Are your Real Estate Videos TRASH?? ????????????

Here’s what you need to know to effectively make great real estate videos.
There are two main factors you need to think about.

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I’m sharing how to shoot better real estate videos. Two categories matter most:

1. Picture quality. You don’t have to go buy a $1,000 camera to make quality videos for your real estate business. Whip out your smartphone instead and take advantage of cool features like slow motion, panoramics, and a host of downloadable editing apps that are easy to use.

Your phone should be your first approach since it’s a piece of high-quality technology that’s likely to always be with you. Pick up a little tripod to help stabilize your videos as you shoot from a desk, the outside of a property, or wherever else your creativity takes you.

The next option you should look at is the GoPro. The new GoPro 8 can shoot 4K video and enables you to shoot in widescreen, narrow screen, and time-lapses. Another perk is its built-in gimbal—a tool that automatically stabilizes the camera amid heavy movement.

If you’d like, you can go buy a $500 Canon camera from Costco or Amazon. Just set aside a little time to figure out the knobs and dials, and voila!—you can have great picture quality (I used a standard Canon to film the video above).

Aside from mastering the equipment, you’ll want to fully understand the powerful effect that lighting can have on your videos. Make sure you’re not partially obscured by shadows, turned blindingly white by sunlight, or revealing the inside of your nostrils by turning the camera upward too sharply. Also, make sure that in your videos your head appears near the top and that you leave room for pop-up graphics with relevant info. Use the rule of thirds to create this effective spacing.

If you don’t mind paying a bit to ensure lighting quality, you can purchase relatively inexpensive yet effective lighting equipment from Amazon (around $100 or $150).

2. Sound quality. If you’re willing to spend a lot of money, go online and purchase a shotgun mic; they’re the best-in-line and project very well. For a more realistic approach, however, let’s again use our phones: So long as it’s kept close to you, your smartphone produces amazing sound. The aforementioned GoPro 8 camera also has fantastic sound quality.

If you want to up the game a tad without dropping too much money, check out a lapel mic; for just $20, you can get a little bit more than what’s built into your phone. With lapel mics, you have the option of having an external recorder in your pocket or plugging them directly into your phone (this may require an adapter). The downside of lapel mics? Animated talkers who tend to move around a lot will hear a considerable amount of ‘whooshing’ sounds on their recordings, the result of the mic rubbing against their clothing.

Another thing you can do is pick up a Blue Yeti for about $125. This mic produces incredibly high-quality sound and can be found easily on sites like Amazon. Quick pro tip for Yeti users: Don’t aim the mic toward you as you’d do with a shotgun mic; talk into the side of the mic like you would in an interview. The Blue Yeti comes with knobs to adjust exactly how and from what direction the sounds will be picked up.

Make sure you record in a soft environment. In other words, avoid areas like kitchens where there are a lot of hard surfaces that bounce sounds around, which create a loud, dungeon-like effect. Areas with couches, pillows, curtains, rugs, etc., will soften up your sound quite a bit.

To sum everything up: Make sure that you’re well-lit, your sound is clear and not echoing, and don’t discount your phone’s abilities. Great videos don’t have to put a hurt on your wallet!

As always, reach out with any questions or concerns, and don’t forget to click the subscribe button. Let us know how we can help you succeed in your business; we love hearing from you!