How We Made a Cinematic Paris Travel Film — Without Setting Foot in Paris

When you picture a travel film, you probably imagine boarding a flight with a camera strapped to your side, ready to capture every moment. But what if you could create a cinematic journey without ever leaving your desk?

That’s exactly what we did with our Paris short film. Using stock footage and licensed music, we pieced together a visual love letter to the City of Light — proof that storytelling doesn’t always require being on location.

Here’s how we brought it to life (and how you can too).

The Tools Behind the Film

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To build this film, we leaned on a few essential tools every filmmaker should know:

• 🎬 Editing Software: Adobe Premiere Pro

• 🎧 Music & Sound: Artlist – Unlimited music & SFX

• 📹 Cinematic Stock Footage: Artlist Footage Library

• 🎨 Color Grading: Cinematic LUTs – Free & Premium options

Step 1: Crafting the Story

Even when working with stock clips, we never skip the storyboarding stage. Our narrative followed a simple arc:

✨ Arrival → Discovery → Romance of the City → Nightfall by the Seine.

Having this roadmap meant every cut felt intentional, guiding the viewer through a seamless journey.

Step 2: Curating the Right Footage

Stock footage only works if it feels cohesive. We spent hours curating clips from Artlist’s stock video library — and focused on a balance of scale and detail:

• Wide establishing shots of the Eiffel Tower.

• Close-ups of Parisian cafés, streets, and daily life.

• Drone shots over the Seine and Montmartre.

👉 Pro Tip: Download more clips than you think you’ll need. The edit is where the real selection happens.

Step 3: Editing the Film in Premiere Pro

Our editing process in Adobe Premiere Pro looked like this:

• Rough Cut: Arrange clips to match the story arc.

• Music First: We locked in the soundtrack before fine-tuning visuals. Pacing flows best when the music leads.

• Transitions: Mostly simple cross-dissolves with a few subtle speed ramps for cinematic flair.

Step 4: Adding Sound Design

Paris isn’t just about what you see — it’s what you hear. Along with the music, we layered subtle sound effects from Artlist’s SFX library:

• Café chatter in the background.

• Footsteps on cobblestones.

• City ambience drifting underneath the visuals.

These details gave the film depth and immersion, making it feel like you’re really walking through Paris.

Step 5: Color Grading for Mood

Finally, we gave the film its dreamy Parisian palette. Using LUTs, we aimed for golden-hour warmth with soft shadows and glowing highlights.

🎨 Want the same look? Try these cinematic LUT packs.

What This Taught Us

• You don’t need to travel everywhere to tell a story.

• Stock footage and music give filmmakers a sandbox to practice, experiment, and expand their portfolio.

• The key is story first — visuals and sound are tools to serve that story.

Resources for Filmmakers

Here are the exact tools we used to bring the Paris film to life:

• 🎬 Adobe Premiere Pro – Free Trial

• 🎧 Artlist: Unlimited Music + SFX

• 📹 Artlist Stock Footage Library

• 🎨 Cinematic LUTs