A Different Sort of Home Video

The purpose of real estate video is to give prospective buyers a virtual tour of a property. House shoppers can compare a variety of homes in just a few minutes, helping them narrow their search for the perfect home. If they like what they see, a visit can be arranged. If they don't like a home, there is no point in taking the time to go see it in person.
Real estate video is an excellent tool for realtors. A single realtor can show as many as 25 homes a week. Making videos for a single agent or a single real estate office can keep an enterprising videographer quite busy (see side bar Real Estate Video in 10 Minutes or Less). The good news is that you don't need fancy or expensive equipment to make effective real estate video. In some cases, all you need is your camcorder and a plan. In addition, real estate videos should not be very long. The shopper doesn't need to see the condition of every tile on the roof. The goal is to take the potential home owner on a two-minute tour of a house.

What to Shoot

You've most likely been a consumer of real property at some point in your life; you've either rented or purchased a place to live at one time or another. What to shoot, then, lies in the sort of things that interested you throughout your own experience. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes, and show the home in a way that showcases only its most outstanding features.
Certainly the attractiveness of a piece of property is a big factor. Buyer's want to know if the home is nice to look at. Does it have a garage? A large porch? Does it sit on a slope or is it level? How many trees are on the property and where are they located?
Next up are the amenities: a spacious yard, an attractive den, master bedroom, hot tub, walk-in closets, a roomy kitchen or a three-car garage.
Finally, there is the physical location. Why might the location of the property appeal to a prospective buyer? Is it close to an expressway, shopping center or a school? What is the neighborhood like? Are the houses close together or is there space between them?
Buyers look for all of these things in a piece of real estate. As such, you'll want your video to answer these key questions. Some questions can be answered with pictures, others can be summarized with a graphic. A bulleted list of statistics including a home's address, square footage, amenities, locale and price is a great way to begin and end your tour.

Looks Nice on the Outside

You can begin by shooting the property in its entirety - a wide, establishing shot. Set your camcorder up across the street from the home to get a nice wide shot. The establishing shot provides your viewer with a first impression and lets him see the lay of the land. To make the shot as flattering as possible, shoot on a nice, sunny day. You don't want it to appear that you are shooting the Bates Motel. Film noir is not really appropriate for real estate video.
Remember, too, that real estate is by its very nature three dimensional. That means that you will have to relate that dimensionality in your video. Homes typically have four sides, for example. Be sure that when you shoot the exterior you show all four sides of the home. When you shoot your establishing shot, shoot from an angle, to include two sides of the home rather than a flat, straight-on shot. Backyards are especially important, because they can rarely be seen from the street, yet they are almost like a room within the house; a family may want to spend a lot of their time in the backyard.
If the home has special exterior features, such as a deck or a patio, or has solar panels for power, be sure to include them as well. You might choose to focus on them in detail a little later, but by showing them up front you can pique your viewer's interest.

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