Wow! What a crazy month it has been here for me. Over the past few weeks I traveled several thousand miles to share as a social media speaker at many events around the country. One of the more popular presentations I have done recently has been on video in real estate. In that video I share several video demonstrations on various tools & tips. Things like the importance of using an external microphone, using tripods, etc. 
I think these video tips are fairly important and could be useful to others, so I will be sharing these short video examples and tips over the next few weeks here on the blog. Today I am sharing tip 1 for creating better real estate video.
Getting The Right Indoor Video Shot
The biggest issue I have seen in most indoor real estate videos has to do with the camera position. Too many times I see the shot focusing on the windows of a room and shooting directly at them. While it is important to point out the lightness & brightness inside a room caused by a window when trying to sell a home, if you try to convey this the same way in your video that you do when physically in the home with a buyer you end up with all kinds of problems.
Because there is so much brightness, many ignore turning on the lights in the room to try to keep the shot from being over exposed which causes problem one. Then you have the unbalanced amount of light as you pan the room. Most cameras can not adjust fast enough as you pan so you end up with part of your shot looking fine, part completely washed out and then another segment that is so dark you may think you are in a real estate cave. Not to mention the fact that it looks like the room changes color from tans to yellows to grays to whites.
You can spend hours in the editing booth trying to adjust color and exposure in your shot causing you to want to pull your hair completely out. While this option is available, there are others that are much easier. The angle you choose to shoot your video at can fix all these issues almost instantly.
Instead of shooting your video directly into the windows with no interior lights on, move the camera to the other side of the room near your windows. Turn on the interior lights and begin your video shot there. By doing so you will see a more consistent amount of light across your shot without the white balance & exposure changing as many times as a chameleon.
Here's a quick demo video from my recent presentation on Real Estate Video Basics:
Originally Posted at: 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors
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I am the Co-Founder of 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors. I have traveled the country as a social media speaker. If you would like more information on any of the topics discussed in this blog, please contact me directly. We specialize in social media training, online consulting, and the creation of your own custom WordPress site.
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You said "real estate cave."
Make it a great week.
Lighting and white balance are the big issues...
Tom
Perfect tutorial Jeremy and thank you!
Greg- I knew you would appreciate that mention.
Tom- so many overlook the lighting and have all kinds of issues.
Thanks Jackie!
Jeremy, excellent post and tips. Getting the lighting right for the INSIDE is critical otherwise the photos or video never quite look right.
So true Gary. If you don't get it right, you have washed out & way too dark shots.
hi Jeremy - I need more practice with indoor videos and this is one thing I will be working on. Thanks for the easy instructions.
That is a great tip. I just tried a quick video to see for myself and the difference is unbelievable from simply changing the starting position. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it helps Peggy!
It is pretty amazing the difference Ken!
Great post, thank you for sharing this information. I appreciate the time, thought and effort put into creating this post.
Great tutorial, Jeremy.
thanks for the tips!
Jeremy, You have given some excellent advice about lighting. I have been there and done that, more than once. Especially with the window light taking control, as I tried to focus on the Plantation Shutters. As of late, I've been making more of an effort to use the light to my advantage. Thanks for sharing. I also enjoyed your Tripod video, that I watched on your YouTube Channel. Best wishes always.
Thanks! I learned something new!
o you use an particular video editing software?
what cave?
Jeremy,
This is a very valuable post. I have bookmarked it.
Brian
Great Tips! Thank you for sharing them with the rest of us on Active Rain!
Hi Jeremy - This is excellent advice. People should consider taking multiple shots from different angles of the room so they will have options when editing the video afterwards.
Thanks for a great tutorial on video shoot, JB. I have seen few videos that may have harmed the sale instead of helping.
Hi Jeremy, as always, stellar advice from you. Great tutorial and so practical.
Sharon
Hi Jeremy--another great post and such great information. It certainly pays to plan how the video will be shot as is evidenced by your video.
I have not quite gotten around to using my new camera with the video option. I bought a good camera so I could do my own virtual tours. Hopefully I can do my camera justice by following your tutorials! If not practice and practice right! Thanks for the series!
Jeremy - Great tips and suggestions to make a better video with a lot less work.
Thanks Jeremy, I find it very difficult to video indoors. Our rooms are small and have lots of sun streaming in the windows from morning to dusk. Thanks for the suggestions.
This looks like a good suggestion. Time to add video skills to our list of talents!
Thanks for the great tip! What great advise to save time and frustration. I'll be purchaing a new camera soon and will be practicing more with video.
Thanks as always for the great insights and tips. I look forward to your upcoming tips and examples in the coming weeks.
Yep, a video tutorial always works out great for me. Now, that's an easy lesson I'm going to remember.
Great tips on what to do and what not to do. With videos really becoming the now rather than the future, this is important
Great post, Jeremy - the perfect amount of information and presented understandably and well! Thanks!
Jeremy, great tip and what a difference with just repositioning the camera. Thanks.
Jeremy,
Yes I have been holding back but with the new camera I just got I have no excuse. So soon you will be seeing a lot more of my shining face. Hey at least in a cave you can control the lighting.
The suggestion you make in your last paragraph was something I learned after doing it the other way but, in hindsight, it's one of those tricks that makes perfect sense!
Thanks for the help
Richard- Thanks, yes plantation shutters are beautiful but they can be a nightmare on video. Those other videos will be coming very soon.
Tom Scott- I simply use iMovie for editing all of my videos.
Alan- I know nothing of what you talk about this cave.
Marc- that is also another great piece of advice. Take more than 1 shot to use snippets of the best parts.
Praful- Bad video can be detrimental to your marketing plan for sure!
Thanks Sharon! How are you doing?
Janet- Thanks Janet! Glad you enjoyed.
Rosalle- It definitely takes some practice to get the shots just right. The more you practice, the better it will be.
Thanks Laura!
Maureen- sometimes you might need to shoot at sunset and turn on the inside lights. It can really make a difference.
Cheryl- it's a never ending list!
No problem Charlie!
Glad you liked it Jill
Ellie- 3 billion are watched on YouTube daily, we gotta start getting video out there!
Glad you enjoyed Debbe.
Michael- it makes a major difference.
I hire someone to do indoor photos but am going to start doing my own videos. Thanks for the advice.
Larry- get to making those videos now!
Awesome Leanne
LOL Yvonne!
No problem Curtis
Best of Luck Karen!
Jeremy,
Full motion video is very different from video slideshow tours. in my experience. It seems a bit like learning a new language.lol
Great post,
Steve
Jeremy - shooting video of even still shots with even lighting preferably behind you is always the optimum way to shoot. Great tip...
Good tips on the indoor window shots, Jeremy! One thing I do that some may find time consuming is to go back to the house at different times of day so that I can get the home in different lights.
Love this post! I have been editing some video and was going crazy trying to fix it, looks like the better option to redo the video but be more aware of these tips
The whole video thing would be best, if there were somebody to shoot them for me.
I'm a Realtor, not a director. Hopefully will work that out soon.
Good stuff, thanks for sharing it.
Steve- Full Motion is what consumers want nowadays. Definitely a different way.
Thanks Robert & Lisa
Maria- that isn't a bad idea at all!
Ruth- sometimes it is much easier to just reshoot instead of trying to edit in post.
Anthony- there are definitely options in your area I know someone who could help you out with that pretty easily. His name is Mike Mueller & does great video work.
As always, Jeremy ... you have produced another tutorial with some great tips! Appreciate your sharing them here!
Jeremy, thanks for the helpful tip on lighting. We're just looking into full motion video I saw list of cameras on a slide presentation you did at a conference. I was looking at the Sony HDR CX160 any thoughts on that camera?
Sorry Nancy, not familiar with that model.
Great tips Jeremy. Hopefully more people see this post and make the adjustments you have suggested. Lighting is important in videos and photos. They make all the difference for a client's choice.
Jeremy:
Thanks for the tip. Most of the videos I have done are outside. But I need to learn how to do videos of inside spaces. I am bookmarking this post and look forward to your other tutorials. Are you on YouTube?
I always love photography tips, especially in lay terms. Thanks for the heads up.
Shooting towards windows causes the same kind of problem with still photos, either making the shot too dark or giving the effect that a nuclear explosion is taking place outside!
I can't believe how simple this is. I can't believe it has taken me this long to figure it out. LOL Thanks Jeremy!
Thank You for the tutorial Jeremy. 2012 is the year that I try video marketing
Jeremy, so many of your problems with pumping light compression or expansion is using the point and shoot still camera for the big bad boy video loop collection. It's real purpose on the drawing boards was stills and one at a time photo collection. Video is not that. It breathes life in to the local event, the individual property listing if you get a real video camera and remember the sound is 40% of the experience, connection. Folks don't talk in scripts either. Conversation is free and easy and flows, builds. Video is a great medium but way way too many experts that don't have the training, the loops in the can. Don't make their living or survive on what works in their market. No provision for examples of what works in a person's real estate practice without a<a href="http://www.youtube.com/mooersrealty">video link</a>