In the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion in online video. The world now watches 80 million hours of YouTube a day. Cisco estimates within 4 years, over 90% of data on the web will be video.
In the January edition for WIRED Magazine, Chris Anderson, Head of TED – the global conference on Technology Entertainment & Design – wrote a compelling article on Crowd Accelerated Innovation and how online video WILL change the world.
Anderson describes how videos on YouTube are allowing people and groups across the world over to study how things are done – over and over again (with pause and re-wind) and improve on them, sharing ideas in ways that supercharge creativity and innovation.
Anderson says this phenomenon is increasing as more and more web content is dominated by video. One of many examples Anderson references is The LXD – The League of Extraordinary Dancers – which performed at last year’s OSCARS.
The LXD is a dance troupe put together from the best of the best of YouTube, based on the observation of film-maker Jon M Chu: “Dancers have created a whole global laboratory online. Kids in Japan are taking moves from a YouTube video created in Detroit, building on it within days and releasing a new video, while teenagers in California are taking the Japanese video and re-mixing it to create a whole new dance style.”
Software programmers, photographers, cinematographers, musicians, writers have all benefited from sharing ideas across the web, because what they create and output is digital.
But now. Through online video, industries that previously had no access to being able to produce and share video content, can plug in. The first few years of the web didn’t see a lot of video. The files were too big; the networks too slow.
That’s changing, fast. Video packs a huge amount of data, but Anderson says are brains are wired to de-code it.
Apart from powerful images and dialogue working together, hidden in the discordance of vocals, the eye contact, the human expressions, and the passion of somebody sharing information on video is some real magic.
“When you are through changing – you’re through.” Bruce Barton
References
Guest Author: Brett Clements from Platinum HD
28 Comments
Shane Dale
Video is indeed a revolution due to the ability to create and now view digital video online. Its been a long time coming – years of dial up have finally been removed that barrier now broadband is widespread.
Is video critical to the general property marketing by an agent?
Property – its not anything like dancing – properties are very still – they dont move, and while a crane boom will give a nice zooming effect – its an expensive way to create a cool effect.
Most good photos, with retouching look better than video, as the video panning across a room often mimics a simple sliding photo in any case – but is lower resolution and larger file size to download.
Its even tougher to add a blue sky to a video compared to a still if you shoot on an overcast day.
Video production costs have dropped but still are expensive compared with stills – and video can ONLY be used as the external link on a property page online – the the still photo ( with digital enhancement) is still the king as it suits web browsing, print, signage, shopfronts and mobiles.
Video can be very nice for the right property, but most agents dont even use a floorplan which studies have shown is of far more interest and usefulness to buyers – especially the less pretty properties – where a floorplan looks clean and shows potential, even if its poorly presented or has outdated interiors. I also think a few photos on a large property nevers ‘sells” it enough.
A floorplan also saves the agent far more time in explaining a property than a video.
If you have a large marketing budget, and a suitable property – and you already have great stills, and a floorplan – maybe then a video ( or a virtual tour) is the next best option.
By the way – to validate my opinion – my company shoots video, stills, floorplans, virtual tours etc – so I do make videos, but seems to me to be a niche service for real estate, not a wider market play.
Mark B
Great read Brett – i had no idea Video consumption was so high!
After seeing Robert’s video of “Glen Osmond” in Mosman, our office purchased a video through Domain at the end of 2010. We ran it on both portals, our site, emailed it to our DB, uploaded it to Facebook, YouTube and now show it in our appraisals (hey, we’re getting out money’s worth!).
The property sold in a little over a week, with the purchaser initially blown away by the video. As you allude to, Brett – it’s a powerful medium indeed.
Mark.
Brett Clements
Thanks Mark. And that’s just from two outlets. There are hundreds out there and they are all free. Wait for the TV plug ins. Apple TV 2, Google TV and a range of other Internet-enabled boxes and mobile and tablet platforms. Exciting times.
Brett Clements
Thanks Shane. I appreciate the feedback and the chance to delve into the discussion.
With respect. I think you may have missed the point in the TED talk and video.
But I’ll address the technical side first. Pulling a photograph across a screen in a ‘slide’ move – or any one of a number of automated ‘Ken Burns’ effects, is not the same as a pan past, a tilt, dolly, slider or crane through a three-dimensional space.
And a person moving through that space to illustrate its size, depth and perspective.
And Film-makers the world over would take you to task on that one.
There is also inherent ‘grain’ in film or video, so every pixel in a frame moves.
Advances in colour grading software are addressing the white skies.
I believe the next generation of Aperture and Lightroom will dive further into dynamic colour grading.
The Holy Grail in HDSLR cameras (cameras that shoot both high resolution photographs and video) is 2k and 4k video.
That’s 25 frames a second of RAW data; delivering us close-to High Dynamic Range capacity. So we can grade interiors and exteriors – matching exposures – in real time. Order your 12-core now – and 20 terabytes of storage. 🙂
But to the REALLY BIG point Chris Anderson is making in his theory on Crowd Accelerated Innovation – human communication; eye contact, personality, human gestures, the wink of an eye, the curl of a mouth – to communicate a message through video. The traits that make you ‘you’.
The traits of a great speaker to hold an audience and share ideas and excite through the power of person-to-person communication.
Something a photograph can never do. It can excite and emote.
But not in the same way ‘you’ can when you look somebody in the eye and communicate with them.
We’ve been communicating this way long before we even started drawing pictures on cave walls – which were probably the forerunner to ‘photographs’. I’m being simplistic here but I hope you get my drift.
Writing is actually a relatively new tool in the curve of human evolution.
Video is actually taking us back to the origins of humanity and how we once communicated with each other. Tribal stuff.
Before the invent of the printing press and ‘control’ over mass communication by the media barons.
That’s fascinating stuff.
On photographs. I’m a photographer as well. I adore the art, and respect the Masters. Framing, composing and producing one frozen moment in time, which can capture and hold an audience’s attention is much harder than a lazy pan across a room.
Because a photograph is ‘still’ the audience has time to take it all in. And pick it apart.
As a result, Agents are far more discerning about photographs than video. But that’s changing now as well as Clients become more educated in video/film.
But heavily re-touched photographs also set the buyer up for one helluva reality check when they hit location.
Video is as real as people talking to you; and looking you in the eye.
I can’t see a day when we have a Max Headroom Agent.
I agree not all properties need video.
It could be argued most properties don’t need anything other than a realistic seller, a great Agent and a Facebook post.
But in a market awash with properties for sale, I think you have to win the emotional stakes.
And in that league, a great film, presented well, told well, with moving pictures of waves breaking, trees swaying and ‘life’ on the move, wins hands down.
Platforms and arts are converging.
Photographers and Cinematographers are learning from each other.
And competition and innovation is improving the breed.
Brett
Vic
There is a use for video in promoting properties for sale. But as Shane says don’t bother trying to video still/static images.
We have been looking to encourage agents to produce videos for “lifestyle” selling. Take a video of high activity in a cafe strip on the boardwalk at Noosa, video clip of humpback whale migration off the coast of Byron Bay. Wildlife activity on an acreage. etc
A small video to support the sale of our beachfront acreage showing surfers, birdlife, dolphins and some of the wildlife on the property was attached to our agents web site and was well received. Did it help to sell our property? I don’t think so, but I have no doubt that if used by agents to promote the lifestyle value of their area it would be an incentive for internet viewers to come to the area to see for themselves.
After all, the value of images, still or video, is to “create an interest”. To get buyers to call an agent to make a time for the buyer to inspect.
Brett Clements
Hi Vic. Thanks for the comment.
The thrust of my post wasn’t about video v photographs or a turf war over what’s better.
It was about Crowd Accelerated Innovation and sharing awesome ideas through human communication skills conveyed through video and the Internet.
I encourage you to watch Anderson’s 20 minute speech.
It is inspiring.
There’s a young man from Kenya who has brought hope to an entire community, sharing innovation in farming – using a FLIP camera and the Internet.
This man was probably always a great thinker.
Video and the Internet have finally let him share his ideas with the world in a way writing and printing could never have done.
It touches on scientists and doctors sharing new techniques; showing how operations can be done, in a way that can’t be communicated through writing or printing or photographs.
Its no about showing off lifestyle and getting a sale.
Its about human evolution and the triumph of the common man, using technology.
And beats a whale breaching hand’s down.
Vic
Brett,
Clearly your article was not about opportunities for real estate agents to improve their sales. But my comment, on this real estate blog, was related to trying to identify the potential for video usage in selling real estate.
It is no secret that moving images and powerful words have an impact: always have and always will, and can move and inspire people.It is not new or innovated technology nor is what is done new or innovative. It is the use of an old technology to communicate through new channells; that is my inspiration. If this “old technology” can benefit agents in their selling efforts then all the good for you bringing it to their attention.
Brett Clements
Vic. If you don’t consider learning how audiences respond to communication via video, when the rest of the world is deploying video, I’ve contributed nothing.
One industry can learn from another.
Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees.
Vic
The devil is in the detail Brett.
You may look at the forest all day for all I care :), but unless from a real estate sales perspective, a commercial proposition is not available, who cares about the man in Kenya.
I say again, video can be used and used effectively in the real estate industry. It is not yet the case but will certainly be when someone uses it in profitable pursuit.
And for your information I have, in my time, listened to and seen more inspirational speeches than you have had breakfasts. It makes you feel good for a while then you go about your business. That’s life.
Just for the record your post is a good one… not inspirational, but good.
Brett Clements
I’m happy to get a ‘good’ Vic. Posting here is always a tough school.
Have a cracking 2011.
Vic
And a great 2011 to you Brett.
Glenn Batten
I think video will have its biggest year yet in this industry and will be one of the points of difference that many agencies use.
The problem with video though is it is an expensive medium to do properly and as several have pointed out it is always just tacked on to the listing and treated correctly by the portals.
I am just not sure if it will ever crack the mainstream in the next few years.
As to the reference to Apple TV, Google TV and other internet based media players.. They have been out now in the states for a little while and nothing appears to have set the world on fire.
Funny as it sounds for me video shows more potential on portable devices like smartphones and tablets than on your tv.
The reason I say that is I recently purchased a Boxee Box which is a media player. Boxee has been around for quite awhile and they partnered with Dlink to release the Boxee box. Thinking they knew their users better than they did they decided to change the UI on the box to focus on Online Video. The clients were in an uproar and their support forums lit up with complaints. The user base were interested primarily in two aspects
1/ Illegal Commercial Video – TV shows and movies they either downloaded from the internet or that they ripped themselves.
2/ TV Shows and services from online services such as Netflix and Hulu.
Boxee had filled up the user interface to focus on Youtube and other online short video services but the users seen this is a great addition but not the primary features.
Similarly the Google TV launch was underwhelming but a lot of that was mostly in part to Logitech’s buggy implementation. Again Google TV users could have their fill of youtube and others however the users were not happy that content providers like Hulu, CBS etc blocked the google tv box.
The wow factor in Google TV is more about researching shows you are watching or overlying the stats whilst watching the football .. rather than watching youtube.
Remember that in both of these examples the users are “early adopters” and they are ones you would think that youtube and the like would suit. Instead they wanted to see exactly what you can on normal commercial tv or in the theatres but they wanted it without ads and on demand.
Video usages on mobile devices though.. thats going through the roof and the resolutions of the screens in the palm of your hands is amazing.
Brett Clements
Thanks Glenn.
I always appreciate your feedback and you’re always bang on.
Except for this time.
Funny thing about posting on this site.
Nobody ever seems to address the guts of the content.
I write about Not Using Adjectives in Property advertising, and I get hosed down for 101 other things.
Nobody addressed the thrust of the post, which was about not using adjectives in video.
I write about Crowd Accelerated Innovation and Anderson’s speech on how video and the Internet is accelerating the sharing of ideas, and the basis of human communication, and the discussion breaks down to photography v video and the affordability of the medium.
My post was not about whether video is a new medium or whether its is critical. It ain’t. Price, a realistic Vendor and an awesome Agent makes most marketing suppliers redundant in the second it takes to post on Facebook.
My post was all about the wonder of what a 21 year-old Kenyan farmer can do with a Flip camera and the Internet.
Or how a little boy in China learned some amazing moves via YouTube and got to perform at the Oscars.
I’d just like to steer the conversation back to the inspiration. As Vic rightly pointed out, my post was hardly inspirational.
That came as no surprise to me given what I was writing about.
Just trying to steer the discussion back to the post.
Glenn Batten
Half of my comment was to video and our industry as per comment one from Shane Dale.. yes I did notice that you were trying not to make that connection I assume for fear of some backlash of self promotion, but lets face it thats what this blog is about… Real Estate and technology.
The second half of my comment was specifically in response to your own comment “Wait for the TV plug ins. Apple TV 2, Google TV and a range of other Internet-enabled boxes and mobile and tablet platforms. Exciting times.about these”
My experience is that you are spot on with the mobile and tablet platforms part of this. I personally watch movies and tv on my android phone and I have an 10 inch android tablet currently in transit that one of its major uses will be for video for the family.
But as to the tv connected devices, they are just being used to play the same commercial content from the tv stations and movie studios. When the suppliers tried to bring the internet video to the forefront they were shouted down.
For some reason the TV is still not seen as the way to watch internet video. Your pc, phone and the ipad or other tablets are all ok for interent video but not the TV apparently. That will change I am sure.. but it wont be 2011 IMHO.
What you seem to miss on the tv is the quick searching you can do with pc/phone/tablet. Maybe when you can integrate the small screen and the large screen together it might work… say with a “flick” of a video from your tablet in your lap to the tv screen in front of you using your finger… that sort of thing might bring the internet video to the 10 foot interface a bit more readily.
I was going to look at importing the Google TV box from Logitech but decided not to after some shocking reviews. They guy from the Wall Street Journal said it best with
Brett Clements
All great points Glenn. And you are always bang on.
I’ve learned, the hard way. about self-promotion as an independent contributor. I suspect that’s how most people learn. The hard way.
What I wanted to contribute was something I felt was truly awesome from a Communicator’s perspective.
Why don’t we address these points?
If Blogging as a Contributor is independent of any self-interest, surely the conversation should be about the point made outside that sphere?
Appreciate your comment on the evolving thread but if I failed to turn it back on the theme…
Glenn Batten
Brett,
Video in our industry and is a valid topic to discuss and I welcome your expertise, insights and commentary on the subject. I understand that reaction to a past article has made you a little gun shy.
When I first started writing for this blog I copped my share of flak and every now and again I still do. I have been told I am anti-REA and pro-REA on the same day about the same post.I could never figure that out.
I think generally when people understand that your posts are more about a genuine desire to share than self promotion you will see less questioning of your motives.
Non real estate articles on here are still great, and interestingly I found TED from Peter’s post on it awhile back…. but I for one would like you to continue to also write about video and how to use it to promote property.
Just to facilitate this a little I have something that has been on my mind for a little while 🙂
To me there seems to be two primary skills involved in a good property video. The video itself and the editing.
Whilst its amazing to see some of your grander productions with time lapse photography, creative camera work, scripted salespeople etc etc.. these are very expensive. At the other end of your price list the basic productions seem to feature more basic pans and camera work. During the editing phase there is text overlays added and background music but the camera work itself is pretty limited due to the budgets involved.
The most easily recreated skill for an agency to recreate is the shooting of the raw video itself. Editing video not only needs high skill levels but to do it very quickly and efficiently it requires substantial hardware.
If an office could invest in a video camera and tripod with a fluid video pan head maybe they could they shoot video for video house to edit. In fact many of the slr cameras in offices today have HD capabilities already.
I guess what I am asking is how much of a $400 budget level video of a property is in the actual camera work, the editing and the hosting. If I provided a video house with source video of 4 or 5 pans of the major features of the property to work with could they turn out a quality video for much cheaper? Would it work and if not what are the challenges to overcome?
Brett Clements
Morning Glenn
RE: The ‘something’ that has been on your mind. 🙂
Interesting topic to explore, as it is strikes at the heart of Crowd Accelerated Innovation.
What to do first? (1) Pull the defensive move on behalf of the film industry.
I believe there are more than two primary skills. (1) It has to be ‘Produced/Scheduled/Organized. There’s many unsung heroes out there – in both our industries – that do all the scheduling. Then there’s a pro Voice-Over, a skill in itself, and the fourth is IT, or a proprietary approval and streaming system – offering an Agent (and their Client) a video stream independent of YouTube or Facebook – so its not slathered in advertising and branding.
On the price point. There’s no doubt the $350 productions are challenging, although using the latest DSLRs, most Companies supplying these services now include up to 10 high resolution photographs. Each needs to be professionally re-touched – with blue-sky drop-in’s almost standard these days given our weather in this part of the world.
The big discussion on price is the value of video versus print. Another Pandora’s Box.
(2) Now the ‘How To’.
No doubt an Agency could shoot their own video. We could probably become an Agency. Have we a burning desire to do that? Nah. And I think to make a good film, to make a good ‘anything’ – from a sandwich to a brick wall – you have to be passionate.
That said, ours is probably the only industry which affords itself the luxury of multiple takes.
If somebody made you one bad sandwich the first time, you probably wouldn’t go back to that cafe. In the film business, on the other hand, we need multiple takes to get it right. Maybe that’s why we’re in the film business. 🙂
If, however, you’re passionate about shooting property videos.
– Get yourself a nice Canon 7D and a decent wide angle. The ISO gets a bit ratty at the top-end, so might want to invest in a big light:
– A 2k.
– A solid tripod with a fluid head.
– Buy yourself a decent flash.
– Buy an Apple laptop and iLife – from Apple’s new Mac App store – and you’re off and running. (Or Adobe for the PC world)
– Buy an Audio-Technica mike so you can record commentary, or an H4N Zoom Recorder if you want to dual record on the 7D.
– Apple’s imovie (iLIfe suite) provides great ‘Magic Movie’ features; shoot four or five slow and steady pans, import them, click ‘Make Movie’ and export it using a track from Garage Band. The suite even offers up compression software.
– Get yourself a 2 terabyte XRAID.
– Finally, $21 million in public liability so you can shoot on Hedges Avenue and not worry about burning a house down. Or a Brisbane high-rise.
In the US, there’s no such thing as Vendor Paid Advertising; so you have hundreds of Agents walking through Homes with FLIP CAMERAS, doing their own commentary.
And I’ve seen quite a few good ones. I’ve also seen a truckload of bad ones.
Given many Vendors are particularly precious about how their homes are presented, you may want to subscribe to a few photographic magazines and become an avid fan of all the major real estate franchises’ e-books, weekly and monthlies.
They make for a very boring read (maybe it is all the wall-to-wall adjectives used in every ad) but the property photographs might inspire.
Challenges? None that can’t be overcome with passion, although you might want to learn Photoshop so you can turn all the skies blue and drop some nice scenic pictures into those black holes called TVs.
Agents also hate shadows. So you’ll need to remove every single one. 🙂
But if you want to persist. Its entirely doable Glenn.
I think everybody has a streak of creativity in them. We’re all proud of ourselves when we take a good photograph.
Some Agents I work with are damn fine real estate photographers (and Voice Over artists and writers to boot!), so they’re winning every which way.
(3) The future. I think it will break two ways.
You’ll have an awesome array of amateur cameras that shoot great photographs, HD and even 3D. Point and click and upload.
You’ll have a new breed of high-end cameras shooting up in the vicinity of 2-4k. This will bring on a big hardware $$$ battle. The images will be stunning – but so will the firepower in the back end needed to run them.
Not to mention the storage and internal networking speeds needed to truck that sort of data around.
But with the NBN on the way, the future is in the Clouds anyway. Literally.
Gotta fly. Have to sit for my first study session on How To Become a Great Agent.
🙂
Glenn Batten
Brett,
Your response is about agents shooting and producing their own video. Thats not what my post was about and you did not answer my question.
There are hundreds of agents out there shooting and editing their own video right now. Most very very badly. You are not getting that work at the moment. Is their an opportunity that if they had some basic equipment that they could shoot some basic pans and you could do the rest of the work?
It might be possible that with a little bit of help they can shoot some basic pans but were they seem to botch it up is in the editing of that video.
You went on the defensive about agents wanting to do your job and justifying it listing all the hardware required.. I cannot do what you can do especially at the higher end. I dont have experience, skill of the hardware
What I can do though is buy a fluid head for my manfrotto tripod I already own and use my HDSLR I already own to shoot basic pans on a property…. But the reason I have not done this already is the whole editing phase.
As you pointed out more and more agents have this hardware. If they are not already offering video this might be an easy way for them to offer the service.
I liken it to the standalone property websites. Sure an agent can do everything…. and equally you can hire a pro to complete everything but one option is for the agent to shoot the images and use a third party to present those images in a professional manner.
Such as http://openhouseadvertising.com/
Anybody using this service knows the result will probably not be as good as a full blown third party custom service but it is far more cost effective. They also understand that the quality of the video is their responsibility.
At the moment this sort of joint collaboration is not available for video.. Can it be?
IF (and its a big if I know) it could work then you are not limited geographically to where you professional cameramen are based..
Brett Clements
Hi Glenn,
I didn’t mean to go on the defensive.
I thought there was a theme of humour running through my reply. 🙂
Seriously. Editing third party footage is doable.
The main challenge is file transfers, especially on original HD content shot at 1080p.
You’re looking a one or two gig upload.
Even using file services like SendIT are time-consuming for big chunks.
Its not impossible. Bandwidth is the biggest enemy at the moment.
Send me some footage and I’ll see what I can do.
Shane Dale
My head is spinning! What a discussion – so much detail.
Brett – I agree most of your points – and well made, and I do think the impact of video will be immense in connecting people in all those exciting ways that allow collaboration especially.
I hope I didnt come across as a downer, just a brief observation that mainstream property marketing will always rely on stills mainly and video is usually overkill for the average suburban house, or even most luxury homes. I still say a floorplan is more useful, especially if its an interactive one.
On the point of sliding stills – I agree that a pan on video gives more dimensionality but in sales terms I fear the effect is negligible, as much as it is slightly better eye candy. I wish it was otherwise – am happy to do more video, but the market seems not to need it and I am simply being practical.
Its in no way any disrespect to you or the video producers out there. Your work is very good from what I have seen.
In many ways – the value of video is in its actual high cost – some vendors can only be convinced of the expertise, and qualifications of the agent when they demand a large marketing budget – and video is one sure way to add to that area.
However for sure – 2011 will see more video, as more agents actually find uses for it, and others dip their toes in the water testing its effects.
Brett Clements
Shane.
Trust me when I say you didn’t come across as a downer. I’ve been through much worse and come out the other end to tell the tale.
Comments appreciated.
Glenn Batten
Brett,
I know its possible.. but is it economical? If you are doing $350 with sending cameraman on site is this sort of product viable for companies like yours for say sub $200?
If you could deliver this at $170 or $180 it might get interesting. A search of Youtube would identify all the agents doing their own video. It would be interesting to talk with some of these guys to see if this sort of product would be enticing. Professional editing spliced in with some of your generic suburb and lifestyle video would lift some pretty average and often heavily templated productions into another world.
Give the uploads away… I would think that the best way would be a client to send you a dvd or even a memory stick as they are so cheap these days.
Brett Clements
Hi Glenn,
We could certainly turn a video around for under $170 – with change.
Send us the footage, we’ll cut one FOC as a pilot and I’ll post the link here.
On another note, I just want to pause and say everybody from the Queensland real estate industry is in our thoughts and prayers today.
We’ve extended the offer of operational space in our Gold Coast studios.
craig pontey
Wow guys…..I have learnt a lot from reading all of the above..awesome stuff…..thanks and have a great 2011…Craig Pontey Ray White Double Bay
Shane Dale
Dreaming!
Most agents – the vast majority cannot take decent photos – much less video. I have supplied DIY single shot virtual tour systems from years ago. Sorry Glenn, its just been my personal experience – however cameras have gotten much better.
If there are a few agents who take good photographs or videos – I congratulate them on being part of the tiny minority. Most agents have a sharp mind for a sale or listing process,but also come with 2 left thumbs when shooting camera imagery. Horses for courses.
I would add a few items – not immediately apparent to the agents – which is fair enough because they have other things to be focussed on.
ITS A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY for an agent to shoot video. The result will often (not always) be rubbish but the killer is the hidden cost of the management of the set up, handling, download, hardware purchase, and transfer to the editor and review and sort it all – a time disaster.
If you say – “oh I will just get my assistant to handle that” then your assistant musn’t be very busy – there are more dollar productive activites to eb done.
Anyone can shoot a pretty house, but add in some challenging lighting and an overcast day – that vendor will be getting you to reshoot – thus your saving is gone as well as their perception of your skills.
If you have been a boss as long as I have – you will realise the vast chasm between having a great idea – and implementing a system in your office.
That is my prediction for the average office shooting their own video.
The cost is not just the dollars saved on shooting/ editing.
If your vendor sees your staff shooting – They comprehend you are a cheaper offering – and will see the end result as an amateur offering – its how people think – they dont believe an agent can shoot quality video/stills. When they see a pro – whatever they produce is seen as superior, and professional. Its a kind of “theatre” to the vendor.
Far cheaper in TIME and money and will get a MUCH better result by using professional services – OR dont do it at all if you cant afford it to be done right.
To sum up – BAD or amateurish media will hurt your profile – if there is a competitor with professional media in your area.
I also personally find agents making commentary on video very cheesy and condescending – I dislike it intensely. In addition its worth noting that probably around 50% of computers have sound while browsing ( esp at work) I think captions are better and much cheaper, because the text of the listing can add all the detail, its not required to repeat it in voice format.
Brett Clements
Hi Shane,
Interesting point you raised about superimposition of titles. I agree. I heard a statistic last week supporting the ‘no sound’ on office computers.
That said, I’d also suggest 99% of the audience would have already read the basic facts and figures on the web site.
And as I’ve always said, you don’t need to call a kitchen a kitchen; the audience can see its a kitchen without being told the bleeding obvious.
Agents walking through homes and pointing out “This is the kitchen…” “this is the backyard swimming pool” drives me bonkers.
It is something we’re yet to solve although we’re trying real hard to replace adjectives with more emotive points. Things you can’t see. Like the fragrance of a garden. That sort of stuff.
Shane Dale
Hi Brett, whats your sum up of the agent on screen in a property video?
Any advice or comments for budding Brad Pitts in property videos?
Your comments above are spot on too – its much harder than it seems to deliver a TV presenter type effect – remembering scripts, acting natural and yet self assured.
Actors can od it on call – I have tried with some agents – and its tough to get a good outcome, plus they need to spend time onsite getting the delivery right.
Some agents have the knack, but its rare. I wouldnt like to be shooting agents in frame everyday – unless you get paid by the hour – in which case it would be a bonanza ! 😉
Brett Clements
Again. I’d have to agree.
It is all down to how you approach something though.
99.9% of great Agents are great with people.
There’s no reason why that can’t shine through on camera.
Bert Newton is hardly Mona Lisa. With all respect to Bert.
The new ipad comes with two cameras: why? Because pretty soon, video calls are going to be standard.
SKYPE is going video.
What are you going to do?
Put a bag over your head when you answer the phone?
I worked in the US for five years; Americans love a camera; and most are very natural in front of one.
Agents are awesome when they’re into it.
Although I think the old walk-through has had its day as has “Hi I’m Bob from Bob’s Estate Agents and welcome to Bob Street.”
We have to think outside the square now and use video in a far more creative way.
There’s an Agency on the coast, REOL, that has adopted video very aggressively and has an in-house camera man and editing department.
It is one of the smaller agencies, so it has that room to move and innovate.
Innovation in formats, designed specifically for brands is the key to future growth.