Supercar Reviews, tips?

[AlpineF1]

Hello

I think last month i started a Youtube account called The458Scuderia, in the hope one day i will one day become established in the automotive industry. I got in contact with a man who works at Ferrari to go and film at Ferrari Nottingham and i quote from the email "Once your video production values match the exclusivity of the Ferrari brand we hope we can let you film in the dealership" something along those lines. Can somebody help me with my videos to make them good enough, i will link my latest video here:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAlBuHpcZs8[/youtube]

[mx_tifoso]

Take a video production class?

Good luck on your venture!

[AlpineF1]

Yeah, thanks i'll look around for one of them, i reviewed the Bentley Continental GT Mulliner today, that was by far better than the rest of my videos I'll see if i can upload it tonight but it is highly unlikely.

[Richard]

There's nothing to beat formal training. You're in the UK so I'd suggest local adult education centre, they'll run evening classes where you'll find a bunch of people trying to figure out how to make films. Also join a local photography club.

Look out for car rallies near you. Then you'll have loads of cars for practice with people who will have a common interest with you. Car rally people will open doors, show you the engine, they'll start it up to let you hear the exhaust. All you need to do is show an interest in their car, ask when it was made, how many miles, what size engine/gearbox, what's the maintenance like, is that the orginal colour etc. After a couple of questions, you'll find one that hooks the owner and before you know it they'll be showing off their pride and joy for you. It's a bit tricky on your own the first time so it might be best to take another car geek to help you. if you are young then take someone older to give creditability.

[AlpineF1]

Yes, that's the plan, my Bentley review which is now been uploaded was done at an independent dealership, i find i get more luck there as they seem to all have an interest in cars, whereas when i visited Lamborghini/Bentley Birmingham the personality of the people there was comparable to a cabbage. Anyway i have researched away at improving my videos production values and i now believe its acceptable quality for me to be allowed into Ferrari. The key was given to me and i was set free with the car, definitely what i wanted and hopefully now when i reference my videos to any other car dealer they will know i can be trusted to do the same at there garage. So from this video onwards i can sculpt my videos into what i envisioned when i set out to do them back in late January.
I take pride in the fact that unlike Motortrend and other car channels i don't focus on track action and that unrealistic stuff its more like a bio of the car in a video format.

[mx_tifoso]

For something like a Ferrari you should be providing excellent quality in all sense of the word, and unless you're entirely pleased with your work don't do it. If I were you, I wouldn't accept the Ferrari account just yet.

And as Richard said, somewhere in your community there must be some sort of video/editing courses that you can take in order to make your work look professional. I'm currently taking a podcasting class and it's opened my eyes to the world of interviewing, recording procedures, and editing, which I'm sure would benefit someone that's standing in your shoes.

Although you didn't ask for this type of feedback, I would still like to point out that you should resort to using proper grammar and English in all of your work since it would be a better reflection of your work. If someone reads your work and it looks like it was done by an uneducated hooligan, you might not be in the radar of prestigious opportunities that might have otherwise been yours to grab a hold of. It's all in the presentation, if you are going to be reviewing Ferrari's and Bentley s, raise yourself to that level of excellence and professionalism.

And you mentioned the unrealism of track reviews by Motortrend, what could be more realistic than that when reviewing cars like a 458? Cars in motion present themselves in their natural habitat, which is something that mustn't be forgotten.

[AlpineF1]

Yes I will take all your advice into consideration, the video above is not one of my full reviews, I recommend watching this one to get an idea of what my reviews are all about.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAMJxS7h-TE[/youtube]

[mx_tifoso]

It's a good start, especially for your age!

And btw, what's your target audience for your car reviews? It's something that you really have to consider, think about it as a business and how you should meet someone's needs/wants in order to fulfill that void in the market. Or even if there is already a lot of competition out there (which in your case there is) the market might still have a place for you and with the right "product" you can fit right in and even get to the point where you're excelling and gaining territory. It all depends on what your goals are.

[Hail22]

Looks like you have the basic ingredients to make something great, as MX_tifoso has stated have you managed to find a niche that interests you? (As in Y Generation to X) or perhaps targeted at a certain demographic? (E.G densely populated cities with congested roads such as London/New York or medium to low populations situated in the outskirts of major cities?

[mx_tifoso]

And if you could acquire some sort of agreement with nearby dealerships to review their recently arrived new or special models it might be an advantage to you. Even if it's just an M version of a BMW or whatnot, but they might appreciate the extra attention that their business receives from you.

[AlpineF1]

Thank you both!
I aim to appeal to as many people as possible as people want different things, whether it be an engine start up or just finding the fuel cap release. So I think the target group can change depending on what car I'm doing, for example a lot more people want to hear a Bentley or Ferrari start up as opposed to something like a Kia or Vauxhall.
The majority of my reviews will now be done at esp cars as they now trust me enough to give me the keys, I can now reference other dealers to these videos so I will be working on my videos to make them better still.

[Richard]

And if you could acquire some sort of agreement with nearby dealerships to review their recently arrived new or special models it might be an advantage to you. Even if it's just an M version of a BMW or whatnot, but they might appreciate the extra attention that their business receives from you.

That’s a good idea, I could see potential for a dealer having a video blog. It would include a talking head of their sales or technical staff to highlight their expertise.

The hitch is that main dealers will be tied to corporate PR and not have the freedom to do that sort of thing. Your most likely option is to find a specialist independent who wants to establish credibility for being knowledgeable about their stock. If you walk in off the street they’ll want to see high production values along with equipment that you probably can’t afford.

If however you contact them via the local college for a student project they’re likely to be more willing because it’s only a student project as opposed to a formal marketing proposition. If they’re savvy they’ll get a splash in the local paper for “dealer supports local students”. You’ll also have access to college equipment and have advice from college tutors & fellow students. They’ll help you develop the pitch before you approach the dealer, the storyboard for setting up the shoot, the questions for the talking head interview, the edit suite for a slick end product. After you’ve done all that you can see if they like it. If they do you can suggest they host it on their website if they like. If they do that then you can suggest doing a few more for them.

It’s a long play strategy, you’ll need to get on a college course then realise how much there is to do to set this up to be attractive to a business – it’s an exciting challenge! In the meantime build your knowledge of cars and network of contacts by going to car rallies/clubs. Get feedback from car people on the content, and also people who don’t know about cars. Look at popular video blogs and write down the structure so you can work out the storyboard, you’ll find they follow a format that works for a good reason for their target audience. Understanding that will help you figure out your own particular style for the needs of your own target audience.

[enckboaz]

great idea and great job.
i give u my suggestion:
i like your voice tone and your love for the cars, but i think u have to speak louder.
camera movement: i like the way you bring the camera on every single part of the car but i find it's too much: every now and the you have to zoom out, let us watch the whole car.

i'm not an expert, but i think you're very talented for your age.

[AlpineF1]

Sorry for the late reply's everybody.
Thanks enckboaz your support means alot to me i will take your advice onboard, yes my camerawork isn't up to the standard i want yet, but hopefully i will be better with that in future videos to come.
And yes thanks for the excellent advice both of you, and yes i will certainly use that method the dealer i have gone to is an independent dealership that's literally 2.0 miles away from me so i will definitely be pursuing some sort of partnership with them. I'm actually very lucky in that respect because they are one of the largest independent dealerships in the UK with over 350 cars in there garage. I'm pondering which car to review next could anyone help me.?
2 Fords, either a Ford Escort 2.0 RS Cosworth, or the newer Ford Focus RS.

Tough decision

[mx_tifoso]

I would pick the new RS as it seems that your theme is modern high performance cars, and the Escort has been reviewed a plenty and it has received as much attention as it can possibly get by now.

And a review of a Focus RS might lead to someone who didn't previously know about this car to consider it as a new purchase. You're giving exposure to a model that is currently in production and will actually have an impact on sales, which is ultimately what the dealers care about the most. If you can help them with that, then you're a key asset in their portfolio of marketing strategies.