Posted by Shawn Friesen | Vice President of RVT.com on Oct 12, 2009
In the middle of a grassy New Mexico plain a wall of rock rises into the sky. Runoff from the cliff pools at its base, a rare, reliable water source in the midst of a desolate landscape. For centuries weary travelers have stopped here to fill their canteens and water barrels, refresh their horses and oxen, and rest for a spell before trekking onward. In the soft rock of these cliffs they have left their marks. Names, dates, cavalry units, a rough sketch of a cross-topped church, a flowery signature in old fashioned script — historical graffiti that tells a story of the travelers who passed over these plains.
The site of these historic inscriptions is El Morro National Monument near Ramah, New Mexico. It’s a fascinating destination for an RV tour of the Southwest. If you look carefully, you can find prehistoric American Indian petroglyphs carved into the rock. Spanish provincial governor Don Juan de Onate left his mark in 1605. Conquistador Don Diego de Vargas who led the Spanish charge against the Pueblo Indians passed this way in 1692. Pioneers, cavalry regiments, Union Pacific railroad workers, Civil War soldiers and others have carved their mark into the rock, leaving a rich and varied history of the American Southwest.
El Morro is now protected as a national monument site. If you visit, you won’t be able to leave a record of your own passing in the gray cliffs, but you’ll leave with a deeper sense of our country’s history.
Posted by Shawn Friesen | Vice President of RVT.com on Oct 09, 2009
Making a film of the interior of your RV to include in your online sales ad takes a little thought and preparation. (Make sure you read our last few posts on setting the stage and filming the exterior of your RV.) Unlike exterior filming where it’s OK to use a stop-action technique as you move around the outside of your RV, interior filming should be steady and continuous. You want to give the video viewer a sense of being there and walking through your RV at your side.
Walk slowly into and then through your RV room by room. As you enter each new room or area, take time to pan slowly around the room before zooming in on each specific feature. You want viewers to get an overall look at each room as well as close-up views of each feature. Have your assistant open closets, cupboards and storage areas and shine a handheld spotlight inside to clearly illuminate each feature while you film.
Avoid unattractive fanny shots of your assistant in action by always having your assistant face the camera. Remember, your RV, not your assistant, is the star of the show, so minimize your assistant’s screen time. Your assistant should stand behind the camera when possible. You needn’t show your assistant opening cupboards. It’s perfectly acceptable to show a disembodied hand opening drawers and cupboards.
Always end your RV video tour with a nice full-view exterior shot of your RV in all its glory.
Posted by Shawn Friesen | Vice President of RVT.com on Oct 07, 2009
You don’t have to be an expert filmmaker to create an effective video tour for your online RV sales ad, but a little preparation and practice (see our Oct. 5 post) will make your video more effective. Once you’ve set the stage and done your prep work, it’s time to film.
Choose a sunny day for filming. Park your RV in bright sun away from shadow-throwing trees and buildings. Pay attention to the background. You don’t want the camera to catch a messy garage, toy-strewn yard or grafitti-covered building in the background. Find an attractive place to film such as your driveway, an empty office complex, a church parking lot or a local park. Open slideouts and awnings. Turn on all interior lights. Have an assistant standing by to open doors, cupboards and drawers. Bring a handheld spotlight your assistant can aim to illuminate closets and provide extra light for filming.
Action! Using a measured gait, walk slowly around your RV, zooming in on important exterior features like awnings, hookups, A/C units, bike racks, generators, hitch, etc. You’ll want to show your RV streamlined for road travel as well as parked with slideouts, awnings, etc. fully extended. Be sure to step back so viewers get a good look at the entire RV from multiple angles. It’s OK to start and stop film while you walk to a new filming position or between close ups of major features. You just don’t want the film to appear chopped up.
Next time: Capturing the interior of your RV
Posted by Shawn Friesen | Vice President of RVT.com on Oct 05, 2009
Video tours are the hot new trend in online RV sales (see our 10/2 post), but a bad video won’t help sell your RV and can drive buyers away. Before filming, give a little thought to how you’re going to showcase your RV’s best features to potential buyers.
Make your RV a video standout; follow these tips from videographers:
Ready. Before you start filming, clean and polish your RV inside and out. Empty your RV of clutter, personal items and anything that will not be included in the sale of the vehicle. Make any repairs or improvements that will enhance the sale of your RV.
Set. Set the stage before you start filming. Place fresh flowers in the bathroom and set out pretty towels. Arrange a colorful bowl of fruit or vegetables on the kitchen counter. Add colorful, decorative pillows to the bed. Extend slideouts and awnings. Turn on all the lights and bring in extra lights if necessary. Good lighting is essential to showing off your RVs features to their best advantage.
Dress Rehearsal. Before you start filming, practice walking around and through your RV. Use a steady measured pace to minimize camera jiggling. Enlist an assistant to open doors, closets, drawers and cupboards as you film. If you plan to narrate your virtual tour, plan out what you’re going to say beforehand; keep it simple and practice. It might be easier to have your assistant do the talking so you can concentrate on filming.
Next time: Action!
Posted by Shawn Friesen | Vice President of RVT.com on Oct 02, 2009
The nation’s top realtors will tell you that the two most effective sales techniques are listing your home online to maximize exposure and including a video tour of your home with your online listing. Most buyers begin their search for a new home online, and online ads that provide the most information attract the greatest number of serious potential buyers. Selling your RV is no different. More than 80% of RV buyers begin their search for a new or used RV online. Providing potential buyers with a video virtual tour of your RV is the next best thing to walking through it in person.
Realtors know that videos sell homes, and at RVT.com we know that videos can sell RVs. A leader in innovative online sales techniques, RVT.com now makes it possible for you to provide a video tour of your RV in your online sales ad. As always, our aim is to give RV sellers every possible advantage when they list their RV for sale online at RVT.com.
RVT.com makes it easy to add a video tour of your RV to your ad.
1. Get a free membership at YouTube.com which allows you to upload videos to be viewed on their website.
2. Make a video starring your RV.
3. Upload your video to YouTube.
4. Copy the unique URL from your YouTube video.
5. Paste the link into your RVT.com ad.
RVT.com’s friendly sales staff can answer any questions and help guide you through the procedure.
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