Nadir, a film-maker, documenting and sharing his travel escapades around the world on his YouTube channel, Nadir On The Go, shares his insights for aspiring travel vloggers.
What inspired you to start travelling and documenting it?
I am just a normal guy who happens to be passionate about meeting new people, going to foreign places, and learning about their history and culture. I don’t think any singular event inspired me to travel. My earliest and some of my most cherished childhood memories are of traveling with my family in Bangladesh and South Asia. Traveling the world has been my dream since I was in elementary school, and I grew up planning for a future that would provide me that opportunity. My love for filmmaking is actually something that I accidentally discovered 5 years ago, when I was editing some action-camera footage from a Mexico trip, just for fun. Thankfully, I’ve never stopped doing it since.
What would you say is your favourite place among all the various destinations you’ve travelled to?
I don’t have one favorite place the same way most of us don’t have one favorite song. The different places I love are special for different reasons. In terms of nature and travel experiences, I would say Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey are my 3 favorite countries. In terms of where I had the most fun, and where I would love to go back and spend a longer time, Serbia, Sweden and the Netherlands would be near the top of the list.
Your video on 48 visa-free countries with a Bangladeshi passport went viral – have you faced any particular challenges with a Bangladeshi passport? How did you overcome them?
I usually go through additional security checks and longer immigration interviews than my foreign friends because I am a Bangladeshi citizen. Visa applications are also a lot more tedious. But, simply doing prior research on the internet on what documentation is required and being prepared is enough to get past those hurdles 99% of the time. It’s not as complicated as most people make it out to be if you follow embassy guidelines.
VISA APPLICATIONS CAN BE TEDIOUS, BUT, SIMPLY RESEARCHING ON THE INTERNET ON THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION IS ENOUGH TO GET PAST THOSE HURDLES 99% OF THE TIME.
As a travel vlogger, the quality of the video and image content you generate is of an exceptionally high calibre. What kind of equipment and gadgets do you use to facilitate your content creation?
At the moment, I am using a Canon 80D + Zhiyun Weebill S gimbal, and a DJI Mini 2 for the purely cinematic videos, and for action-shots, I’m using a GoPro Hero 7. For vertical videos, and for filming on the go, I’m using a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. But, over the last 5 years, I have used at least 15 devices, including smartphones, GoPros, GoPro knockoffs and 3 different drones.
Lastly, do you have any words of advice for the aspiring travel filmmakers out there?
If your goal is to become a freelance artist, invest your resources into learning how you can market your skills. If your goal is to make it in the social media space, make sure you are not copying your favorite artists too much, and are doing something novel and unique. Either way, make sure you love what you are doing as an art. Travel filmmaking at the moment is a competitive and saturated market. If money or fame are the factors motivating someone, they might easily get disheartened.
If you could recommend a piece of equipment that is a must-have, what would it be?
A good computer is the most important device a filmmaker/editor needs. Modern smartphone cameras have made unbelievable progress since I first started filming, and at this point, I could shoot professionally on my S21 Ultra. But, remember, all the magic happens in the edit and you don’t want render time to limit your work.
Facebook : nadironthego
Instagram : nadironthego
Youtube : NadirOnTheGoBangla
Photographs: Courtesy of Nadir