GlobeTrotter Alpha

I am happy to introduce a new series of videos on the channel called “Ambience by Alpha”.

I have wanted to make these videos for a while as I myself am a big fan of the style and watch similar videos on various YouTube channels. They focus on one thing…ambience.


This new series is an addition to the travel videos series on the channel, which shall continue as there are LOTS of places which I am planning on visiting and filming once the Pandemic is behind us.


The good thing about this new video series is that they are much easier to put together compared to a comprehensive travel video which may feature hundreds of individual clips that need to be edited and woven into one video. Therefore, I can release more of them faster.


The ‘‘Ambiance by Alpha’ series is best suited to be used as an aid for relaxation, stress relief, meditation, study, sleep or to convey a certain atmosphere that you desire.


Entertaining clients or guests at work or your place of business? Play these videos in the background on a screen (a BIG one in the main lobby 😊) to put them at ease or any other mood that you think that these videos might help in achieving. Want to chill at home or play a video in the background during a Skype or Zoom video call? This video series might just do the trick.


The first video of this series is called 'Sea Cave'. It features 90 minutes of uninterrupted/non-looped visuals and sounds of a natural sea cave on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The cave is home to several bird species. Specifically, this is the 'Blue Cave', found in Dor HaBonim Beach Nature Reserve, on Israel's most scenic coastal stretch.


I hope that you enjoy this new video series addition to the channel, as much as I enjoy making them.

3 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 12

GlobeTrotter Alpha

In December of 2011, I have visited Paris France for a week. It was a great time to visit. It wasn't too cold (I'm from Canada ;-)) and the city was all lit up for the Christmas season, in addition to the lovely Christmas markets all over the place. The streets were full of people enjoying the festive season, as well as shoppers, who were filling the low to high-end stores, emptying the shelves.

Back then, I did not plan the trip to be solely focused on filming the city. It was, in fact, a combination of a vacation and a filming work trip. All in all, I believe that I have spent a total of 3 full days filming, out of the 7 days that I was there. If I were to film Paris today, I would have built an itinerary focused on a working trip, and flown in for 10 full days of filming (plus a few days of vacation in between filming days for some rest). That travel video would probably be over 2 hours long, covering way more areas of the city, as opposed to this one, which still covered the main spots and clocks at 50 minutes.

Central Paris's footprint isn't very large, which enabled me to walk to various locations with ease. In addition, with its great metro system, it was easy for me to travel quickly between locations. This was a big bonus, which made filming the city and providing the viewer with a more expansive view of its popular areas, much easier.

Recently re-watching this video, it is interesting to see how many of the spots are still the same, even after 9 years have passed. If we forget about the Pandemic for a second, the major differences would be the technology (phones, cars etc...), new buildings, businesses that have since closed/opened, etc...The people and the historic sites still look the same.

One major difference between this video and the various, similarly styled, travel videos filmed today, is the camera technology. I have used the Sony Nex-VG10 camcorder for the walking shots and the Sony HDR-AX2000 for most tripod/static shots. 4K was not readily available yet for the prosumer/consumer market (if it was, it cost a fortune). Electronically / gyro stabilizers were still unheard of as well. I have had the Sony Nex-VG10 mounted on a counter-weight stabilizer which was awkward to walk with. Even that was a novel idea at the time, which attracted lots of attention from bystanders. Nevertheless, I do not recall any real issues while filming the city.

The trip turned out to be a really fun one. Paris is an amazing city to visit, a city that I would love to re-visit again in the near future (once travel is permitted again). Luckily for us viewers, there are travel video creators who are providing us with excellent footage (and up to date camera tech) of the city. It has never been easier to experience Paris from afar.

This Paris travel video was the video that really put the GlobeTrotter Alpha channel on the map. It was one of the first travel videos of this style to try and capture the city as it was and to provide the viewer with a more realistic feel of the city. Regarding this channel, It was the first travel video that crossed the one million views mark and had substantially increased the subscriber numbers. Even today, it is still doing quite well, almost 9 years since being uploaded.

Here's to many more years of continued viewing and success! Travel videos age like fine wine. Over time, they transform from travel videos, documented a location as it is, into time machines, documenting locations as they were. A viewing of this video, another 9 years down the road, might show Paris in a far more 'retro' light, than a viewing of this video does at the moment.

For those of you who have watched the video, what have you noticed that has changed/stayed the same since?

3 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 14

GlobeTrotter Alpha

One of the reasons that I have decided to start using the 'Community' tab is for various recommendations that I have.

As a creator of travel videos, I love to check out other people's creations, seeing (and learning) how they decide to capture a location. The world is a big place and one could spend several lifetimes exploring it.

Luckily, there are enough travel video creators on this platform to show us, the viewers, places that we never would never have about, or have not been able to visit, for a variety of reasons. A person may view two different videos of the exact same location, but at different times/eras, and walk away with a different viewing experience. Many times have I found myself discovering new spots that I have missed while visiting those places myself.

I have yet to visit is Central / South America. There are several YouTube travel video creators who have made many videos of locations found in this region of the world.

One of these YouTube travel video channels is 'Wanna Walk'. You may find their YouTube channel link below:
youtube.com/c/WannaWalk

I would describe the style of these travel videos as giving the viewer a realistic perspective of the locations being filmed, in addition to informative pop-up/closed caption information. The channel has travel video locations covering New York, London, Madrid, Marrakech, and more.

Personally, the videos that I have found the most fascinating are those shot in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and other South American locations, probably because I knew little of day to day life in these locations and because my previous ideas about these spots were heavily influenced by what I have read and seen on the news, TV shows and films.

'Wanna Walk' has given me a realistic glimpse of normality and what daily life looks like. I thank this channel for that.

Therefore, I am happy to recommend 'Wanna Walk' as an excellent YouTube travel channel to explore and subscribe to.

I have attached a link to one of the channel's most popular videos.

3 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 7

GlobeTrotter Alpha

In this past crazy year, not being able to travel has been a small sacrifice compared to the many hardships people have faced across the globe.

Now that this BAD year is coming to an end, I hope that 2021 shall be the year where things improve dramatically, a year in which leisure travel makes a strong comeback. The list of places to travel to and capture through the lens is long. Let 2021 be the year to make that list shorter!

To those of your who celebrate, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year to all of you!

3 years ago | [YT] | 58

GlobeTrotter Alpha

In February 2017, After a LONG day of travel, which included flying from Calgary-Vancouver-Hong Kong, I arrived at my hotel room.
I woke up at dawn the next morning, opened the window curtains, and this was the view that greeted me (Tai Kok Tsui area in Kowloon).

To me, this photo perfectly captures the ambience of Hong Kong, with its tightly packed 'thin' residential skyscrapers. This was my 3rd visit to Hong Kong, after being away for 11 years. Seeing this view got me excited and invigorated towards my first day of shooting the Hong Kong travel video. This was the first scene shot during the day for the travel video.

A short time later, I hailed a taxi, which took me to Victoria Peak's 'Lions Pavillion' for a beautiful early morning skyline view of Hong Kong. Since it was still early, I had the spot to myself, giving me precious time to set up the camera and capture the scene and the natural sounds. It was a perfect start to my 11-day film shoot of 'Asia's World City'.


This footage may be seen in the Hong Kong travel tour video:
https://youtu.be/FlSUQFTRfAw?t=53

3 years ago | [YT] | 53

GlobeTrotter Alpha

Hello to all GlobeTrotter Alpha channel subscribers, fans, and random visitors.

This is my first community tab post. I have thought about using the community tab for a while but wasn't quite sure why/for what reason. I have finally decided to take the plunge and will post random stuff about the channel, behind the scenes content/stories, recommendations, and whatever else that I can think of.

Today was definitely a milestone day for the channel since one of the channel videos has been viewed over 20 million times!!! I am amazed that a video that I have created managed to reach such an incredible number of views.

Let me take this moment to humbly THANK ALL OF YOU who have watched the Manhattan/New York City video and have made it one of the most popular YouTube videos about that wonderful city.

It is hard to believe that it's been just over 5 years since I have filmed the Manhattan travel tour video (October 2015). I was in the city for 15 days. 12 of those days were filming days, from early morning to late at night. Due to my job back home (Calgary AB, Canada), I had to split the trip in two (9 days and 6 days). I have been to New York before so I was familiar with the city, not to mention the months of planning the film shoot prior to even stepping foot there. It was quite exhausting to wander all over Manhattan and try to capture as much footage as possible. There were lots of great moments as well as disappointments. Like every film shoot, not everything goes as expected and that requires adapting to certain situations. I shall elaborate on some more in future posts. All in all, it was a very rewarding and positive experience. The success of the video has made the creation process much more gratifying.

The city has changed quite a bit since the travel video was shot. There are new buildings, new districts (Hudson Yards was still being built during filming), and new rules on socializing due to Covid, etc...

I do hope that once the pandemic is under control and life tries to return to normal, the New York 'vibe' will return. There is something special about visiting New York City, roaming its streets, and taking in the fact that you are in one of the most vibrant, exciting, and coolest cities in the world. I do miss New York City very much and cannot wait to visit there again. I hope that the travel tour video does the city justice and reminds people of what the city was like and how it can be during normal times.

In light of this amazing milestone, I have put together a cinematic style promo, showcasing Manhattan/New York City. The footage seen is a combination of actual footage of the original travel video + stock footage. All of the places seen in the cinematic promo are covered in the realistic travel tour video.

Here is the link to the promo, which has just been released on the channel:
youtube.com/watch?v=jVheK...

Here is a link to the Manhattan travel video at the end of the promo, here it is:
youtube.com/watch?v=FjU_x...

Thanks again for following the channel and stay tuned for future content and posts here.

'GlobeTrotter Alpha'

3 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 48