Good videos

Hi All--

I've looked at many real estate videos and most of them are not very impressive. Are there any videos here that are good, that would be worth studying to learn from?

Cheers,

Peter 

 Let's see some of yours to start:) Further, maybe you are missing the point of the short form web video concept, be we won't know until we see your work.

 Matti--

Well, I have one video but it's no better than anything I've seen here.  Here it is...don't laugh: 

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Perhaps I should rephrase my questions: Are there any above average real estate videos here on wellcomemat?

Sir...I'm just thinking...maybe try www.clinteastwood.com...www.spikelee.com or....but I'm just saying....I'm just here for the party....so show us the money...if you watch my vids then you should be able to learn what not to do...that's just me..thinking out loud..again

 Sorry about my previous post with all the code--I thought I could imbed the video. Anyway, here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slippy71/3898488564/in/pool-vfre

 OH, this is annoying--I can't go back to edit my posts? 

@Jt: We all spent some time in our lives watching movies, tv, etc, so in a way we all know (or think we know) what is good video.

To me, this is a really good example of well made real estate video: http://www.vimeo.com/groups/vfre/videos/5105752

 I think most of what you offer in this video could have been done in an ordinary slideshow created from still images. Real estate video tours for the most part (unless the agent is willing to pay for it) are not art projects but quick capture the video, and get out shoots. Agents have busy schedules and (again for the most part) are not willing to pay for elaborate artsy video, that will get removed as soon as it is sold.

Of course there will be selected properties that may warrant an elaborate video, but then these are shown on HGTV and not on YouTube.

Don't get me wrong agents want quality but at an affordable price, and for the price to be affordable there need to be some sacrifices made.

Peter...nice vid!!!! congrats....thanks for the link..I'm anixious to find out what the Pro's think...I hope all goes well with your learning....

 That is a cool video but I'm sure the cost to produce it was pretty HOT!

I'm sure many of us could produce a video like this on a Hollywood budget:)

 I 100% agree with Matti.  I have an agent with a $3.9 M listing, and he doesn't want to pay $1000 (and the video Peter shared is worth a lot more than $1000!).  When they are paying $100 for professional photography, they are absolutely NOT going to pay $2000 for a professional video tour.  These are not designed with TV in mind...

As I've said before, anybody wanting to appeal to the broad majority of the real estate market absolutely can NOT approach this as a filmmaker normally would.  If you do, you will be spending hours and hours on these projects and either charge too much and have no customers, or spend to much time on them and make $5 an hour.

Look at this from a marketing perspective, from the perspective of the real estate agent.  I've been a marketing administrative assistant in real estate, and when the agent is making $6,000 on a sale (3% on $200K listing), they are not going to pay more than a couple hundred $$$.

If you're targeting multi-million dollar listings, you can make it fancy, but the vast majority of homes on WellcomeMat are not multi-million dollar listings (though there are quite a few).  I've done primarily condos & starter homes, with only a handful of larger homes.  You're dreaming if you want to make a living at this doing only high end properties and charging thousands of dollars for it. (and I've worked on films and projects that are worth that much, but in real estate, that is not going to happen).

One more point on short clips being better: EVERY buyer/seller/realtor I've spoken with on this subject prefers longer clips that give them a chance to SEE the space, and they DO prefer videos (with camera on stabilizer) moving through the house because it shows the flow of the home-- something photography can't do.

 Matti: Agreed. For what realtors are willing to pay, it's not worth the effort to produce TV quality footage. However, the perfectionist I try to be, I want to learn how to do it well and never stop improving. Eventually, my ambition is to do architectural photography and maybe videography, and these projects require a very high quality. Starting with real estate is a natural choice for me! 

Jt: the nice vid that you are probably referring to was not shot by me...I wish. It's just an example of what I take to be quality real estate video.

 Dustin: Thanks for the clarification. I understand that to make a living on real estate video or photo, you need volume. I don't expect to do only high end. I do, however, hope to improve with each video. Even if it means spending a little more time doing it. But my ambitions are not to stay in real estate anyway. 

I see what you mean about the longer clips. I will have to keep this in mind. I'm going to do another shoot this weekend of the same property, but this time with a stabilizer. 

Matti..I KNOW many of you could..and would and will...that' just doesn't seem to be the market...now..I just wonder ...Peter what knowledge...education...information have you not be able to get from WM...It all cook's down to $. Well put Dustin...

 I'd like to learn more about good video techniques, meaning composition/framing, transitions, lighting, etc. That's what I haven't really been able to get from WM, to be brutally honest. But maybe I didn't look hard enough. :)

Peter....I mean you well and admire your perfectionism...live long..well.. and prosper...look for Spock or WM.....Wellcomemat is, can be and will be a wealth of knowdlege for all those folks who are here now and will be in the future...oh! by the way I'm not on the wellcomemat's payroll yet....so Wellcomemat ???? $$$$...call me....

As far as lighting goes, it seems you should start with a video camera or video-enabled DSLR that's naturally good in low-light conditions ... thus reducing the possible number of times you are forced to drag around softbox / umbrella lights.

Matti in comment #6 above alludes to the fact that most video tours are getting in/out in as little time as possible.  This might be due to the realtor not having a lot of time to be there with you.  So far, most of my tours, I am let in to "do my thing", with the the realtor sometimes just once for a brief time during the shoot ... often to let me into the home.

Controlling / limiting your time on site in the home/property is, to me, more about the dynamic Dustin speaks of (comment #9) ... i.e. spending hours and hours behind the camera and / or in the editing chair.  Eventually, too much of either or both quickly "dilutes" the value of your time ... against ... say a $300 price point max that you might charge.

In the context of lighting, the less time you have into creating 100% perfect video footage by dragging lights around makes you more efficient.

Also re: lighting ... using camera's manual control of exposure / white balance ... controls washouts with outside light coming in windows ... can brighten a dark room or reduce brightness / noise in rooms with too much natural light.

I'm still bound to a tripod; but I try to shoot my scenes/rooms in ways that clearly show the layout of the home.  I think with a good stabililzer like the Steadicam (and practice using it), I suspect that you become more efficient with and shorten your overall shooting time in a home / property because you can walk into a room, turn around and back up all without stopping.  You're more efficient because more of your time is capturing footage versus dealing with equipment setup (moving tripod around).

Gary summed it all up nicely... :)  Really, it's all about efficiency.  Personally, I don't think real estate is a good place to try to really focus on improving technique, unless you're just doing it "on the side" and can afford to spend the time.

I'm doing video with my media/marketing company full-time (and then some), so I don't have extra time to do that... I'm in, out, and gone! lol... my goal on smaller homes is to get in and out within about 45 minutes (including exterior shots).  I do photos as well... which is why I'm looking very seriously at the MII... I see Fred's work and hear him talking about being in & out in 30-40 minutes... wow!  I'm still working on getting faster at editing.  I'm mostly self-taught, so it's a constant work-in-progress.

Unfortunately, I don't think WM is the place you need to learn about perfecting more advanced techniques (or even basics).  Keep looking at Vimeo, Youtube, and look at websites of production companies (I do that almost every day!).

 Here's one that in a way resembles the big budget style video you provided a link to: http://www.wellcomemat.com/video/NY/Brooklyn/apartment-for-rent/E381022E44APT/

Have to agree with Dustin.  It's all about being "creative" vs. making a living.  

Depending on your location, there is a price threshold that you must stay under in order to be a viable business.  Yes, you might be able to shoot an 'artistic' video, spend a day shooting it... and charge $1000 for it... but you'll be doing a couple videos a year - and you need to be doing a few every DAY unless you live in your car under a bridge somewhere....

It's all about time - you need to price your services based on your particular location and the prices that location will bear, and then create a product that you can produce for that price and still make a living (and have a life!).  

And for that to happen, you MUST cut corners.  I do!  I admit it, and have no problem admitting that to my customers!  When a client wants to "see" the video before it goes live, for example....  I tell them I don't do that!  There's no way I could do that without incurring a good hour or more worth of work -  probably more!  That's a corner I cut!   I sell a product.  And it represents a good value. There is little flexibility in that product - the look, the time, and the way it's put together.  Everybody basically gets the same 'product'. I have a workflow and the equipment that allows me to work quickly and get the job done and out the door...  My videos are all turned around in about 24 hours.... including photographs - AND uploaded to 12 video sites!  If I make a mistake, I'll gladly fix it.  If you make a mistake...  too bad!  Or I'll charge you extra to correct it.  

I see this problem with real estate photographers as well... they're so obsessed with the 'art' of it all, the equipment, the details, the style, etc...  Let's face it... realtors don't notice and don't care.  As long as you can produce something that's better than they can produce themselves, most are crazy happy!  And if you do a lot of the work for them, they're even happier!  I view myself (and my clients view me) as their marketing partner....    there's far more value in that to a realtor than what kind of lighting equipment or what brand of camera you're using or how slick and polished the video is.  

I think it's ultra important to produce a quality product - not junk.  But there's a happy medium in between that I call "good enough".  That's what realtors want and will buy because it's within their budget.

This is all about business, much less about 'art', unfortunately.  Those are consumed with creating artsy fartsy real estate videos are never going to be doing this for a living - only a hobby. They could make far more money pimping burgers at MacDonalds.

As far as the length of video, everyone has their theory.  Mine is this:

1. The FIRST thing buyers do is search based on criteria... price, location, bedrooms, baths, etc.  
2. The SECOND thing buyers do is look at photographs and read the description.  If they're interested in a particular aspect of the house, a particular room, etc. this allows them a quick way to click through to see exactly what they want - fast.  Further qualifying the home.
3. The LAST thing buyers look at is the video.  It's the final qualifier.  If they get to that point, they now want details.  They want to see everything.  In fact, they scrutinize every little detail of the video, looking down hallways to see if there's a closet... they're checking out the houses across the street, etc.  They often will watch it more than once, looking for different things each time.  And most importantly, they're looking to see the LAYOUT, something that is impossible to gauge by still photos or any other type of tour.  

I try and never go above 6-7 minutes, but if you're going to show the complete layout....  you won't be able to shoot that in a 2 minute video! 

Some people say that watching real estate video tours are boring.  I absolutely agree!  I can't watch them myself - I try, but I honestly have never been able to sit through a real estate video all the way through - they just bore me silly. 

Why?  Because I'm not interested in the house!  If I was interested in the house, I WOULD watch the thing from beginning to end!  It's like a wedding video - the bride and her mother can watch them over and over again... but strangers or even guests?  BORING.  It's not THEIR wedding!  

This is the argument I use when still photographers put down video "because you can't click quickly through and see what you want to see - you're dragged slowly through the house at the pace of the videographer".

That is NOT how (or why) buyers view a video tour. They've already DONE that with the still photos.  Now they want MORE.  And video accomplishes that in spades.