I get asked lots of questions and provide responses you won’t get from anyone else.
Dear 1000WATT: My listing video looks like everyone else’s. My videographer, who specializes in agent videos, says this is the standard. Can you take a look and let me know what you think? I want to do something different.
Answer
I see what you’re seeing. I’m also seeing things you’re not seeing.
Part of the problem is that many videographers sell a proven formula, not originality. Doing something different requires creativity and time. The rank-and-file real estate videographer has learned what most agents want: to be the star of the story, so they play to that.
Let’s start with the common issues I found in your video.
Focal point. You appear in every shot. There are more close-ups of you than property features. It’s an imbalance. Unless you have box-office appeal, the home should be cast as the lead in a Listing Video. You should be in a supporting role.
Image. Using movie ratings as an analogy, you might consider a more “G” rated, professional approach than the current “R” rating your video requires. If I have to explain why I am watching you to my wife as she passes my computer, it’s problematic. Let the home project the sex appeal. You should project class and professionalism.
Editing overload. A listing video isn’t a music video. It’s a product film. Jump cuts, fast zooms, and transitions often showcase the videographer’s editing skills rather than the home. Yours is filled with these tricks, forcing the viewer to refer to the stills to know what the house looks like.
Voiceover. If you are narrating, consider voice training. Pay attention to pacing and tone.
Scenes: Yours are so predictable. Rooms, halls, front and back yards. So many missed opportunities to give it dimension and character. I’ll offer a list of ideas in the next section.
A different storyboard
You don’t need a Hollywood budget to create a compelling and different video. What you need is a visual sense of how to tell a story.
Reset the opening scene. Think, “Hero’s Journey.” Be the buyer. Start the scene blocks away. Arrive at the property and create anticipation. Add narration about the neighborhood as you drive. The neighborhood is part of the purchase. Cast it.
Limit cameos. Introduce the home, then step off camera. Let it feature the property. You do the narration.
Slow down. Film in one continuous take. Walk the home like a buyer would. If you need inspiration, watch “Boiling Point” or “Adolescence.” This type of filmmaking is better suited for a listing vid.
Show what matters. Linger on details that sell. Kitchen appliances. Fixtures. Views. It’s fine to stop, zoom in, and geek out on a feature a buyer would also fixate on. If there’s a great stove, turn a burner on. If the home has a Euro toilet, flush it.
Time-lapse. I’ve never seen this done, but it can be magic. Sunrise to sunrise. Show how the home changes through the day, how light and shadow alter its mood and texture throughout. Homes often look more spectacular and alluring at night, and rarely does anyone capture that.
Use subtitles. People often watch with the sound off.
Score it well. Music is tone and brand. Commission a local artist to create a signature track and use it across your videos. Repetition builds brand recognition, and this way, your music never runs the risk of being the same music used by another agent or product.
Add soft-touch moments. If you appear on camera, do less arm gesturing and more character building. You’re not revealing a magic trick. Carefully craft your on-screen persona as a writer would for a film, and do little things that make you more interesting:
- Remove your shoes before entering a home. It shows respect for the space.
- Feather dust a shelf, adjust a pillow, or straighten a picture frame. It captures attention to detail.
- Spritz your yard sign before the final shot. That’s branding.
- Turn off a light as you leave a room. Signals consideration.
- Spot a dog toy and place it neatly away. Shows warmth and authenticity.
- Climb a ladder and show the roof, giving attention to a part of the homebuyers’ rarely see. It adds credibility to your representation.
Be more cinematic. Difference is created by doing things others aren’t doing, which will also showcase the home through a different perspective:
- Don’t show the cabinets and talk about storage. Open the door and reveal the organized storage.
- Shoot from inside the pool, looking back at the house.
- Film through a mirror or reflection instead of straight on.
- Use the home’s shadows as compositional elements.
- Staging rain is hard but if it’s raining during filming, pan to a window, zoom in (slowly), and capture the sound of it hitting the glass.
- Show the home from across the street at dusk, lights on, life glowing inside.
- Film through tree branches or garden foliage to create depth.
- Film the garage door opening, the mailbox being checked, or the gate closing. These are the edges of home life most videos never include.
Watch “Breaking Bad” and study cinematography. You’ll see where I am coming from.
Hope this helps you
As always, my examples aren’t scripts for you to copy. They are still generic but different enough to break the chain of parity and frameworks to inspire your own approach.
Video provides an amazing opportunity to differentiate.
Treat each one as a little indie film. Get into it. Rather than being the actor, or in tandem with, be the director and consider the viewer. Heavily. Make them want to tour the home and meet the agent who marketed it.
