Creating a Real Estate Video

Creating a real estate video in Melbourne isn’t too different from shooting any other video. If you’re selling a property and you want to give it the best possible chance to get sold for a good price then a sub par video might mean selling for less. In this post I’ll detail the things to do or to watch out for so you can create a real estate video that gets your property sold.

Pre Production

This step (like with any video) is where you can set yourself up for success. The main objective here is to have the space looking clean, tidy and presentable. You could hire a decorator to do this for you but it’s also something you can do yourself. Fresh flowers in vases, paintings on the wall and nice cushions are an obvious place to start. The goal is to have just enough furniture so that the house doesn’t look empty. Paying attention to these elements will make your Real Estate video more impressive.

The Shoot

In terms of equipment, you’ll want to have a way to create motion in your property videos (we’ll talk more about that in a second) so a slider or an electronic gimbal is a must.

You’ll also want a nice wide camera lens so that you can show all of the room at once. It is possible to go too wide though – you don’t want to have your walls bending in and distorting.

It’s also worth remembering that cameras with a smaller sensor will have a narrower field of view. A 30mm lens on an APS-C sensor isn’t considered wide angle so make sure you check your sensor size before the shoot.

The good news when it comes to real estate video production in Melbourne is that you don’t really need lights. Natural light coming through the window will be the most flattering for the room so open those blinds and doors and let in as much as possible. We sometimes use a small focused light (like in an art gallery) if there are details in a room that we want to highlight. For this we use a DEDO light.

We also have a drone that we use to film properties. This lets us show off the skyline and the surrounding area. Flying in the early morning or late afternoon will give you the best looking results.

If it’s the right day and you have the time, a time-lapse of the front of your house could be worth trying. It’s uncommon to see these in real estate videos because videographers often don’t have the time to spend making one. But if you read here you can learn how to do this yourself.

Real Estate Video Approach

There are a couple of crucial things to remember when you’re creating real estate video content. You want it to be engaging but you also need to remember why people are watching the video in the first place.

Focus pulls, arty lens flares and fast edits are no good for real estate videos. This is because the audience just wants to see your house. The way to differentiate your video from a photo slideshow is to add subtle, smooth motion. This is where the slider or gimbal come in handy. Move across rooms, through doorways, along hallways…the aim is to give the audience the sense that they’re continuously floating through the house. It’s visually engaging but it also gives the viewer a subconscious cue as to when they’ll see the next shot (so they don’t get bored).

You also want to avoid focussing too much on anything that doesn’t come with the house. Maybe you have a Grant Featherstone lounge or an original Sidney Nolan painting you want to show off. Allow these things to boost the overall look of the rooms but avoid the temptation to show off your prised possessions with too many close ups, they won’t help with the sale.

Keeping everything in the room in focus is also important. Once again, this is because people are watching your video to see the house. The general rule of lenses is that they’re at their sharpest overall focus when they’re two to three stops from being wide open. Usually this ends up in the F8 – F11 range. 

For the edit, think of it like Italian cuisine: keep it simple and let the ingredients speak for themselves. Avoid heavy colour grades or After Effects trickery and just let viewers see your house.

Good luck with your video and your sale. If you’d like an experienced team of professionals to create your video for you then get in contact with us today.