PROFESSIONAL HELP
If your time is limited or you want a professionally shot video, I recommend hiring a local filmmaker to help. You can find them at a site like
www.Turnhere.com. The filmmaker will meet you anywhere for the video shoot. They will interview you and any clients you’d like to appear in your video. Afterwards, the filmmaker compiles the footage to create a story about your business. Once completed, they will distribute your video across multiple platforms, making it available on popular search engines and YouTube. You’ll also receive an easy-to-install video player to add to your website or blog. If you’re tight on money, you might be able to find a college film student for the job on Craigslist.
SHOOT IT YOURSELF
If you want to participate more directly in the creative development, or have a tight budget, shooting and editing the video yourself is a good option. First you’ll need a video camera. I recommend using something simple like the $150 Kodak Playtouch (
www.kodak.com/go/redeal for a real estate discount) because it gives you an option to use an external microphone. Or go with the Flip at
www.theflip.com where you can find great deals because the product is no longer manufactured.
Both of these options are ultra-thin cameras that slide in your pocket, and are easy to take out point and shoot (you can even capture footage in high-definition!), and then just use its built-in USB arm to connect to your computer and start downloading. Or, save money if you have a smartphone and use the built-in video camera.
If you want to get fancy with your equipment you may want to consider wide-angle lenses, camera stabilizers or extra lighting. There’s a great site to research these extras www.
HDHat.com.
18 EDITING
Once you shoot the video, you’ll need to spend a little time editing it. You can use the software inside the Flip camera -- yes, you can edit with just the Flip camera! Or for more advanced editing, try what comes installed on your computer -- newer PCs have Microsoft Movie Maker or Mac’s have iMovie. They are both pretty easy to use. You can even download the iMovie app and edit your videos directly on your iPhone.
If you’re not into self-editing your videos, but you have the video footage or still photos you’d like to use, check out a service like
Animoto.com. First, you upload the videos and
photos to the site. Animoto will do the rest by turning them into a professional video. You’ll be able to choose a soundtrack for your video using Animoto’s large royalty-free collection. You can add text to your video too, and a custom call-to-action button at the end. Once your video is complete, you can add it to your website, social networking pages, YouTube, or even create high quality DVDs of it. The best part is Animoto is free for videos under 30-seconds.
DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
Once your movie is edited, you’ll need to a place to host your video in order to share it. You’ll find there’s a whole distribution world out there ready to spread your videos across the Internet and help you maximize your viewership. There are many platforms from which to choose. I recommend spending time researching these sites to determine which one best fits your needs.
WellcomeMat.com is a distribution platform specifically designed for the real estate industry. Known for their customer service, they allow you to actually pick up the phone and speak to someone.
WellcomeMat.com lets you to brand your videos and share them on your website, MLS, and social networking sites. They have widgets to display all or some of your videos on your website. You can also create your own Internet video channel with an individualized URL. Being real estate centric, they allow you to create an MLS-compliant video for easy sharing. Oh, and you can use
WellcomeMat.com to find a filmmaker to help you shoot and edit your videos.
YouTube is the most popular sharing platform for distributing and viewing videos online. Create an account and upload your video in just a few clicks. By creating your own branded video channel, you’ll be able to choose a URL to distribute all of your videos in one easy-to-find spot. YouTube allows viewers to leave comments, giving you the opportunity to have conversations about your videos or answer any questions. You can build a bigger audience by following their Creator Playbook
www.youtube.com/creators/playbook it’s a free step-by-step guide to creating and distributing videos.
A FEW MORE TIPS
Shooting video is fun! The key to a successful video is doing something you’re comfortable with. Be yourself on camera, and don’t take yourself too seriously. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You’ll get better the more often you do it. A great site to check out for daily video tips is
www.ReelSEO.com. Happy Shooting!
MAR
MIREALTOR®
| DECEMBER 2011
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