Video Tour - Behind the Scenes
With our official announcement of PowerMedia this month and our relationship with WellcomeMat.com, we needed to create a great sample video so that we could demonstrate the impact of including a property video within our PowerSite tool.
We wanted to see how easy (or difficult) it would be to create both a professional and a do-it-yourself version. Here’s the story behind our sample video…
The first attempt at creating a video for our sample PowerSite was to try to film it ourselves. Although we didn’t have a video camera, most digital cameras now have a video function that includes audio (I honestly didn’t know that my camera could do this until this exercise), so we shot the home using a two year-old Kodak EasyShare. We hit record and started roaming the house to get every architectural detail while attempting to narrate at the same time.
The finished homemade project was not that impressive, (poor sound quality, shaky camera and dizzying walk-through) but it was totally free. You can upload your video to a free service like YouTube or use a video hosting platform like WellcomeMat and copy the embed link into the PowerMedia section of your PowerSite.
Professional is Best
Because we wanted to demonstrate how amazing a property video looks within a PowerSite, we knew we had to hire a professional. By typing in a zip code at www.WellcomeMat.com, you can explore their videographer directory, see sample work and get quotes from video professionals.
We selected N I S T A R New Media’s NetClips online mini movies, www.nistar.com. Through our initial phone calls, we explored different options for filming, for narration and whether or not the property owner would appear in the video. A film date was set and the house was cleaned. On filming day, the director/producer team came in, asked questions about the home, shot the video and took some basic information to create the script — ALL IN ONE HOUR WITHOUT DISRUPTING OUR LIVES… Not only were we pleased with the finished video, but were very impressed at the skillful narration and background music that was chosen. The turnaround for the whole process was unbelievably fast. After we gave final approval to the finished product, they uploaded the NetClips video to WellcomeMat for us and we took the embed code and placed it on www.123AnySt.com (click on the Video Tour menu item to see how it looks on the PowerSite).
You can also click here to view the finished video on WellcomeMat.com.
The experience and the end result of working with a professional was quite an improvement over the amateur version. The cost was extremely affordable, the service was outstanding and most importantly, the finished product showcased and marketed the home in a way we couldn’t have done on our own.
The bottom line: If you can, definitely hire a professional!
Add comment April 30, 2007
