Throughout the pandemic, property managers, private sellers, landlords, and letting agents quickly realised the importance of being able to offer beautifully shot property videos and virtual tours. However, even following the end of the pandemic and the lifting of restrictions, property videography has somehow remained an essential component of the estate agent or property developer’s success toolkit.
If you’ve struggled to sell or let a property in recent years, you’ve probably learned the importance of professional real estate videography as a property marketing tool. Potential buyers and renters have now become used to getting a good look into all the nooks and crannies of a property before leaving the comfort of their homes.
Potential buyers and renters will now almost certainly expect to view a property video before spending valuable time attending an in-person viewing.
If you’re new to property development, you’ll need to offer exceptional showcasing of your properties from the very beginning. This will help you to gain a stronger footing in a competitive market. If you’re serious about competing in any area of the property market, it’s a good idea to figure out how to improve the quality of your video viewings sooner rather than later.
If your video-making skills are in need of a brush-up, dive into our top 5 tips for creating spectacular property videos – virtual viewings that will represent your company flawlessly and achieve their overall aim of selling or letting properties quickly and efficiently.
1. Identify Key Selling Points
Take a good look around the property before you begin filming and decide in advance what is particularly appealing about the space. Once you’ve identified a property’s most attractive features, you can begin to plan your filming to highlight and accentuate these elements.
If you’re working on behalf of a seller, or a property owner who’s looking for tenants, you might offer them a few suggestions regarding how to dress, decorate, or prep the property to make it even more appealing.
2. Use Great Lighting and Appropriate Filming Techniques
Use great lighting or shoot videos when natural daylight is at its best! This could be one of the most important things to consider. Do not underestimate the power of good lighting. Even when filming prestige rentals and luxury properties, poorly lit rooms can look shabby and uninspiring. This could dramatically reduce your chances of progressing to that all-important in-person viewing stage.
Always keep in mind your reason for making property videos and avoid any temptation to experiment with arty cinematography or excessive commentary. Most prospective buyers will want to see a clean, tidy, truthful representation of the property. They are unlikely to be impressed by moody lighting or clever commentaries on the complexities of our times.
Be respectful of property filming conventions. They work for a reason. For example, panning might not be the most interesting technique in your filmmaking repertoire, but when it comes to filming property, it’s ideal for giving a true sense of size and proportion.
3. Be Honest and Transparent
Don’t rush your video or try to hide anything. Your video should feel like an enjoyable, in-person walkthrough. Use wide angles and clean shots to give a correct sense of spaciousness. Ideally, you’ll use a 16 – 35mm lens. Warped edges and fisheye effects will only confuse prospective tenants or buyers.
They’ll make your viewing look slightly odd and, once again, they may look suspect. Your viewing may very well be honest and accurate, but viewers will be on high alert for any strange camera behaviour or optical inconsistencies.
Even with the cleverest filming techniques, they’ll quickly discover the realities of the property when they arrive for a viewing in person. If they feel you’ve tried to deceive them with the magic of cinematography, your entire company will rapidly lose their trust.
4. Use Professional Equipment
Use a gimbal to reduce unwanted camera movements, keep your camera steady and ensure your video shots are smooth and stable. Your viewers are not interested in exaggerated realism, amateur presentations, or arty fly-on-the-wall docudramas. Finding a new home is stressful enough. They probably want as little drama as possible.
If you can provide a clean, simple, drama-free professional video, you are much more likely to make a good first impression and ultimately win the sale or letting.
A high-quality property film with a stable walk-through approach will also make a house seem far more luxurious than a wobbly production filmed by a nervous amateur. It’s all about perception.
Most estate agents and letting agents use a professional videography service to film their property walkthroughs, so quality videos are essential if you wish to be considered a viable competitor.
If you wish to speak during the walk-through, providing an efficient commentary of the property’s key selling points, make sure you use a professional external microphone. Using the camera’s internal microphone is almost always a bad idea. Reduced sound quality will reduce the professionalism of your video and could also be distracting.
5. Use Drone Videography
If you have a drone and are experienced with drone videography, using it for property videos is an absolute must! A drone will allow you to offer aerial views of the property and showcase it in a wider context.
From this unique aerial perspective, viewers can see how the property fits into the neighbourhood. They’ll also gain a clearer understanding of the quality of the neighbourhood, the level of privacy the property offers, and the exact proportion and location of a garden, pool, balcony or hot tub in relation to the indoor space.
In the case of particularly desirable properties, a drone camera will also reveal the proximity of nearby rivers, lakes, beaches, and areas of unspoiled natural beauty.
If you are skilled enough in drone use, you can film the entire indoor and outdoor walkthrough using a drone. You can also dispense with any worry about your ability to capture clean, steady, professional-looking shots of all the property’s best features without using a gimbal.
Aerial views of a property can greatly enhance a viewer’s sense of being at the property, experiencing it from all angles. They may get a better sense of how one room flows into another or how the property’s most attractive features draw the eye as you move through the home viewing it from a range of angles and perspectives.
You can also add a voice-over in post-production, but keep in mind that there’s no need to add any kind of narration if this doesn’t suit your market. Most people like to hear their own thoughts on viewings and may sometimes respond negatively to too much explaining.
If you’re too busy to film promotional videos yourself, or baffled by everything you’ve just read, you might need some extra help with your property video production.
Working with a drone videographer will ensure that you produce engaging, high quality real estate videos that sell properties and gain an unmatched competitive edge.
Still sitting on the fence about drone videography? Don’t get left behind! Discover examples of AerialJohnny’s spectacular drone videography, and browse through our virtual tour packages.
