First real estate video

GREAT for you! Heartily recommend Nikon body and glass as you progress. Total package will be unbeatable!
Fly cheerfully!
 
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My wife and I have been real-estate in the Florida keys for many years, we have a Nikon with a Nikkor 10-24mm lens..this set up has been sitting in our closet for 3 years now...we shoot with a I phone with a $30 adapter lens and the pics come out great..in my opinion, I also run a Phantom 3 standard, which is all I need, check out our 800sf condo pics, Just my $30 worth
Ocean Pointe Condos in the Florida Keys, Unit 2205
 
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Hey. How much for the house?
See. You got me sold. HaHa.
Actually I thought it was very well done for your first attempt.
 
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I'm not a pro, but I do some real estate work. If it's in the budget certainly get a better camera and learn the basics, if you are not already familiar.
Also, I use Adobe Lightroom which allows a one to easily correct the major problems with a photo.
No idea what your market is, but I've found that many agent don't seem to put much stock in photos, which I believe is a mistake.
Anyway, I was unable to find your photos on the internet. I took a screenshot from your video. Obviously not able to do a quick edit as if it were even you phone photo, but this may give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
Capto_Capture 2018-08-04_08-34-57_AM.jpg
Capto_Capture 2018-08-04_08-34-57_AM.png
 
Don't worry too much about 'helpful' criticism.. I do real estate videos for a friend. To begin with i wanted to kill him because of his demands. Now however i see it as a baptism of fire. Endure the criticisms and you will come out a better videographer. Don't be so proud that you reject someone else's viewpoint. Just mutter under your breath..
I personally use daVinci (though it is a steep learning curve) but cut my teeth using Adobe Elements, which is more than adequate for the job.
My most money-saving advice? Concentrate on post-production before you buy expensive cameras. Look at the photos above and the comment regarding expensive cameras vs smart phones.
I like simple transitions - don't be that person who has a new toy and is determined to put one of everything in the video - and I would seriously look at a 'Ken Burns' effect for the still shots, in order to give them an illusion of movement.
Also I think you exited some shots half a second too early: I was wanting a bit more in places.
 
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Well, here's my first stab at it...a relocation to another state for a new position for my wife provided me the opportunity to start anew in my own career. With my experience in the RC hobby industry and a coincidental interest in "drones" (sorry for the poor terminology), we have the time for me to start from the ground up. I want to get into aerial mapping eventually, but in the meantime imagery is something I can get into sooner. Working on a web site and stocking my portfolio with images/video, but here's my first stab at real estate. My own home using, I know, a phone for the still images and a pc too weak to run anything other than Moviemaker for the editing software. A better pc, better video editing software and a better still camera are to come, but this is the what I can do with what I have today.

Comments, suggestions welcome - thanks! ;)

EDIT: After thoughtful suggestions in following posts, I edited the video:
1) Replaced original garage image with new one taken from the outside-in to reveal the entire garage (this prompted me to erect the workbenches across the back of the garage and build and mount the dark cabinet to the right of the wood shelving - thanks for getting me motivated on this one!)
2) Removed transitions from between scenes.
3) While I was at it, I also slightly de cluttered the laundry room and took a new photo, removed the specs on the house that appeared in the title (as this would appear in the listing), cut a few seconds off the end of the Point-of-Interest clip circling around the house and shortened the duration of the still images from five seconds to four.

I'm proud of the still images - especially considering I used the camera in my phone and have little editing power with Moviemaker, but I can now see the need for a DSLR camera and probably won't proceed any farther until I have one.

Here's the revised video:

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Tim
I thought it was pretty good on the motion shots, good perspective and not too fast on the motion (maybe slow it down a tad in editing). Your stills could be improved by putting in a quick crossfade between shots (nothing to flash or gimmicky) and maybe adding a subtle Ken Burns effect (where the shot slowly pans and/or zooms) to liven it up a bit.
 
I think you did a very nice job on that video. Well done.

Bud


Well, here's my first stab at it...a relocation to another state for a new position for my wife provided me the opportunity to start anew in my own career. With my experience in the RC hobby industry and a coincidental interest in "drones" (sorry for the poor terminology), we have the time for me to start from the ground up. I want to get into aerial mapping eventually, but in the meantime imagery is something I can get into sooner. Working on a web site and stocking my portfolio with images/video, but here's my first stab at real estate. My own home using, I know, a phone for the still images and a pc too weak to run anything other than Moviemaker for the editing software. A better pc, better video editing software and a better still camera are to come, but this is the what I can do with what I have today.

Comments, suggestions welcome - thanks! ;)

EDIT: After thoughtful suggestions in following posts, I edited the video:
1) Replaced original garage image with new one taken from the outside-in to reveal the entire garage (this prompted me to erect the workbenches across the back of the garage and build and mount the dark cabinet to the right of the wood shelving - thanks for getting me motivated on this one!)
2) Removed transitions from between scenes.
3) While I was at it, I also slightly de cluttered the laundry room and took a new photo, removed the specs on the house that appeared in the title (as this would appear in the listing), cut a few seconds off the end of the Point-of-Interest clip circling around the house and shortened the duration of the still images from five seconds to four.

I'm proud of the still images - especially considering I used the camera in my phone and have little editing power with Moviemaker, but I can now see the need for a DSLR camera and probably won't proceed any farther until I have one.

Here's the revised video:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Tim
 
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Well, here's my first stab at it...a relocation to another state for a new position for my wife provided me the opportunity to start anew in my own career. With my experience in the RC hobby industry and a coincidental interest in "drones" (sorry for the poor terminology), we have the time for me to start from the ground up. I want to get into aerial mapping eventually, but in the meantime imagery is something I can get into sooner. Working on a web site and stocking my portfolio with images/video, but here's my first stab at real estate. My own home using, I know, a phone for the still images and a pc too weak to run anything other than Moviemaker for the editing software. A better pc, better video editing software and a better still camera are to come, but this is the what I can do with what I have today.

Comments, suggestions welcome - thanks! ;)

EDIT: After thoughtful suggestions in following posts, I edited the video:
1) Replaced original garage image with new one taken from the outside-in to reveal the entire garage (this prompted me to erect the workbenches across the back of the garage and build and mount the dark cabinet to the right of the wood shelving - thanks for getting me motivated on this one!)
2) Removed transitions from between scenes.
3) While I was at it, I also slightly de cluttered the laundry room and took a new photo, removed the specs on the house that appeared in the title (as this would appear in the listing), cut a few seconds off the end of the Point-of-Interest clip circling around the house and shortened the duration of the still images from five seconds to four.

I'm proud of the still images - especially considering I used the camera in my phone and have little editing power with Moviemaker, but I can now see the need for a DSLR camera and probably won't proceed any farther until I have one.

Here's the revised video:

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Tim

Hi Tim,
That is a great start to your first Real Estate video, and nicely controlled video footage. Just one suggestion to add to your toolbox for editing. I suggest that you do your transitions on the beat of the music. To achieve this without cutting sooner that your intended scene ending you simply speed up or slow down that little segment of footage. I do just exterior Real Estate Videography and not the insides a colleague does the insides. Here is an example of what I mean: Dropbox - Website - Bromelia Ct.mp4
Good luck with your new venture.
SkyPhantom
 
I've done a couple real estate videos, and I think yours is great. You can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, so this
house won't look like the mansions overlooking the sea, but you made it look good enough to entice buyers looking for
that level of house. Good job.
 
First try? Not bad at all!

One minor comment. I saw the highway in front of the house and wondered about traffic then I saw the car traveling past. Any way of deemphasizing that as a concern of a prospective buyer might be good. Otherwise, great start!
 
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Nice drone footage, video editing and inclusion of a sound track. With your stills, the lighting is good ... BUT, as you have discovered, you seriously need a wide angle lens. Wide angle lenses capture more of each room and make the rooms look much bigger.
 
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Good start. I'd consider using a few dissolves between the room stills to ease the flow a bit. Also, (...and this can sometime be very subjective) The music IMPO is a little over the top. Music should set the tone, then almost disappear. Of course it never does, but if the choice is subtle, you almost don't notice it. Some have the ear for this, some don't. Although cliche', a good rule for this is; less is more.
 
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Real estate aerial and ground based stills are my bread and butter. Here is my 2 cents worth...

I use the DJI P4P and Nikon D-810 for photos. If you start looking for a DSLR for the ground level exterior and interior shots, make sure you have an ultra-wide angle (NOT fisheye) lens in your lens collection, and camera body that will give you high ISO with little noise. Higher end Nikon and Canons work well, as Sony's probably do too, and you don't need to go into the $3K range of bodies to do it. ALL interior shots need a good, solid tripod, as hand held's will be all but impossible in low available light. Using flash is pretty difficult to do for even lighting.

Video is a great way to go, not my own forte yet, but will get there soon enough.

Check out websites that talk about best practices in real estate photography, good luck and keep practicing. You are doing great.
 
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You don’t mention if you already have your FAA part 137 certification or if that is part of your biz plan. Are you aware that it is necessary to do any type of “commercial” work?
 
If you have something similar to my P3 4K or better.Your drone already has a wide angle lens and is perfect for doing indoor stills provided enough light is present. Same goes for video as walking through a property renders great results once you get the movement down..again-enough light is everything. Yes, watch your shadows and reflections- remove the props. Slow movements when doing video is key. You can always speed up in post. Something else to remember is to make good use of reversing footage in post. Sometimes its a lot easier to appear that you got a great video flying backwards when you actually shot it flying forward.
I can't see a a huge difference between shooting stills in raw/dng and editing vs. just grabbing some good .jpg shots and maybe use the vivid setting or try a filter.
To each his own but I'm fine with not over complicating it and get fascinating shots pretty much never doing Lightroom etc.
That's where the money part kind of comes in. Most realtors contrary to popular belief are not getting rich and want a deal so they are not looking for Picasso to come take a **** photo. It pays what the market bears. Cut down the time you spend on a project to match what the going rate is. To me it does no good to think "oh that is to cheap /drone photography should pay x amount of dollars." Forget what the equipment costs and decide how much your willing to work for per hour.
The way i see it is that at my full time job the most I'm ever getting is about 50.00 per hour which is double time for working on my day off. So if I can invest 3hrs or less
and do something locally for 150.00 I'm cool with it. Other times you may want to figure in travel time. The point is not to price yourself out of it IMO. Why pass on making a hundred bucks in a couple hours just because you have some trumped up belief that aerial photography should pay more?
As an example for 120.00 you go across town,shoot some J pegs,upload to a Google Drive folder when you get home, text or email them the link, and sweet in 2hrs. your done.
Everyone is happy and you just made more per hr. than most others do at their day jobs.
If your aspirations are much higher that this you will need to specialize. Spend more make more.
Personally I would'nt want to mess with mapping and dealing with an outfit like Drone Deploy . You could look into thermal imaging equipment and make the big bucks detecting leaks for the Oil & Gas industry if you live in an area where that kind of activity is prevalent.
Another thing to remember no matter who your customers are is that the phone can be your best friend. No matter how well your online presence ranks you can probably come out much better by putting in the time just calling up the relative business and letting them know what you do. Yes' cold calling sucks and it takes persistence but IT Works.
 
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I thought the orbits were all pretty smooth - nice! I'm wondering what phone you used? The exposure looked pretty decent to me as it gave a warm tone to the interiors. I've seen the Samsung Galaxy S9 take really good photos in low light. The only advice I would offer is practice, practice and practice. Watch a lot of YouTube examples and incorporate every bit of knowledge shared by others. I think you have a great start. By the way, I decided not to work with residential real estate people since they are so cheap (for the most part). I'm focusing on commercial real estate as they tend to be more professional. Currently working on two commercial projects - 1 video project and 1 photo shoot.
 
You don’t mention if you already have your FAA part 137 certification or if that is part of your biz plan. Are you aware that it is necessary to do any type of “commercial” work?

I'm not familiar with FAA Part 137.

I do have my sUAS certificate (FAA Part 107 license I guess some call it).

Tim
 
I'm not a pro, but I do some real estate work. If it's in the budget certainly get a better camera and learn the basics, if you are not already familiar.
Also, I use Adobe Lightroom which allows a one to easily correct the major problems with a photo.
No idea what your market is, but I've found that many agent don't seem to put much stock in photos, which I believe is a mistake.
Anyway, I was unable to find your photos on the internet. I took a screenshot from your video. Obviously not able to do a quick edit as if it were even you phone photo, but this may give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
View attachment 102040 View attachment 102041

Yes. Impressive - especially you edited a screen shot! I can see the difference (darker objects in my photo have more detail in your enhanced image). Not wanting to invest too much at this early stage, but I can see the value in a full image editor program. I have manipulated the images in my video, but only with the basic software that's in my pc (color enhancement, brightness, clarity). For now I'll begin with a free editor if I can find something that's a compromise. I'm looking at GIMP presently.

Thank you for your suggestion.

Tim
 
I thought it was pretty good on the motion shots, good perspective and not too fast on the motion (maybe slow it down a tad in editing). Your stills could be improved by putting in a quick crossfade between shots (nothing to flash or gimmicky) and maybe adding a subtle Ken Burns effect (where the shot slowly pans and/or zooms) to liven it up a bit.

Thank you. I did speed up my aerial shots, but maybe too much (?). I'll look up that Ken Burns effect as several have mentioned it here.

Thanks again!

Tim
 

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