GH3 My very first Real Estate shoot

Scott F said:
Well I know from experience (we tried to sell our house last summer) the realtor wasn't paying the photographer s***. And she did a pretty good job from the photos I saw.
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10 years ago we sold a house and the realtor took the photos….when she came to show them to us I almost laughed in her face and almost said WTF????
I said - let me take the photos….i did and she was gushing about how great they were and could I start photographing her listings….
When I told her what I would charge - I never heard from her again after our house was sold.
I have taken photos for home developers and apartment complexes.
I tried for years to get some realtor business. I got plenty of interest but they
would not want to pay my rates. I always had more than enough business that I did not have to chase dollar bills down the street.
 
As others have already pointed out, it's all about the price of the house and the cheapness of the agent. I did a video for an agent last year that had already sold the property! The video we made was a tour for the buyer's wife who was overseas and hadn't seen the property. In this case the agent was more concerned about making a good impression and increasing the odds that the client would refer other clients his way. He paid me out of his own pocket. That's the difference. This agent isn't afraid to market himself along with the properties and I guess that's why he's been really successful for years while other agents in the same market are barely making anything.
If I were going to do this type of video, I think I'd try to do more of a guided tour with the agent and sell it as marketing the agent as much as the house.
 
sigamy said:
This is a great first effort. I really liked your slider shots. I agree with the others on the wide angle use in panning. Also some of the shots were a bit long in run time.

As for the flow of thee house, yes phyiscally walking the floor plan with a steadicam would do it. But what about some simple lower thirds titles to describe where we are in the house? "First Floor Powder Room", upstaris hallway put "24 ft hall leading to 4 BR and 2 Baths".

I love the idea of adding motion thru objects -- steam from a pot, ceiling fan. What about also adding actors? A group of men in the family room watching football. Husband and wife cooking in the kitchen. Teens in the basement... You can have the actors appear and disappear in the shot to show the room empty and lived in.
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Thank you for your comments and suggestions.

The final product actually has a professional voice actor narrating the video along with some different background music. I will post the final clip this weekend :)

I love the ideas with the actors and/or using some element to serve as the house "docent." :)

This was my very first shoot with this group and we have a lot more scheduled, so I deliberatly wanted to keep this within a budget below $500 that included the voice actor and licensed music!

The good news is that despite the recognized short-comings...they really like the video already and plan to do more. With that, I'm hoping we have a larger budget to spend a bit more time (I shot this in 90 minutes) and use actors.

Excellent ideas here and nice samples provided.
 
Well, lessons I've learn from this shoot:
*Uses my 7-14mm SPARINGLY...not primarily.
*Utilize a "thread" to help with the flow of the home (actor, prop, steadicam).
*Stationary shots do not necessarily negate the use of video (especially if movement is contained therein).
*Drones (and Great Danes) are cool.
 
Ianscreations said:
*Drones (and Great Danes) are cool.
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No argument on the Great Danes but drones are cool, provided they are used skillfully and sparingly. Those of us who fly tend to think that our aerial work is more impactful than our ground work. In grand cases that may be true but it can be just as overdone as shallow DOF can be :)
 
A nicely produced video production of a million or multi million dollar home should make it much easier to reach out to buyers near or far. But like some of you, I’ve tried to promote video marketing to realtors, without much success. The idea I’m working on now is really directed at the seller, I decided to share it with you.

I’m planning on calling this new concept “Keepsake Video Tours” the seller would receive a Keepsake DVD and a link to their “Keepsake Video Tour” on Vimeo. The seller would pay the videographer for this service and would own all rights to their tour. They could chose to allow the listing agent to use it and they would also own a valuable marketing tool if they decide to switch agents, or sell it themselves.


I think the seller will see value in this idea as they would control how their property is shown and have something of value to remember, when their home sells. But to make this concept work we will need to contact the sellers, let’s hear some suggestions…………
 
Vardalos said:
A nicely produced video production of a million or multi million dollar home should make it much easier to reach out to buyers near or far. But like some of you, I’ve tried to promote video marketing to realtors, without much success. The idea I’m working on now is really directed at the seller, I decided to share it with you.

I’m planning on calling this new concept “Keepsake Video Tours” the seller would receive a Keepsake DVD and a link to their “Keepsake Video Tour” on Vimeo. The seller would pay the videographer for this service and would own all rights to their tour. They could chose to allow the listing agent to use it and they would also own a valuable marketing tool if they decide to switch agents, or sell it themselves.


I think the seller will see value in this idea as they would control how their property is shown and have something of value to remember, when their home sells. But to make this concept work we will need to contact the sellers, let’s hear some suggestions…………
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The first thing most sellers will do is - contact a real estate agent…..why not? It's "free" and cost's nothing up front.
Of course - getting a real estate agent to "sell" your home gets you in the MLS…..
In reality you can slap a FSBO - "For Sale By Owner" sign in your front yard and get 50 agents a week calling you……
AT that point you tell the agents that you will give THEM a 4% commission for bringing you a buyer.
You don't need to advertise the home at all….
Now this won't work in a slow sellers market - thus the real estate industry is like the mafia in that respect.
The problem is - how will a videographer get to the seller before the real estate industry?
And how can a local videographer cover a market large enough to warrant a large expenditure of advertising dollars?
Real estate professionals know what buyers are looking for, how to stage a home for viewing and have
many tips and tricks that videographers just don't know.
If you do enough home tours you can pick up some tips - but the homeowner won't be as motivated
as they might be when the buyers agents start scheduling showings……
I don't think an owner would be motivated by a videographer to de-clutter, repair and paint
when they have not really committed to sell…..
I have bought and sold several homes and was in the real estate industry for awhile.
I think you still have to approach the local real estate industry to get any traction.
Trying to sell a service directly to a homeowner is a long shot.
 
Here is the final edit, complete with narration and the opening logo bump.
http://vimeo.com/84575978

I wasn't able to change up too many of the shots or the use of the wide angle, but I learned some things for the next shoot and the client is happy enough with this one to move forward on more projects.

I hate some of the noise present in the exterior shots. I was shooting with NR set to -5 so those bricks on the house wouldnt cause eccessive moire. I didn't realize it would cause so much noise in the grass and shrubbery, even at very low ISO.


In terms of marketing/selling this idea:

I kept costs of this project pretty low. Shot in 90 minutes using a slider, tripod, and two lenses. Total cost is just over $400 including royalty-free music and professional voice acting. Fortunately for the agent, they see the value in spending under $500 for more expensive properties in order to differentiate themselves from other agents who just use their iphone to showcase a home.

I did also recently video for my own house that is for sale and we had 2 offers in the first week it was listed. I'm not sure the video played that much of a role, but since it was free for me to do, it was another way for me to add to my portfolio. The average days on the market in my area is over 60, so I can argue it had an impact.

Even if you house isn't for sale...perhaps you can shoot it and some friends' homes. Then present the videos to realtors and talk to them about the cost/value investment. I think the reality is that you can't go over $500/home initially. Maybe after you establish the proof of pudding and gain some regular clients, you can rely more on "actors," drones, great danes, and charge a bit for.

For me, this type of work is meant to be quick hit and higher volume to fill in "gaps" during larger jobs.
 
Looks much better and obviously the voice over is a big help. Only thing is you've misspelled the title on the Vimeo clip (Ridge, not Rige)
 
Good Job........I'm still working on ideas to present to Realtors, note one that I thought of today.

Static photographs can illustrate a product or property but moving the camera creates a sense of being there. A nicely produced video production of a million or multi million dollar home can make it much easier to reach out to buyers near or far. Using Steady Cam equipment we’re able to create very effective marketing tools for realtors, our productions can be tailored to the property and will also have a “Keepsake Value” for the homeowner.

We’re planning on calling this new concept for realtors “Keepsake Video Tours” the seller would receive a Keepsake DVD and a link to their “Keepsake Video Tour” The seller would pay the videographer for this service and would own all rights to their tour. The listing agent could also use the link to help market the property, as an option and if the property sells the listing agent could reimburse the homeowner for the cost of the production.

I think the seller will see value in this idea as they would know how their property is shown and have something of value to remember, when their home sells.
 
Vardalos said:
Good Job........I'm still working on ideas to present to Realtors, note one that I thought of today.

Static photographs can illustrate a product or property but moving the camera creates a sense of being there. A nicely produced video production of a million or multi million dollar home can make it much easier to reach out to buyers near or far. Using Steady Cam equipment we’re able to create very effective marketing tools for realtors, our productions can be tailored to the property and will also have a “Keepsake Value” for the homeowner.

We’re planning on calling this new concept for realtors “Keepsake Video Tours” the seller would receive a Keepsake DVD and a link to their “Keepsake Video Tour” The seller would pay the videographer for this service and would own all rights to their tour. The listing agent could also use the link to help market the property, as an option and if the property sells the listing agent could reimburse the homeowner for the cost of the production.

I think the seller will see value in this idea as they would know how their property is shown and have something of value to remember, when their home sells.
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If you are saying this tour would serve two functions (marketing and sentiment), I think your biggest "sell" would be explaining the sentimental side of this to the seller. To enhance this idea, I would offer two cuts. One for the real estate agent, and then one for the seller. The seller's version would intercut pictures of various life events that have occured in the home (rocking the baby in the nursery, opening Christmas presents in the living room, Thanksgiving dinner, etc). To me, this would help add the emotional angle while not causing too much more production.
 
Michael Schrengohst said:
Those are all great ideas…..I would love to see the real estate agents face when you quote them $2500 for a video full of stedicam shots and actors…..heh, heh….
On the sale of a $300,000 home the sellers agent would gross about $9000 and then they have to pay the agency fee and other costs so they could net
about $7000 and then depending on income and where they live would be paying 12-50% taxes on that $7000 - so net net might be $6000-$3500???
Most real estate agents struggle to make 35K per year…..only the top producers crack the $100K mark…..
Most of them take their own photos and many pay a service about $250 for a total marketing package.
Believe me, I spent 10 years chasing this market and made some inroads but it was a daily struggle
to overcome the cheap services. I had hundreds of agents who "offered" me a chance to get their business
by doing a freebie up front…..I did many freebies that went no where.
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I've made six short films with free actors--all skilled and good at their craft. Buy them pizza, cover some transportation costs (or pick them up) and a copy for their reel. There are tons of actors who just want to work and build their reel. Heck, get some good looking friends to do it.

And I was not suggesting a steadicam...that was my reply to someone else's comment. And btw, there are very affordable stabilizers out there depending on the camera.
 
sigamy said:
I've made six short films with free actors--all skilled and good at their craft. Buy them pizza, cover some transportation costs (or pick them up) and a copy for their reel. There are tons of actors who just want to work and build their reel. Heck, get some good looking friends to do it.

And I was not suggesting a steadicam...that was my reply to someone else's comment. And btw, there are very affordable stabilizers out there depending on the camera.
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I passed the window of getting friends to help for free - 25 years ago…LOL…..Once you develop a reel and get business and actors know you are getting paid and they are not -
the party is over. In my market, the agents know who I am and word would get out if I was asking for freebies. The only freebies that actors might do for me now
is a PSA or something like that, where I am not getting paid. But those days were back in the 80's, 90's. Plus, you better get a model release so they don't come back
wanting money - or worse yet, you might have to pull a video if a "free" actor objects down the road..that would be real embarrassing to tell a client you have to re-shoot
or cough up some money for the "free" actors……Many actors I have know have pulled this stunt. That is why I always get a model release - free actor or not.
Milk it now because it won't last.
 
I'd really question the value of putting any people in the house other than the realtor giving a tour of the property. From a psychological perspective, you want the potential buyer putting themselves in the house, and not being distracted by seeing other people in "their" house. It's the same reason that realtors will tell sellers to take down the really personal photos and replace them with generic landscapes or photos without people.
 
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