

The procedures were done in a very sterile environment by a professional, and I never expected to have any problems with it.

First signs of infection

A few days after the piercing, we arrived in Morocco. It was hellishly hot, about 45 C. My ear started to hurt and the color resembled a sunset on a desert. Perhaps it was the hot, dusty weather or not having been properly cleaning my fresh piercing but a small infection started. I got some over-the-counter medicine and continued to properly clean it for the rest of our stay in Morocco.

Indian Healers

By the time we got to India, I knew that my infection was not going away. I had to take some antibiotics. The day we started our journey in the Himalayas my year was better, but it was still bothering me. It had been almost 4 months at this point since I had been dealing with this chronic infection. As you can imagine lot of people told me to take the earrings out, but I desperately wanted to keep them. I believed it was just taking a while to heal and soon any signs of infection would be gone.

After few days of traveling in the Himalayas we arrived in Mudh, a small village. There was no pharmacy in the village, and the closest medical center was about 10 hours away.  In the evening my ear turned red/purple, doubled in size and I was in pain. At the dinner table I met a doctor who insisted that the earrings be removed. He explained that the bacteria was trapped inside and the infection would not go away. Because the ear was so swollen I wasn’t able to take the earrings out myself. I turned for help from our host lady, whose name I am unsure of but I just called her Tara. India is famous for piercings and most Indian women have at least their nose or ear pierced. Tara looked at my ear, made an “ooouch” noise that confirmed all my worries. She told me to come back in the morning.

As soon as I woke up, I ran down the street to the guesthouse to have my piercings removed. Tara was in the kitchen prepping food for the arrival of the Lama. It was a big day for Mudh, but she still had time to help me. We walked outside the house where I sad down on the warm, sun soaked cement stairs. I could not wait to have the earrings removed already! The screws from the earrings where jammed so tight, that no matter how hard Tara tried to unscrew them it wasn’t doing anything. Then Tara’s husbands decided to bring some old rusty plyers from the garage and used some force. Do you see where this is going? Yeah… Mind you this was all happening very fast and I didn’t understand anything these people were saying. I didn’t resist the use of the plyers at first. I thought Tara’s husband was going to unscrew the stubborn piercings, but instead he decided to pull on both ends of the earrings as hard as possible, which caused extreme bleeding and almost tore my ear off. I swear the Lama, who was about to visit the town heard me screaming my heart out. I can usually tolerate high levels of pain, but this was beyond what I could handle. I started to cry, the blood from my ear was dripping on the ground and Tara was screaming at her husband for causing this mess. When I finally calmed down, a few young girls from the village showed up to help. It was funny because when they came over they still had pieces of dry dough on their hands from making rotis. I think they must have heard me screaming and crying and came to the rescue. One of those girls, with her tiny hands very quickly removed the earrings one by one. The relief was almost instant.

The Indian girls also put small pieces of neem wood where my piercings had been. That way the holes would not close. Neem wood has natural antibacterial properties and it is widely used in medicine. They also told me to apply hot oil with turmeric. For the next few weeks my ear was oozing with puss, blood and crust, but it finally got better. This time for good!

I seriously don’t know what I would have done without the help of these girls from Mudh. I felt like maybe they saved my life and my ear for sure!

Packing List for Women traveling to Morocco

After you’ve determined what type of clothes are right for you and the time of the year you are traveling, you need to decide what type of a trip you will be doing. Is it a visit to Marrakesh and other big cities, or perhaps a trip to the beach? These questions combined with the examples below should help you decide the perfect balance of clothes for every activity and weather.

1.     What to wear in big cities in Morocco?

 I was totally comfortable wearing dresses and shorts in the cities. I visited Morocco during the hot summer and wearing long pants was the worst idea. Loose clothing, either a short or long dress is the best to wear in the heat, but you absolutely don’t need to be fully covered up.

Don’t forget to bring your swimsuit with you even if you are only staying in the city. Many hotels in Morocco have indoor pools, where you can lounge or cool off during hot summers. Morocco is very sunny even in the winter so bring a pair of sunglasses.

2.     What to wear to the beach in Morocco?

 If you will be spending time on the beach in places like Essaouira, a popular beach town in Morocco, bring beach clothes: swimsuit, hat, shorts ect.

I travel with a sarong wrap pretty much everywhere I go. It’s perfect for a trip to the beach, and you can also use it to cover up or protect yourself from sun. 

3.     What to wear on a hiking trip to Morocco?

Depending on the level hiking you want to do, you will of course need appropriate shoes. Wearing running shoes on an easy trail is perfectly fine. Yoga pants are comfortable and practical to wear on hikes. If you are hiking in the summer remember to bring a scarf, or a hat for sun protection and plenty of water!

It gets cold in the mountains at night even during summer, so bring some warm layers either a sweater or a light jacket.

4.     What to wear in the winter in Morocco?

 You might need a pair of long pants like jeans if you are going to Morocco during the winter since it gets cold. Bring some layers and a jacket with you to wear at night.

5.     What to wear on a desert tour in Morocco?

 If you are joining a desert tour in Morocco, and you definitely should, bring comfortable clothes. You will be sitting on a dromedary (like a camel but with one hump) for hours and it can get a bit uncomfortable. Leggings or loose pants are the best. Bring a scarf with you to protect your head, face, and shoulders from sun and wind! Also sunglasses are a must! In the winter you might need extra layers at night!

If you are bringing any camera equipment make sure to secure it properly from sand. It can ruin your lenses and other gear in just a few minutes! If you are not using your camera put it away in a bag.

6.     What Shoes to wear in Morocco

Comfortable shoes are necessary in Morocco. If you are staying in cities you should bring a pair of comfortable walking shoes like sandals, or sneakers. High heals are very uncomfortable to wear on uneven streets. Flip-flops are great for pools, and you might need them if you are staying in a budget place where the cleanliness of the shower is questionable.

Packing List for Men traveling to Morocco

Men have more freedom when it comes to clothes in Morocco. It is less about what is appropriate, and more about the comfort. Although some say that shorts or undershirts are not ok in public, I have seen plenty of tourists wearing this exact outfit and nobody cared. The only time you will need to consider being more covered up is when going inside a mosque, and there are only a few you can actually visit as a non-Muslim in Morocco.

1. What to wear in cities in Morocco?

Many locals wear jeans even during summer time, but if you are not used to the heat you might find it extremely uncomfortable. Shorts and t-shirts are totally acceptable, but if you want to look more elegant you can bring a light fabric button up shirt. Linen clothes are a great choice for men to wear in big cities like Marrakesh. Linen clothing will keep you cool even in the extreme heat.

Don’t forget to bring swim trunks with you when traveling to the cities in Morocco. Many hotels have a pool that you can use.

If you have room in your suitcase bring something to cover your head to protect it from sun.

2.     What to wear to the beach in Morocco.

Many people don’t realize that there are very nice beach areas in Morocco. Essaouira is a trendy surfing destination for locals and tourists.

Bring a pair of swim trunks with you to Morocco, and don’t forget sunglasses and a hat!

3.     What to wear on a hiking trip to Morocco.

 If you are planning on doing any hikes in Morocco, bring appropriate clothes with you and make sure you plan accordingly to the weather. Winters are cold in the mountains and summers are extremely hot. If you are doing a day trek, you will be fine hiking in your running shoes, but if you plan to spend weeks in the mountains make sure you have comfortable shoes, and perhaps a tent to sleep in.

4.     What to wear in the winter in Morocco

Make sure you bring long pants and some layers with you, since winters in the northern parts of Morocco are cold. Many tourists like spending winter in the south of Morocco, where the temperatures are a bit warmer.

5.     What shoes to wear in Morocco?

Although many guides discourage you from wearing open toe shoes, sandals are the most practical to wear on city walks in the summer. It is true that the unpaved streets are dusty and you feet will get dirty, so just be ready to scrub them when you get to your hotel room. For that same reason many locals wear closed toe shoes, like the traditional babouche slippers. Nevertheless, it is better to wear sandals in the heat than having your feet sweat in sneakers. If you bring sneakers choose a dark color, otherwise one trip to the city and they will get filthy. Flip-flops are great too, especially around the pool area!

6.     What to wear on a desert tour in Morocco

Even if you are only spending one night on the desert you want to make sure you are comfortable. Bring a backpack where you can pack extra layers in case you get chilly at night. Loose fitting pants are the most comfortable while you sit on a dromedary for hours. A headscarf to protect you from the strong sun (plus sunscreen of course) and sunglasses are a must! You can wear flip-flops to protect your feet from hot sand, but they are uncomfortable to walk in the desert. Ankle-high shoes, like Convers, are better for walking and they will keep the sand from getting inside.

We hope this guide helped you decide what to pack for Morocco on your next trip.  Remember to wear whatever makes you comfortable. If you are a woman who is more modest, bring clothes that are less revealing. It doesn’t mean you need to be covered from head to toe. Instead of a short dress simply wear a maxi dress with a scarf over your shoulders. Some western women traveling to Morocco, in order to blend in with the local Moroccan women, wear a scarf on their head. You absolutely don’t need to do this, but it can be fun and fashionable.

Remember to save a bit of space in your suitcase to bring some souvenirs home with you. Morocco is known for high quality art and handcrafts.

Have a great time on your holidays in Morocco!

To all the ladies out there, don’t be afraid to travel to Morocco. It’s a wonderful place and you can safely wear your favorite shorts and dresses. If you’re traveling alone, just use the same common sense you would in any other country. I hope this post helps you all!