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By Jennifer, October 10, 2012 4:30 pm

Yesterday, I recorded a testimonial video with Pamela Jones from Long & Foster and Extraordinary Transitions for Starloft. It came out pretty well, though, the sound is a little echoey from the size of the room. Though, for just using the onboard camera microphone, I think it came out well. I do have a digital recorder that I plan to use for future shoots requiring sound recording. Testimonial videos is a service I plan to offer in the very near future. So, if you’re interested, let me know. Enjoy!

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By Jennifer, September 21, 2012 11:14 pm

Well, I tried my second real estate video shoot and had much better results compared to my first video shoot. Though, I still made lots of mistakes. So, the learning continues. I still had some issues with focusing. My panning was more consistent this time, and I think I figured out how to control the exposure a bit better, which was good. A couple of my exterior shots were not level which looked sort of weird when they were mixed with ones that were level. While I was editing I also noticed some opportunities where I could have created more interest with the shots that I didn’t think about when I was shooting. For example, if the fireplaces were gas fireplaces, I could have turned them on to have flickering flames in the shots. I could have also had running water in the kitchen and bathroom shots. Next time, I will remember these things.

This house was the same one that I photographed here. So, as you can tell, I’m a much better photographer than I am a videographer at this point. haha!

Thank you to Pamela Jones of Extraordinary Transitions and Long & Foster for this opportunity!

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By Jennifer, September 9, 2012 9:15 pm

Recently, I tried doing my first real estate video which came out pretty terribly, but I learned a lot and I am sure that my next one will be a zillion times better. Thank you very much to Tad and Debbie Wicker of Wicker Homes and RE/MAX Allegiance for letting me shoot one of their listings for this video. There were a number of issues which I think I should be able to overcome in future video shoot attempts.

A tripod is definitely required for every shot, though, I would like to get a steadycam. A steadycam allows the videographer to walk with the camera while keeping the camera shot from looking shaky. I’m not sure which steadycam to get. Some of them attach to a vest which seems like it would be a bit overkill for my purposes. So, I’d probably opt for a handheld version. I failed to use a tripod for the exterior portion of the video and it is very obvious. My Manfrotto HDV501 video head did a good job for the interior pans. Though, I need to get used to panning at a consistent speed. A couple other pieces of equipment that I want that should improve the shots are a Glidetrack slider and a ball head to mount the glidetrack slider onto my tripod So I can adjust the position of the slider easily. The slider should improve the video tremendously to make it more cinematic looking and less amateurish.

I also had some trouble controlling the exposure settings and my focus. I think I’ve figured out how to set the exposure so it doesn’t automatically adjust as I shoot, but the focus issue is going to take some practice. I think the auto focus sets the focal point at the beginning but it doesn’t seem to adjust as I move the camera. So, I need to research that a bit more. Perhaps, I’ll use manual focus next time.

Unfortunately, the audio replacement feature of youtube.com doesn’t offer fading out the song at the end of the clip. So, the audio ends a bit abruptly.

So, given all my failures, I present “Monmouth Terrace: A Learning Experience”…