Developers and Real Estate Videos- An Old Relationship
Real Estate Developers were the among the first in the industry to employ video in marketing properties some 30 years ago. I love to run across some of these older productions. The idea of going beyond pretty pictures and putting an out-of-town prospect " live" in a development seemed like an idea too attractive to pass up. The production quality of these real estate videos ranged from reasonable to awful. When these videos were produced reasonably well, the results could be impressive. Footage that included aerials over mountain tops and waterfalls and couples lovingly gazing at each other while enjoying a majestic view portrayed a sense of comfort buyers looked for. No longer limited to static photographs, developers now had a media that could portray emotion and images buyers could experience and feel like never before.
At the time very few developers used this technology and I came to my own conclusion why. If a developer or marketing director saw a handful of videos on other developments, most decision makers weren’t overly impressed. When factoring in production costs vs. returns, most stuck to the tried and true glossy brochure and a talented sales force. The few that took the video road were brave and progressive pioneers.
The reason for the poor productions were that studios employed to do the job lacked even the slightest bit of experience in producing real estate marketing videos. Their portfolios of work were limited to weddings or shooting low budget thirty second local business commercials. Without a keen understanding of the mechanics of real estate marketing and a talented eye behind the camera the videos were doomed to fail from the start. So video for the most part remained on the outside of the marketing department’s interest. Even today, out of 100 developments being promoted online, 3 have a marketing video and maybe one is of an acceptable quality. But that is about to radically change and change quickly.
The Revolution Here and Now.
Today, buyers in every age category are spending more then 77% of their time using the Web as the primary source to find their next home and that percentage will continue to grow stronger over the next two years. From the young family seeking their first home to the affluent buyer in search of a second home or investment, the internet knows no social bounds.
By 2008, it’s expected that a vast majority of developers in the country will employ streaming media presentations and for good reason. Streaming real estate videos can portray a property in a way that no other media has ever been able to do. The old industry adage “nothing stirs the emotions like film” is the reason why. Combining captivating moving pictures, stimulating music and persuasive narrative, these real estate videos create the ultimate medium for delivering the property’s images and call to action messages that buyers love and absorb.
With the internet and the much improved technology to stream real estate marketing videos on websites, the allure and many uses of this powerful medium has become just too impressive not to jump in. Unfortunately developers are finding out that the same problems that plagued the industry years ago is still prevalent. There are just not enough experienced studios to produce a highly effective real estate video in the country.
When seeking out this service your certainly going to need a plan of action and the following information and advice should come in handy.
Due Diligence Pays Dividends
Your first step is going to be trying to locate a studio to do the production. First choice should be a studio with real estate production experience. Now that’s not to say that a studio who’s never produced a real estate video can’t pull off a great job because there are some talented individuals out there. And when you take a look at what’s out there, you just might not have a choice on which direction to go. To prove a point, go online and type in a few searches such as “real estate videos” or “real estate videographers” or “ real estate video production” You’ll find a fast growing number of videographers standing in line waiting for your call. Unfortunately take a look at their sites and examples of their work and you’ll see what I mean about quality. It can be disheartening for a developer that sees the value of having a website streaming real estate video online but few choices to turn to to get the production done. In my book, not one of those searches are worthy of a call.
So when and if you find a team experienced in this type of production or one without it but their work looks top grade in other productions, your ready to start the due diligence process.
Take a look at the studios past productions as a guide to qualifying both the inexperienced and the experienced studio. Be sure to have a few co-workers view their work also. Individuals that fit your buyers profile are smart to include in the group. Do the videos keep their attention interested enough to listen to the messages while watching the footage throughout the piece? Stand off to the side of the room and watch the group to see if they stay focused from start to finish. Pay close attention to the production quality throughout the piece. Does the script do a great job in telling the story? Does the voiceover talent fit the narration? Does the music stir your emotions ? Do you notice the subliminal but all important call to action messages placed throughout the script? What about the color and sound ? Are colors true and balanced or washed out? Is the sound pure and in Dolby Digital? Are there too many zooms and pans within the piece that become disruptive to the viewer? Is the pace of the video right or does it seem to drag on and on after a while. How smooth and sensible are the transitions between clips? Are graphics or animation amateur looking or broadcast quality? Unless you see impressive quality throughout a studio’s portfolio of work keep on looking.
Besides the actual production quality, ensure that the studio you pick understands the technical side of shooting for the web and the streaming process. I remember the effort my staff took over the past two years to ensure that we mastered the ins and outs of streaming. It was an expensive process to get to the level that we’re at now because so much of it was experimentation at my expense.
Find out if the studio your considering has worked with streaming on the internet and if so, take a look at what they’ve got running on there now. You want to see that the streams are smooth and the picture clear. The size of the player which the film is streamed on should be large enough for buyers to get the full affects of the presentation. Take a look at our site and then take a look at some other streaming films and you’ll get a good indication of what I mean. The streaming player (the box that the video is displayed within) should be sized large enough so that a couple can experience the presentation together comfortably from at least two feet away. If the compression is improperly done, you’ll have poor imagery and a video that starts and stop throughout the piece.
Another consideration should be where your films will be hosted and streamed. Does the studio host and have it’s own in-house servers or will it be outsourced. Either way, the ability of the servers and it’s bandwidth levels are important especially if you expect a high volume of visitors viewing your real estate videos at the same time. In the end it’s best to work with a studio that has mastered this important process.
If you choose to work with an inexperienced studio expect that your marketing team will have to work closely with them and be dedicated 100% in it’s production. This doesn’t mean they have to tag along in the actual shooting process. To me as a filmmaker, that would be disruptive. But when it comes to storyboarding, scripting, voiceover, music and fine tuning in editing, each step of the production should always be supervised and reviewed by seasoned real estate marketing veterans.
What’s Love got to Do with it? Alot.
The developers I’ve worked for are passionate about the work they do so why shouldn’t the studio that undertakes your project have the same approach to their work. I am so passionate about the many aspect of real estate filmmaking that I couldn’t imagine being able to provide my clients the level of real estate videos that Pinnacle produces without it. Listen and look for that passion when talking to the person that’s going to head the production. You want that passion to show up throughout your production.
Quality Doesn’t Come Cheap
The work that goes into a highly effective results returning real estate video doesn’t come for a grand or two. Let’s take a look at what goes into these productions to see why.
A large number of hours are put into research and planning as well as the filming process. Pinnacle average a good seven to ten days from sunrise to sunset just capturing images. Sometimes it can take two full weeks if you throw in the use of talent, aerials and any special shooting such as underwater work. I’m very particular about the weather I shoot in and I want clear blue skies and light breezes especially if the environment plays an important role in moving a buyer. Next you have the scripting which should be written by a seasoned real estate writer. In our office, we have Ron Sirisky who’s been writing award winning real estate brochures since I was in diapers. Listen to one of our films and you’ll see what I mean. I can see a film we produced three years ago and listen to Ron’s words and still feel the love. The experience of writing persuasive narrative with superb call to action messages doesn’t come cheap. Voiceover talent. For the past two years I’ve preferred Jon Majors who unfortunately passed away last year. His ability to take Ron’s words and translate them into a poetic delivery isn’t an easy task for even the most skilled of voiceover talents. Thankfully we’ve found Walt Marschino to fill the void. The editing process can take two weeks. With all that completed, we have the process of setting up the real estate video for streaming, uploading and testing. In total figure 4-5 weeks for a final product and a lighter wallet too. But fear not because the cost of these films are recouped quickly.
Got Film. Now What?
Meet the perfect property marketing tool. It never makes a mistake, presentation is perfect every time and the films are available 24/7 no matter where in the world someone lives. These films can open automatically when buyers first arrive at your site or they can be directed to the video. The videos give buyers a great prospective on not only the development and it’s amenities but also a superior overview and feel for the town and city where the development is located. By including in your regional or national print advertising the ability for buyers to experience the film tour, it becomes a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website.In the pre-selling stages real estate videos are indispensible. We’ve done many films without a single bit of infrastructure in place. Sometimes we use film only (Gulf Breeze) and sometimes we combine animation and film (Palm Coast Resort) Click on one of these to see the magic.
For emailing, Pinnacle designs templates film emailers used by our client’s sale teams for emailing to inquiry callers responding to mailers and national advertising as well as their own database of prospects and leads. Last year we built the e-National Open House, a database of 78,000 agent in the country that specialize in representing the affluent buyer market. You name every top agency in the country and our films go to every single one of their agents days after a films been completed. What a way to get the party going, eh?
The Agreement for Production
It’s important when you contract with a studio that certain key points are covered. And most importantly, don’t sign a contract without reading every single word. Be sure these areas are covered:Start and finish dates
Who covers travel/hotel/food expenses
Rights of the client to make reasonable edit changes
Who owns the footage used within your film (it should always be the developer)
Number of masters provided to the client when the production is completed.
If dvd production is needed, who will do the set-up, authoring and reproduction?
Who handles streaming of the video. If not in-house, will they handle the transfer/setup with another source?
Statement of Liability and talent releases.
Payment schedule
.
So, there you are in a big nutshell. Hopefully this long winded blog has given you some insight on the process. Feel free to email myself or client services with any questions you might have. We’re more then happy to answer your questions as a friend to the industry. Rights of the client to make reasonable edit changes
Who owns the footage used within your film (it should always be the developer)
Number of masters provided to the client when the production is completed.
If dvd production is needed, who will do the set-up, authoring and reproduction?
Who handles streaming of the video. If not in-house, will they handle the transfer/setup with another source?
Statement of Liability and talent releases.
Payment schedule
.
Randy Jarvis heads the Pinnacle Real Estate Film studio located in Charleston, SC. Since 2002 the studio has specialized in providing real estate marketing films for developers throughout the country and the Caribbean representing over $15 billion dollars worth of developments. The studio also produces marketing films on historic estates, luxury properties and resorts. Randy can be contacted at Randy@pinnaclerealestatefilms.com. Other upcoming related blogs by Mr. Jarvis include Bringing to Life the Multmillion Dollar Estate Listing with Streaming Video or Marketing Resort Properties with Streaming Video or Moving the Office’s Luxury Property Listings into the Streaming Media World.
