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How to create enticing real estate videography.
A high-quality snippet of footage can capture the imagination of a home buyer. Learn to create real estate videos to broaden your filmmaking skillset.
What is real estate videography?
- Real estate videography is filmed documentation of a house that helps sell it.
- Realtors, as well as freelance filmmakers looking for a side gig to add to their existing services, can benefit from learning to create real estate videos.
- Editing footage well is essential to making a great real estate video and selling a property.
Real estate videos help sell property.
Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions someone can make in their lifetime. The process is exciting, but it’s also filled with uncertainty for potential buyers. This is where real estate videography and real estate marketing come in. Real estate videographer Brandon Emerson defines it well: “Real estate videography is transporting the viewer into the home and making them familiar and comfortable with how it’s laid out.”
Whether you’re a realtor selling a home or a videographer trying to market your video services to realtors, the principles of real estate photography and videography are valuable skillsets to learn. If you’re a realtor, knowing how to do this yourself can save you quite a bit of money. If you’re a freelance videographer, knowing how to create real estate video gives you a marketable skill you can sell to property owners or realtors.
Is real estate videography profitable?
Many people just starting out wonder if there is a market for real estate videography. The answer is yes — profitability will depend on your ability to edit videos yourself rather than hiring out. Virtual tours became much more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, and because of this, people are beginning to expect them. “Realtors are way more into it than they were two years ago. The pandemic forced a shift in the industry,” says Emerson.
3D tours help buyers decide.
In addition to traditional video tours of homes, 360-degree views of home interiors are becoming more popular as many home buyers shop for homes online. Here, the focus is on traditional filmmaking, but virtual reality experiences (VR) and immersive photography are worth looking into as well.
Regardless of whether you’re a real estate agent, a freelance videographer, or just someone trying to learn a new filmmaking skill — you can get started with home walk-through videos and other ways of filming real estate immediately.
Make your real estate video.
To make a good real estate video, you’ll need some equipment, a bit of technical knowledge, and video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro.
Gather your tools.
For a basic real estate videography setup, all you need is a camera to shoot with and a tripod. You can use a smartphone in a pinch, but a camera that’s designed for video usually results in a higher-quality video. A lens with variable focal length is good if you want to zoom, and if you’re trying to capture large rooms all at once, a wide-angle lens is helpful, too.
- A tripod or steadying device. To project stability and comfort with your video of the property, use a tripod. If you’d prefer to do a walk-through video, invest in something that stabilizes the camera as you move or a camera with built-in image stabilization. For smartphones, there are inexpensive gimbal (stabilizing device) options available so you can walk with the phone in hand. Learn more about stabilizing your camera while you move.
- A drone. For the exterior, you can also explore drone footage and aerial video, if you have the budget. Aerial footage can show off the entire property, like the roof and other areas that might be hard to get to on foot. If you’re not familiar with drones, many drone pilots are available to capture aerial footage for reasonable prices.
- Your body. The final tool is your own body. You’ll need to practice your “ninja walk,” as photographer Walker Esner calls it. “Walk very slowly when filming, and try to keep your head from moving to keep the video looking stable,” says Esner.
Shoot the video.
When it comes time to shoot the video itself, the whole process will go more smoothly if you cover three main bases.
1. Planning.
Before you start filming the video, you want to have a plan for the path you’re going to walk or how you imagine the video will be edited together. This ensures your video shoot goes smoothly and the viewer gets a sense of the setup of the home. For example, many videos start by coming into the house through the front door, walking to the kitchen, and then checking out bathrooms on the way to a bedroom. You want to make sure you minimize repeat views of areas so the viewer has a clear idea of where everything is.
2. Lighting
More than any other component, making sure you have good lighting on the day of the shoot is critical. That can make the difference between a house looking dank and gloomy or bright and welcoming. Having some prop lights or lamps available to brighten up a room is a must.
3. Staging.
Finally, depending on your time frame and the type of property being sold, having the property staged with things like tables, chairs, and beds can help potential buyers have a sense of what the home looks like when it’s “lived in.”
Read up on types of film shots.
It doesn’t hurt to have knowledge of different shot types as well. More advanced techniques like wide shots can level up your real estate videos without requiring a ton of extra work. “I start super wide,” says Esner. “It's usually an aerial shot, slowly moving in from the edge of the property. Then I’ll use a few tighter exterior shots of the house and finally a return to wide — it keeps it interesting.”
Edit your video into a professional package.
Once you’ve completed filming your video, you’ll need to edit it yourself to ensure it’s presentable before you upload it to YouTube or your real estate listing.
When you’re editing your video, here are a few principles to keep in mind.
1. Be brief.
Make sure that the video is snappy and not too long. Most people judge whether or not a home is interesting to them pretty quickly, so you want your video to highlight the features of the home fast.
2. Learn to use transitions.
In Adobe Premiere Pro you can add transitions to smoothly move between two different shots, so your viewer feels that they’re walking smoothly through the property.
3. Add voiceover.
If you have a voiceover, make sure it syncs with the imagery of the property to keep viewers from getting confused.
4. Add text.
Easily overlay text to add titles to your video. Highlight information like property details, features, and pricing.
Once you’re done, you should have a high-quality video ready to share with prospective buyers. Don’t worry about making mistakes — practice makes perfect. And if you’re in the real estate business, you’ll have a lot of chances to practice.
To get started with video work, explore more articles covering film techniques or learn more about what Premiere Pro can do.
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