Add short video clips to your Viewing Videos

April 8, 2016

Below we have a couple of ideas and tips to show you how easy it can be to capture short video clips which can be used to enhance the viewing video presentation. More and more agents are starting to use these techniques. Done well, they can really add the “wow” factor to the viewing video.

Both of these clips have been captured using hand held mobile phones. You can of course consider using better equipment, and a tripod for capturing static clips.

Example 1

The first example is a static shot with some movement within the scene – in this case a front door opening. It could also be some foreground bushes rustling, trees swaying in the background, electric gates opening etc. It’s a nice touch which helps to bring the scene, property and video “to life”.

You’ll notice that there is a zoom effect as the door opens – this has been added post-production by the video editing team, similar to the technique used for still photographs.

Example 2

The second example is a “reveal”. This involves a single direction movement with the camera, starting from a semi-obscured position, with the movement “revealing” more detail of the scene. This can give the viewer the feeling of “discovering” the scene for themselves and can be quite effective.

Some extra tips:

1. Limit your video clips to 10 seconds or less, so that they can easily slot into your overall video presentation instead of an animated photo. Their purpose is to give a flavour of the property, not a full walkthrough replacing the viewing.
2. Don’t try to add zoom effects – it can be hard to achieve. Just focus on the basic capture. Our post-production video editing team can add the effect where appropriate.
3. Try not to do too much with the video capture. Avoid walking around capturing video with lots of movement, panning or zooming – the simpler the better. Try not to move too quickly or jerk the camera.
4. We remove the audio from the video clips you provide, so don’t worry if you capture unwanted sounds.
5. We can trim the video at the start and/or the end so that it appears for the appropriate amount of time, as well as adjust the speed of the clip, and provide a caption if specified.

Use your experience and imagination when deciding what to capture and how to do it. A little extra effort can make a significant difference to the viewing video.

We’re excited to see what you can come up with – good luck!