First real estate video

[KRProton]

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!

Hello rand49er. Thank you.

Yes, I thought about the traffic driving down the road when I was filming with my drone. On the Point of Interest shot I just kept letting the drone circle and was going to use a segment when no cars appeared, but I filmed it around 9:00 in the morning when there are more vehicles. I am contemplating doing the entire external/flying part of the video again (in addition to the inside stills when my DSLR, lens and tripod arrive) anyway. Need to cut the grass again and trim the bushes!

Thanks again.

Tim

 

[KRProton]

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.

Hello dkeberhardt. I have an Android Samsung Galaxy S7. Yes, I've always been amazed at the quality of the images (given good lighting, holding the camera still). I have a basic photo editor program in my pc. For most of the images I darkened them, increased color and sharpness. But I can see the need for a DSLR with wide-angle and better editing software. Yes, I've also been watching YouTube videos how to photograph interiors.

Thanks for your comments!

Tim

 

[KRProton]

Thanks again everybody for taking the time to write and provide suggestions. The learning curve is very steep here. I've learned much up to making my first real estate video of my own home (in the original post) and learned just as much afterward from all of you here. I'm humbled that there is so much willingness to help. I'll pay it forward when I can.

In addition to re doing the interior stills after I get my DSLR, wide-angel lens and tripod, I'm also probably going to re do the exterior as I think I can make some of my pans smoother and change a couple camera settings in the drone for better color. Also going to trim the bushes and mow the lawn making the home look even better. I want my first real estate video to be as good as I can with the equipment and skill I have at this time as my plan is to present it to the real estate agent who sold us the house and ask if there is a home or two I could video similarly to add to my portfolio. Once I have a few nice examples I feel I'll be ready to attempt to solicit work.

I'll check in and post my new video next week.

Thanks again!

Tim

FYI: Here's a link to my web site (a whole other thing to learn!!!). Just barely getting started and it's very basic (and incomplete) at this time. But maybe some interesting stuff for you to see there.

Home Page/Portfolio

 

[bdooley]

Nice video. I thought it looked much better than most that I have seen. Great comments from everyone.

I am curious about the fact that there was so little if any miore or aliasing. It looks like there was plenty of opportunity (with the siding and roof shingles) for that to crop up. What did you do to avoid it? Camera settings or post processing or both. I ask because I have been having a lot if trouble with this.

Is your video 4K or HD?

 

[KRProton]

Nice video. I thought it looked much better than most that I have seen. Great comments from everyone.

I am curious about the fact that there was so little if any miore or aliasing. It looks like there was plenty of opportunity (with the siding and roof shingles) for that to crop up. What did you do to avoid it? Camera settings or post processing or both. I ask because I have been having a lot if trouble with this.

Is your video 4K or HD?

Thanks P3Pdancer.

I have the sharpness in my camera settings in my P4P+ turned down to -1 I believe. I learned that in a video on YouTube some time ago. This reduces the effects you speak of. I filmed at 1080p, 80fps if memory serves, but I've had just as good results with alias and miore in 4K as well.

Thanks again.

Tim

 

[John Decker]

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.

Funny, my realtor friend/client always wanted music. Facebook shows people stop listening to it after about 10 seconds.

 

[KRProton]

Funny, my realtor friend/client always wanted music. Facebook shows people stop listening to it after about 10 seconds.

I know little about this, and I don't dispute that some prefer accompanying music and some do not, but I wonder how Facebook can know when one stops listening to music (that's embedded in a video such as we're talking about here).

I don't think I really listen to ambient music in videos anyway. I just hear it and I think it helps the presentation (if it's the correct music). But yes, I agree music should go virtually unnoticed (but still be effective), not be a distraction.

Tim

 

[Super Dave]

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

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but yes, this vid is excellent. This is what we should strive to create. Love the revealing shots, music is perfect, so many possibilities, and the property is beautiful.
I'm sure you thought about the reveal shot as starting on the water and flying backwards to reveal the house, but yes, I love the front reveal where it just kind of pops in your face in a great way.
I think you could add a lot to this thread by describing methods, tools, fees, etc.
Oh, and you can always tell Florida by the bug screens over every pool. Jeez, exactly how big are the bugs around there?

 

[Super Dave]

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:

Tim

Yes, this is a really good video. It struck me as a very clean and solid property.
Of course like everyone else, you will look back and see everything differently.
Sometimes I will sacrifice a reflection for the sake of otherwise a really good shot.
Another great source of info for both drones and all around photography, subscribe to Peter McKinnon on youtube.
He does amazing things and compares products to get the most bang for your buck.
Also, I'm a California native, where every patch of dead grass and dirt will cost a truckload of cash.
If you told me how much you paid for that beautiful house, I would probably throw a rope over a rafter in the garage and film myself dangling.
But, the rafter would break and crack me in the head, cuz we pay too much for crap round here.
Yes, nice vid, love your house.
p.s......love the sportbike in the garage. I loved my orange FZ 09 with all the mods and such, until a friend went down pretty hard and I had a hard time keeping it under 150, so I knew it was a matter of time, and sold it. Ride safe!

 

[Super Dave]

I'm not familiar with FAA Part 137.

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

Tim

Oh! You don't have the Part 137 yet? It's the super secret cert that requires clients to pay double, by law!!!

 

[KRProton]

Okay everybody,

I thank all of you for taking the time to look in and provide your constructive comments. I've learned a lot in a short time. As I mentioned, I purchased a DSLR camera and wide-angle lens (and tripod). I really wanted to keep it inexpensive at this time as I don't really even know the market in my area and I don't want to drop a ton of cash before I know what I'm doing. That said, I bought a Sony Alpha a380 and a Rokinon 2.8F 14mm wide-angle lens - both used from KEH photo. Total was about $330.00. One of the first problems I noticed is, that because the lens is manual, it doesn't "talk" to the camera so it doesn't know when it's in focus and the aperture and focal distance don't get stored in the image data, so you don't know where you were. And it's nearly impossible to tell when the image is in focus just by looking at the small, built-in monitor or by looking through the view finder. I practiced with the camera for a day and a half and was never satisfied with the sharpness/focus of the images. Next biggest problem is, the combination seems to have difficulty metering light or balancing exposure (I'm sure I'm using the wrong terms). Rooms where there is a lot of light coming through (windows, lights) are extremely difficult to photograph. The dark areas are nearly black and the light areas are just about completely blown out. Of course, there are ways to adjust the exposure (shutter speed, aperture, ISO), but settings that make the light areas acceptable conversely make the dark areas way too dark. I settled on underexposing images, then fixing them with software as best as I could. I SWEAR that the camera in my Samsun S7 phone takes better images(sharper, better color, in focus) with much less effort!!! The problem is either me, the camera/lens combination, or I need to use better photo editing software.

Well, onto the new video. I improved the appearance of the house (trimmed the hedges, mowed the grass) and got a few, better flying techniques for my P4P+ that allowed me to capture smoother shots. So I re did the entire video including the aerials. I liked the pullback/flyaway from the flower pot in the first video, but it seemed redundant as I used the overhead Point-Of-Interest shot for the reveal in the new video. I also added some "Ken Burns-like" transitions between the still images.

I did order a wide-angle lens for my phone and will give that a try. In the meantime, I'll present this video to a few realtors and see if I can get into some houses to do a few more practice videos for my portfolio and try to begin soliciting work.

Thanks again!

Tim

 

[roosta]

in the good job for a first go, Like most parts of 2nd edite. Well done. I'm still "untried" group when it comes to editing...

RoOSTA