Producing a Kick Ass Neighborhood Profile Video
2008 will be the year real estate video breaks out. I really believe that.
Check out this video from We Rock Chicago.
Risa Weiss, of Prudential Preferred Properties in Chicago, is the Realtor behind this video and she hit a home run, in my opinion.
What makes it good?
Mainly it was well shot and visually interesting (using diverse camera angles and locations). As a result, it kept me entertained - though the intro went on for about 45 seconds too long, jump ahead to 1:15 to get to the good stuff.
Best of all though, the video was not a hard sell - rather it gave me a great feeling for the vibe of the neighborhood and showed me some of the highlights of why I’d want to live there. In many ways, it reminded me a lot of some of the early Turnhere neighborhood profiles.
Unfortunately, on a technical side, it looks like the video was uploaded at a smaller resolution than the WellcomeMat player can handle, so the picture is small. That could easily be remedied with a new export though (video should be a least 320 pixels wide, 480 wide for their new player).
One thing I liked was that Risa cleverly included her herself, her branding (and signage) in the video in a way that was really non-intrusive.
But here’s the kicker really; most importantly, the video showed me that Risa knew the area intimately and was the neighborhood expert. If I were considering a move to Wicker Park, after watching her video, I’d definitely be giving her a call.
Couple her production with a good video syndication strategy to make sure the most people possible see her video (see Rethinking Real Estate Video Marketing Strategy), embedding it in a keyword rich blog post, like she has already done (and maybe paring back the intro) - Risa is definitely on to something. Nice work.
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23 Comment(s)
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Jeff Royce | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
Great Video…thanks for linking me to it. I like the intro to it; it doesn’t seem long to me. Any suggestions on how to put something like this together? How would you tackle a video like this in a more suburban area?
Carey Goldberg | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
I agree great video. The intro is good IMO. I think it is an intro that could be used for more then one neighborhood. Like Jeff asked above–any ideas on how to put something like this together in a cookie cutter suburb? Also any suggestions on what type of camera to buy (money is a consideration)?
Dave Weiss | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for linking to our video and sharing your thoughts. It’s much appreciated.
Just a couple of things to note about the video and the thought process and planning that went into it…
The format of the video is 16 x 9, and quite a few shots are in HD. The aspect ratio of the player isn’t perfect for displaying the video, I admit. The high definition file of the entire video is about 4 GB - we have to work on making it downsample better for use on the internet than we have done so far. We’re working on that. Wellcomemat.com has recently updated their video player, and the new player displays the video much better. I’ll have to update the code on the blog to take advantage of that.
It looks AWESOME on my HDTV at home, and the music ROCKS! What we have in the works is creating a DVD out of the video, making a few hundred copies with a slick screen print on them, and sending them out to every home in the area of Wicker Park where the video was filmed.
I take your feedback about the length of the video with a smile. We intentionally made two separate videos that were married together. The first minute of the video is easily a stand-alone piece - sort of a standard TV commercial format. We call that “The Montage”. It can be paired up with the upcoming Lincoln Square video that is being edited as I type this, or any other piece we do.
We also have a plan to continue shooting additional footage so that there are several versions of “The Montage” in order to keep it fresh.
You’ll also notice that “The Montage” has no branding in it at all. This is intentional for two reasons. First, over-branding is annoying. When you see our blogs and web sites, there are no pictures of us, except for small photos on our profile pages. We don’t want to bash people over the head with logos, slogans, or “CALL NOW!” messages.
But we’re also thinking we may want to license video content at some point, so plastering the videos with our mugs and logos doesn’t work for that. We could easily see swapping out the opening and closing slates where our logos and contact information is if someone wants to license the video and have us put their own information on a customized version of the video.
At WellcomeMat.com, you can see the video in the “broken apart” format, with the Wicker Park “Walk ‘n’ Talk” by itself. You can get a better feel for how we will be able to “mix and match” the neighborhood videos with varying versions of “The Montage”.
One other point to make - I’ve seen some talk on various real estate blogs about how video is now cheap and easy to do.
It isn’t. Not when you’re doing videos like these.
We didn’t just decide to go outside one day and shoot the video. It tooks weeks of planning, shooting, re-shooting, editing, re-editing, and mixing audio, creating the music, etc.
If anyone is interestd in having videos produced or talking about how to do what we’re doing, I’d be more than happy to answer questions.
Rock on!
Dave Weiss | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
One other thing that you don’t get from seeing the video, which we talk about at WeRockChicago.com.
We are in the process of forming a separate corporate entity that focuses solely on video production. It’s called Curb Cut Media. I have the domain name reserved, but we don’t have a web site up for it just yet.
If there were only 48 hours in a day!
Special thanks and props go out out to Jude and Scott, our editor and cameraman. You guys rock!
Dan Dashnaw | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
I totally agree, Joel. This neighborhood profile video really does a nice job of promoting both the area as well as the real estate agent in a way that isn’t at all presumptuous or ’salesy’, which is something I’m always glad to see. It’s a difficult balance for many to strike, but I think that she’s definitely done a great job of both presenting and informing in what I like to call a ‘casually enticing’ manner.
I also agree that the 1st minute or so could certainly be shaved off for the sake of grabbing the viewer’s attention at the most critical point in the video tour (the beginning!). If we can get her to chop off the header a bit and re-export the video at a proper dimension, she’s hired! =]
Great stuff!
Dan Dashnaw
AgentCasts.com
Dave Weiss | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
Dan:
As mentioned above, there is a stand-alone video of the Wicker Park real estate video.
And it looks better on the new WellcomeMat.com player, too.
Ryan Hukill | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
Yeah, this is a great-looking video. I too would be interested to see someone’s version in a more suburban setting, but this video definitely grabs the consumer’s attention and holds it while it tells the story of the community. Fun stuff!
Alfie | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
I do like the personalization of that video with the agent explaining the neighborhood without sounding like a real estate agent. More of a tour guide.
We’ve been experimenting with neighborhood videos here in Boise as well (Southeast Boise Video), but I am still unsure what home buyers want to see when learning about a new area. We’re trying to focus on the lifestyle of an area so that buyers can find their match.
Dave Weiss | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
Late Update:
Phil Thomas DiGiulio at WellcomeMat.com just sent me a little note to say he was reformatting the video to fit a little better inside WellcomeMat’s viewer, and that an update is on it’s way.
So hopefully, you’ll all be seeing a format that’s a bit larger shortly.
WellcomeMat.com Rocks! Thanks, guys.
Vinny LaBarbera | Jan 7, 2008 | Reply
This is fantastic. Nice job Rita! Now can you please convince all of your fellow realtors that this type of thing IS the future of real estate marketing so us search engine marketers do not have to pull teeth when trying to explain the importance of well put together videos and beneficial sites like WellcomeMat and YouTube to clients. Thanks!
Brian Block | Jan 8, 2008 | Reply
This is a terrific video and something that I have been tossing around doing in my area. I’d be interested to know from Dave some estimates of the costs and time involved with producing this piece. His idea of burning to disc and sending to the local homeowners is excellent and certain to impress.
Dave Weiss | Jan 8, 2008 | Reply
Hey Brian.
I can’t really go into video production costs right now. We’re sort of keeping that information private at the moment as we work out a fee structure at Curb Cut Media.
Let’s just say that producing a video like this isn’t cheap. It’s a significant endeavor to undertake and is very time consuming, even when you have a team of video and audio professionals like we have working with us.
This first video literally took 2 months to plan, shoot, edit, and get the audio done (the first part of the video’s music is all custom made through our sound engineer, the “walk ‘n’ talk” music is straight out of Garage Band off our Mac).
It took so much time because, well, we’re full time real estate agents, and that’s a 60+ hour a week job right there. We spent every spare moment we had on the video. But now that we have a process down, videos can be produced in about half that time.
Tips for anyone thinking about putting together a video:
1. Before ever picking up a camera, come up with a concept and vision for the end product. We purposely, from day one, said “we want Rock ‘n’ Roll, edgy - something that makes your pulse quicken - quick shots, lots of cutting, and a fast pace.”
2. Take your concept and start developing a shot list - things you want in your video. This is what drives costs of shooting. Lots of angles of many different locations means lots of setup, shooting, and breakdown. That equals more cost. Fewer means less cost.
3. Editing costs are also a function of the number of shots, cuts, titles, etc. The quicker the pace of the video, the more cutting that has to be done.
4. Distribution over the internet is FREE! Thanks, WellcomeMat.com! But the cost of DVD duplication is probably going to run about $1 per copy, if not more. Add in the cost of the screen printing, a custome sleve for the DVD, and mailing, and the cost will jump. So we expect doing a small mailing of maybe 250 DVDs will approach $1,000 including postage. We haven’t worked out those numbers exactly, so they are just a ballpark.
As I mentioned in a previous comment, this isn’t the “quick, easy and inexpensive” video that some people talk about as the marketing trend of the future. This is the “deep pockets, set-yourself-apart-and-take-some-risk” kind of video, so factor that into your decision making.
Hope this helps.
Glenn Pingul | Jan 8, 2008 | Reply
I love your line, “2008 will be the year real estate video breaks out. I really believe that.”
Like the others who have commented, I also like the Risa Wieiss video. But for video to take off in the real estate industry 2008, I think video needs to be more than just ‘liked’ by viewers. It has to drive action. Right now, the focus seems to be on just getting video produced and up online. Our company, Mixpo, is focused beyond that and thinking about how to drive action through video and how to optimize it over time.
As Dave Weiss says above, “Let’s just say that producing a video like this isn’t cheap. It’s a significant endeavor to undertake and is very time consuming, even when you have a team of video and audio professionals like we have working with us.”
If it is true that producing video is both time consuming and expensive (we actually believe high quality custom video can be done affordably) then isn’t it critical that video do more than get a thumbs up but drive measurable results?
Dave Weiss | Jan 8, 2008 | Reply
Hi Glenn.
I like your points in your comment.
Yes, video can be inexpensive, and I would encourage every agent and broker to look into doing some sort of video, whether it be an inexpensive home tour, or more of a production, like our neighborhood vignette.
Risa and I actually started fooling around with real estate videos back in 2004, and we were one of the first to be out on the ‘net with videos. You can see some (but not all) of our earlier efforts here.
Those are really inexpensive videos to produce. In fact, they’re free, except for the time it took to make them. Anyone who wants to make videos like those can.
There are plenty of tools out there, like MovieMaker or PictureIt on the Windows platform, or iMovie for Mac enthusiasts. You can even use Slide.com and do the entire video via an internet interface - all are easy to use, and allow for creating titles, scene transitions, etc. The point I made earlier still stands - make a solid plan for your video before picking up the camera. It makes the process go much more smoothly.
Back in the day. we bought little credit card sized CD ROMs, burned the videos on them, and made simple, but somewhat amateurish labels for them (I’m not the greatest graphic artist). We gave the CDs out at showings and open houses. The reaction from buyers was TREMENDOUS, and we still use some of those little CDs in our listing presentation to this day.
But having been out there producing those types of videos for nearly 3 years, it became more of a commodity - many, many people were producing videos like these. We wanted something more. We wanted to Be Spectacular.
When we discovered that one of our daughter’s friends was a professional video editor, Risa and I both had a huge light bulb go off over our heads simultaneously - we had an opportunity to do what was not attainable for the average agent.
Isn’t that what our businesses are supposed to be about anyway? Showing people why we’re different and better than the competition?
Anyway, that’s why we chose to the route we did.
Now, your other point about the video being just a tool to drive a “thumbs up” response…
Risa and I have made our name in the Chicago real estate market by being some of the very few who “get it” when it comes to doing business online. Our very first year in the business, we did about 30 transactions, with more than half of them coming from online or technology related sources, like the little credit card sized CDs I mentioned above. Even in a “down market” like 2007, Risa managed to close 27 deals.
We’re excellent business people, so we always have an eye on how we make our marketing endeavors work for us and for our clients.
We’ll put that video to work, and we’ll drive results with it through innovative and different ways that others don’t or won’t do.
Just make sure to keep an eye on us, and you’ll see what we come up with next.
Kansas City | Jan 10, 2008 | Reply
A great video - although I have questions about whether it could be pulled off in a suburban setting, that video gives inspiration.
Dave Weiss | Jan 10, 2008 | Reply
Hey KC.
Yeah, we’ve been thinking about that, too. I’m not sure you can pull off the same energy and visual feel in a suburban setting.
What do we shoot video of in the suburbs? People going to the local mall or Barnes & Noble for a poetry reading? One of the things to think about is what can be done legally, too. You probably can’t walk into a mall and start shooting video. You certainly can’t take video inside privately owned buildings or of identifiable people without their consent (gotta get some waivers signed if you’re using someone’s face in your video).
Parks and playgrounds work, like the scenes we have in Wicker Park proper (dogs can’t sign waivers). I also suppose you do see more and more suburban areas where they’ve tried to create a “downtown”, pedestrian friendly shopping district. I can think of a few in the Chicago area.
If you are considering a suburb where there is commuter rail service to a downtown area, train stations work for capturing activity and bustle.
A riverfront or lakefront works for shooting boaters, people fishing, etc. Joggers, bikers, a kid flying a kite - all good.
If you’re in the Kansas City area, people chowing down on some messy BBQ has to be in the video, right?
Start creating your shot list. You’ll be surprised what you can come up with.
Good luck!
Karen | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
Nice Job. You could scale back about 15-20 seconds on that intro…but I like the montage of all the things this fine city has to offer! The intro could definitely be used for more than one neighborhood…it will be interesting to see how you capture the difference between a Lincoln Park and Wicker Park. That will be fun to see. Good work as always- Karen
Brian Block | Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
Dave,
I appreciate your extensive reply and tips for making a good video. I knew that this certainly was not the wake up one morning and shoot a video type of piece. However, it is a lasting product that can be used in all future marketing efforts and as you say, now that you have the process somewhat down, future costs will be less. You’ve given me a lot of food for thought as I may plan to go down this route in the near future. Thanks a bunch.
Dave Weiss | Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
Glad to do whatever I can to help you out, Brian.
There’s more discussion about our video over at RealEstateRadioUSA.com, as well as discussion about video in general.
We hope to have our next video done and in the can in a couple of weeks. We’re just now getting back into the swing of things after our winter vacation. So check us out every so often to see what we’ve got in store next.
Dave Weiss | Mar 10, 2008 | Reply
Hey all.
It’s been a while, but I just wanted to let everyone know that our new video is out. This one is for the Lincoln Square neighborhood in Chicago.
We still have some tweaks to put into the video, but it’s about 90% of the way there - enough that I could post it and promote it a bit.
We Rock Chicago - Lincoln Square
Chicago Homes | Mar 25, 2008 | Reply
Looks great, thanks for sharing!
Holli Boyd | Jun 18, 2008 | Reply
As a realtor who wants to start doing suburban videos of area attractions this was a great post and the comments are very helpful. I have started my list of spots and ideas and have signed up with wellcomemat - however does anyone have a simple waiver form to use? There is a local kiwanis carnival coming up and I would like to get some random crowd footage of it - what do I do then? I cover a lot of school activities with my camera and never include children’s faces or names in the shots (except my own for better or worse). I really don’t feel like making 2008 the year I get sued.
Dave Dugdale | Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
I liked the idea so I created a free video service for people in the Denver Boulder area to create these types of videos.
http://www.rentvine.com/anc/start-video.cfm
Dave