What to include in a video for advert?

[OliveOyl]

What do you like to see (or not see ) in a video to accompany a For sale advert?
And how long would you want it? I'm thinking prob 5 mins max??

As a rough guide, it's to be for a 6yo relatively green dressage horse.

 

[BlueFire710]

Not sure for dressage so much but would definitely say some comp footage if he's been out. Makes all the difference to me with showjumpers. Also, good evidence of all three paces showing him in his typical way of going.
Am sure though that dressage people will be more helpful!

Agree with you about length!

 

[Farma]

I would like to see the walk, trot and canter and the transitions, alot of the time videos cut out the transitions, also a quiet rider with quiet hands on a young horse and not pulled in from the front most importantly.
It would be nice to see a 6yr old out and about a bit just moving forward in an open space or having some type of traffic go past and to see him acting sane with other goings on.

 

[jessamess]

showing person here

but maybe a shot of it being stood up and the camera walking all round it and stopping at it's legs ect so you can get a good '3d' idea of confo

and also a walk away and trot back type thing inhand

+ the usual walk, trot and canter and all in one shot not loads of different ones put together so you can see it's transitions ect

maybe it popping a small jump!!! and some comp footage

some people think it's handy just to show it walking onto a lorry ect but don't see it hugely necessary for a comp horse, maybe for a PC pony or family pony ect

xxx

 

[Grey_Eventer]

This is a friends video advert for a horse, albeit an eventer but gives you an idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh2ujkcn418&list=UUIT_n-9ZTjIwwG4U1dXuKqg&index=13&feature=plcp

I think it includes everything you need

ps. not advertising as horse is sold!

 

[be positive]

I would keep it shorter than 5 mins, unless you include part of a test, it can get rather tedious when looking having to wait for ages to see the canter for example or you skip some of it and find you have missed an important bit.
Show the horse in hand, stood up then walk and trot, do some walk and trot on a long rein then walk, trot and canter work, show the transitions and some simple movements that will show your horse at its best without trying to do anything he is not ready for. A relaxed walk at the end looks good, if he moves well and has potential the right buyer will recognise that with an uncomplicated video.
No music, it is very distracting and unnecessary, I always turn it off.

 

[Gamebird]

I usually show me mounting as well, preferably with the reins on the horse's neck, and then faff with putting my feet in stirrups, checking girth etc. before the horse moves off just to show manners. I usually sell greenish horses though so wouldn't bother if it had some competition experience etc. 3-4mins ideally. Allow plenty of time to video. It's amazing how difficult it is to get everything perfect in one continuous shot!

If you're putting the vid on youtube go through any other vids of the horse and remove or make private any which aren't brilliant (not necessarily horse being naughty, just less than 100% perfect). People WILL look

 

[millitiger]

I think 5 mins is quite a lot for an initial video.

I would say 2-3 mins is plenty as most people just want to see w/t/c and a few jumps usually.

You can always do another video with the hacking/open field/ around the yard stuff and say it is available but there is nothing worse than a horse being trotted up for 40 seconds or walking around a field on a long rein for a minute when you just want to see what it looks like over a fence

 

[hcm88]

5 minutes too long, keep it short and to the point. 2-3 mins max. You want to show w,t,c (plus the transitions) on both reins including 20m circles in both trot and canter. If it jumps, pop it over a jump or two depending on what you're advertising it as. It totally depends on what else you put in as to what you've advertised it as, e.g if it's at a certain level then prove it is by demonstrating lateral work. And etc for everything else but don't go overboard.

Videos are basically just so you can get a good look at the way the horse moves, you don't want to go mad - as long as you've got the basics then people can take it from there, the details can be shown at a viewing.

 

[BombayMix]

I think 2/3 minutes is about the right length.

My MASSIVE bug bear of for sale ads is when a horse is "snaffle mouthed" not sure schooling in a 3 ring "snaffle" counts!

 

[OliveOyl]

Thanks everyone, there are lots of ideas to include things here that I hadn't thought of!

 

[seabsicuit2]

A quick walk trot and canter at the beginning- the flashiest bits to start of with, then the more detailed flaffy bits afterwards.

I get so bored waiting through hours of watching the horse being led up, stood there, walked on a long rein , etc etc etc before actually seeing it trot/canter/jump. Show something thats worth looking at right at the beginning to capture people's interest! Almost like a quick 10 second 'movie trailer' at the start to encourage you to watch the rest of the film

 

[Puppy]

Another vote for no music, it drives me mad.

 

[starryeyed]

I saw an advert with a really good video on it a couple of months ago, i was really impressed with it and it's stuck in my head! It initially showed it being ridden (short clips on each rein of walk, trot, canter, transitions with a couple of jumps), and then went on to handling, being on the road etc. It really gave you an idea of what the horse was really like to be around, I wish more videos were like that! They showed footage of it being groomed, washed, led, ridden on the road (these ones are great!), doing a bit of xc, a bit of competition footage - it was really good. I agree that a 360 bit of footage would be good so that people could get a proper idea of the conformation etc. Something that I really don't like in adverts is really long clips of things though - for example, a whole dressage test, i prefer to see sections of several tests rather than the whole thing start to finish. Sure others will disagree though!