We are looking forward to meeting you.
Here’s everything you need to know to make your recording successful.
But first…who are we? The Virtual Campground (TVC for short!) is a place for like-minded spirits to explore and find joy in all things RVing.
We RVers (and those dreaming of becoming a RVer!) are a special bunch. We’re willing to give up personal space for personal freedom. Our dreams consist of getting out to see the world, especially this great country of the USA. We dream of reaching new altitudes and latitudes. We firmly believe in the power of the campfire and the great outdoors!
We are your camp hosts – Debra and Barry Benton, full-timer entrepreneurs who kicked off their new nomad lifestyle in August of 2018.
Now, Let’s Get Ready For The Interview!
Week or More Prior
For promotional purposes please send as soon as possible:
- Please send us two or three pictures of yourself that are fairly close up with ratio so can be rectangular or square. Name these photos with your last name and upload them to the Google drive folder (see below) if possible. Otherwise, please email to Barry.
- Please send us a speaker bio if you have one or some basic info we can use for the introduction – though we admit, we often wing it and introduce you based on how we know you
- IF YOU ARE BEING INTERVIEWED FOR AN RV RENOVATION: Please upload four to five “before and after” photos of the renovation work you’ve done to your rig. Please name the files with your lastname and the area of renovation and “before” or “after.” For example: “Jones_Kitchen_Before.jpg” Make sure these are JPG or PNG format and are large enough for us to show during your interview. We will be showing the before/after photos as we talk. This is very important. If you do not understand this step, please email Barry. Please upload your photos to our Google Drive, if possible (see below).
- Let us know or any website/social media links you’d like promoted if you did not include that in the calendar information.
Google Drive for Photo Upload:
Upload your photos to our Google Drive here.
The Techie Stuff the Week Before the Show
At least the day before, please test Your Internet Connection Speeds!
Believe me, we know – one minute, things are blazing and the next thing, the internet speeds are in the tank.
Go to speedtest.net and run a speed test from where you think you’ll be doing the interview. We recommend at least 1.2mbps Upload speed and 1.5mbps Download speed. Go ahead…run the test…I’ll wait.
How’d it go?
If not so great, try getting closer to your WiFi router or connect directly to it via an ethernet cable, if possible.
If you have any questions or problems, email barry@thevirtualcampground.com
Let’s Make You Look Good!
Lighting and Laptop Position:
Please do what you can to have your face well-lit and your laptop a little higher than normal. You’ll want to avoid, if you can, looking down too far at your laptop. Close to eye level is great.
To improve the lighting, you can get creative and move lamps (etc.) to your area to ensure proper lighting. You can buy a cheap ring light if it real bad, but usually a combination of moving things works.
Note: Please don’t put the test off until last minute to find out. Test ASAP and let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Audio:
The sound is the most important part of the show. People will watch a grainy video but will turn something off if the audio isn’t right.
Earbuds or headphones with a mic in them work best. This helps avoid a potential echo.
Note: when using headphones with a mic, please ensure you are not bumping your headphone wire. This can cause insane static.
The Recording Link
Click HERE to connect to us at the designated time
If you would like, we can arrange an audio and video check the day before we go live. Please email Barry to arrange a time to schedule this test. Barry@thevirtualcampground.com
Tips we have learned the hard way!
- It will be your instinct to look down at the host while recording. Please try to look directly into your camera as much as possible. This makes for a great, professional recording.
- Something will go wrong. Don’t panic. If the problem is on our end, we will fix it immediately and move forward. If it’s on your end (your mic breaks, etc.), please correct or Barry will help you troubleshoot the issues.
- Please close all applications on your PC/Mac that you do not need for the interview. Please close all browser tabs that you do not need on your computer except for the Link in the previous screen.
- If you have any background processes like cloud backups, large file uploads/downloads, streaming services, etc. that can slow down your processor speed and cause a delay in the internet speed, please pause them! Sometimes, it’s best to reboot your PC/Mac to clean out any processes running in the background that you may not be aware of.
- If there are others in your household that will be using the internet during your interview, please ask them to hold off on any large file uploads/downloads, online gaming or other bandwidth robbing activities.
- Make certain you are as close as you can get to your internet router and/or are plugged directly into your router via Ethernet cable. The most frequent issue on our interviews is slow WiFi which will cause your screen to freeze.
- We have found that disconnecting all other devices (iPads, cell phones, other computers, etc.) from WiFi can help increase your internet connection speed.
- Turn off any loud background noises such as generators, A/C, heaters, fans, etc. Try to make your environment as quiet as possible.
- We will be recording this interview in a relaxed, conversational style. No worries if one of us messes up…we usually do…we’ll just reset and start over and it’ll be all good.
That’s It! Except…Let’s Have Some Fun
When Barry hits record, let’s bring the energy and enthusiasm and have some fun!
If you have any questions, please barry@thevirtualcampground.com.
We are looking forward to our chat!
