Farms: 2871 Oak Park Dr. Rock Hill, SC
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Private & Peaceful, Paradise Farm is a 17+ac Modernized Historic, Nature-filled Estate w/Equestrian facilities. Magnificently located creekside, the Sunroom overlooks Fishing Creek w/2 Briskly Flowing Waterfalls. Gardens include Azaleas & huge Oaks. Special features-5 Fireplaces, Original Heart Pine Floors, Solarium, Temp Controlled Storage bldg. Fully equipped Guest Apartment over 2 Car detached Garage. Close to Local Colleges & Rock Hill. Easy commute to Charlotte NC & airport. Low Taxes.
My first video of a home tour was a success. Why? Because the client was happy. Was it the best I could have done? Yes, because it was my first in this endeavor, and I feel it was the best I could have done without much experience. But even I know it wasn't perfect. I strive for perfection but sometimes even the your best falls short of your expectations. This is a collection of thoughts to help me in the future and hopefully others that strive to do their very best on their video home/property tours.
First the highlights of what I feel I did well.
1. Familiarity: Speaking with the client and understanding the property and understanding what makes this home/property special in their eyes is very important. Special features of the house or property that you may not have noticed is something that you should concentrate on and make sure you collect extra footage of. This becomes very important when you realize your voice over script needs to have the footage that matches the time to explain those special features. Without that it becomes very hard in post processing to combine script and footage that matches in a timeline.
2. Storyboard: Creating a story board of how you want to present the story of the property is a must and allows you to film that story in a efficient manner. Without that you will stumble around and look less than professional. Visualize what shots you plan to take before you get there, and in what order. The angles of the shots can and may be determined when you get there based on light, angles, features, but a pre-conceived story board written out will help you move through that process efficiently.
3. Checklist: Creating a checklist of what you plan to bring along is crucial. Make sure on your checklist you include the basics like charging batteries, extra batteries, back up cameras, tripod, lights, etc. Its the basics that you forget that can leave you high and dry.
4. Speaking scripts on camera: Make sure you have practiced those. Nothing can slow down the process of take after take when you try and "wing it". Yes, you can improvise but having an idea before you arrive will speed up the process tremendously. Once you get in front of your camera it is amazing how much you will forget your lines. Practice makes perfect!
5. Audio Quality: Along with the quality of video the #1 item that can destroy your video is bad audio. A decent lavalier mic such as this one http://www.amazon.com/Rode-Smartlav-Lavalier-Microphone-Smartphones/dp/B00BHN05H2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1399343268&sr=1-1&keywords=rhode+lavalier and a high quality voice over mic such as http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-iCE-Microphone/dp/B006DIA77E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1399343353&sr=1-1&keywords=blue+ice+snowball can both be had for around $80.00 and can make all the difference.
Now to focus on those things that I feel I could have done better:
1. Equipment: Sometimes budget is a restriction and you have to make the most of what you have; however, there is no fix for bad quality. A few items that would have made my video shots better would have been a hand held stabilizer. For example http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Professional-Camcorder-Stabilizing-Handle-/dp/B003PBB4ME/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1399343133&sr=1-2&keywords=camera+stabilizer this would have helped on those hand held shots that I felt were less than stellar. In addition the tripod used to pan most of my shots was sad to say the least. It wasn't as smooth as it should have been and its definitely one of my first new purchases.
2. Light: Digital photography and videography needs good light. Some areas of my video could have been brighter and a LED such as this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JZI78O/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 is something that could have come in handy for darker rooms. In addition studio type lights placed in strategic locations could have come in handy. For example a set of stands for can be purchased for about $40.00 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009VJJO3A/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 along with a few light adapters at $6.00 a piece http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062Q46B0/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and some daylight compact fluorescent bulbs can go along ways.
3. Camera: Yes the camera matters however I feel we got decent video out of a Canon SX50. Its not a true DSLR and in a few of my shots I felt it had trouble auto focusing. The GoPro I used to take drive up shots does great but I learned to be leery of light coming through trees. In the outdoor drive up shots I took it captured sun flares and even though it may look decent on your computer once you you upload to a video sharing site like Vimeo or YouTube your video gets encoded and compressed again and the results may not be what you hoped for. Here is our final product. We are very happy with it but with a little experience under the belt I feel it will only get better. Hopefully these tips will help you as well.