The devil is in the detail for property videos, so proper preparation is crucial..
Good property videos must present to viewers a vision of how their lives could be better.
They need to be aspirational.
It’s the details of people’s lives that, added together, drive the desire for change and improvement.
My kitchen is rubbish. I hate my carpets. I want an ensuite.
Which is why the details of a property video are crucial.
Getting this right starts in the initial preparation and presentation of the property prior to the shoot.
1) The property needs to be finished and properly detailed.
The building work needs to be completed. Incomplete or poor quality detailing is difficult to hide, and talks to the viewer about the quality of what you build and the nature of your brand.
2) It needs to be spotlessly clean.
Carpets, shiny surfaces, glass, the bathroom, all need to be detailed prior to the shoot. Any blemishes or cleanliness issues will present issues in post production. Get your cleaning team onto site the day prior and give it a good going over. And then don’t give anyone access to the property prior to the shoot. (Especially contractors!)
3) It needs to be presented as intended.
Show home presentation is an art, the way a property is presented is carefully thought about by your designer, so those details need to be correct before we shoot.
This is our number one issue in post, and whilst we are pretty good at spotting detail issues on site, we don’t actually know how the property was intended for presentation by the designer.
A good example of this is bed covers. (The bain of our existence..) If someone sits on a bed, it rucks up the bed covers and whilst we will always look for that, we don’t actually know how the designer intended that bed to look.
In the past we have had to reshoot property because the bed was not perfect, and in one case we “fixed” a bed spread, only to be told afterwards that it was too perfect, and the designer had wanted a lived in look.
Pillow cases, bed spreads, towels, kitchen items, etc, all present issues for the video if the presentation of them is not inline with the intent.
To get this right, your sales team or designer should tour the property to ensure the details are spot on, and don’t let anyone access the property afterwards.
4) The grass should be cut.
All the gardening should be right up to date.
If the garden hasn’t been attended to in the previous few days, then it should be. Even a week of not cutting the grass will let the side down.
Don’t assume that because the gardening was done when the property was finished, it still looks perfect.
In the past we have been presented with dead pot plants… and then expected to bring them back to life in post. (PS.. we did.)
5) Timing.
You wouldn’t think timing can impact presentation, but it does.
When we shoot the tour, will impact how it looks.
Don’t shoot on bin day. Nothing speaks “Aspirational Property” less than a bunch of wheely bins lined up on the street..
Try to get a nice day. This is especially true if we are seeking to exploit views of the property. Folks don’t find rainy days and grey skies especially aspirational, and of course we can’t shoot with the drone if it’s blowing a gale.
Don’t shoot when the property is open for viewings. Nothing is more frustrating than having a random family wander into shot.
And one final thing…
6) Be realistic about what can be accomplished.
If the weather is bad, then we can only replace so much sky.
If the development is a building site, then we need to limit what we can deliver to ensure we don’t get diggers and vans in the shots.
If the property itself is flawed, for instance with poor brick work or efflorescence, then we need to actually be asking if we should shoot that property.
Poor preparation of a property harms aspiration in buyers, destroys added value for a developer and can sometimes harm a brands core values.
Not every property tour is the same, and it takes experience and a knowledge of what’s needed to make great tours.. to get it right in the first instance.
If you want to explore how we could create great aspirational property video for your property, contact us.
