A review from rv.net:
I am not a new observer of this board, but I am posting for the first time. I am not going to
identify myself because I will be sharing thoughts with you that are not flattering to my
industry and I would still like to be working for a few more years.
I contacted Kevin (tahoenow) a while back because I am in the television industry and I was
interested in the Mexico project he was doing with his wife Jeanne. I have produced travel
programs for the Discovery/Travel channels among others but never from the point of view
of an RV enthusiast. I love Mexico and going there in an RV interests me a great deal.
Because of our shared backgrounds in the television industry, Kevin has sent me a
pre-release copy of his program "RVing in Mexico". Because of his and Jeanne's
backgrounds in the business, I was confident this would not be one of those Mom and Pop
shaky camcorder nightmares our friends are always subjecting us to. On the other hand,
they were doing the project by themselves and I would typically have a four person crew
getting the material on tape and then numerous others involved in post production so I
wasn't sure they had all the talents required to put out a quality product on their own. Point
of fact, the way they have done the project is the only way it could be done. The
conventional way of putting a program together with fifteen or more people involved would
be cost prohibitive for a niche product like this one.
Travel programs fall into two categories. Most are shot by a camera crew in as short a
period of time as is possible and the footage is then edited and assembled into some kind
of a story or context by other people who were not there. Then the narration is done by a
familiar voice who knows nothing about the place he is describing. You have seen many of
these programs ("Top Ten Beaches", countless Las Vegas and Hawaii programs, etc.)
The other format is far more satisfying but not often produced because of the time, cost
and the commitment to the material that is required. The Rick Steves programs are in this
category and feature people who were actually on the trip and care about the subject. Kevin
and Jeanne's two hour program is in this category and is one of the best I have seen.
Everything from the camera work to the editing, pacing, narration and even the music are
outstanding. They took the time to secure music rights from the likes of guitarist
extraordinaire Adrian Legg for their project and the combination of music and visuals is a
real treat.
One of the things I admire most about "RVing in Mexico" is that they did not set out to make
a television program which would require the manic, overly fast-paced cutting that the ADHD
network execs favor. They would also have had to minimize the content that is of interest
only to RVers in order to please a mass audience. (Even RV.NET shows up in the video.)
Instead the program profiles the campgrounds and savors the destinations while at the
same time moving down the road in a way that ends all too soon. This is one of the fastest
two hours you will spend watching television. Highly recommended.