This blog post was inspired by one I read recently where the Realtor was frustrated with real estate video because he could not get – and I quote, “professional results” with his Flip Video Camera. He said the video was limiting, the audio was bad, the software was clumsy, and extremely difficult to edit. Well, …… yes.
As a professional full motion video producer, hearing someone wanting to get professional results from a Flip Video camera is frustrating. You get what you pay for. It’s like the difference between a flat fee agent and a full service agent. Full service agents do more, work harder, put in more time, and charge more money.
The Flip was designed for fun spontaneous video capture with not much in the way of audio. Is the Flip a great camera? Absolutely! But it has its time and place. For on the go cute shots of the kids doing something spontaneous, yeah – record away – and email it to Grandma. But if you are trying to market the single most expensive thing someone owns – probably not.
So here’s the truth. You can’t use the words “professional real estate video” and “Flip Video Camera” in the same sentence. Period.
I will probably take a lot of heat for not sharing enthusiasm about the Flip for real estate, as I know there are many Flip Video fans on real estate forums. But I have also read post after post with agents bad mouthing video because it is “often done so poorly and unprofessionally.” Well, if the ones producing this junk are not willing to spend more then a couple hundred bucks for real equipment —– no kidding!
So, should you try to shoot your own video? Yes, absolutely. I go into a ton of detail on how in this blog post. But do yourself a favor and arm yourself with decent equipment, hire a professional full motion video producer, or just say no. Remember, a bad video will do you and your seller more harm then good.
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