video home tours at DVinfo.net

Edward Croteau · June 6th, 2005, 02:47 PM

Hello All,
I have some recent opportunities to do some video home tours for local real estate companies, but have been struggling with how much to charge. I believe that they would generally be 4-8min in length per house. Also, I figure an hour or two shooting, and an hour or two editing at around $300 a house (plus expenses...tapes, gas, etc) makes sense. Is this too high? Can anybody share what they charge for house tours? Otherwise, can anybody point me in the direction of someone who does this work & visits these forums? I suppose I could go as low as $200 house...I just don't want to price myself out of these jobs. Any advise? Thanks in advance,
Edward Croteau
Red Quill Productions

Boyd Ostroff · June 6th, 2005, 03:22 PM

Geez, I'm reluctant to even mention it again, but since you asked... check out this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=32947

Better grab a comfy chair and big glass of your favorite beverage, you're gonna be there for awhile... ;-)

Richard Alvarez · June 6th, 2005, 03:33 PM

Ahhhk Boyd!

You just yanked the stake from the heart of that thread!

NOOOOoooooooooo!

Edward Croteau · June 6th, 2005, 03:44 PM

Oh yeah, I remember reading that one. It seemed like people were all over the map, so I can understand not wanting to get into that one again. I was hoping that someone could give me some real advice outside of the obvious lowballing/potential scam that the 'goldenopportunity' thread represents.

Mike Cavanaugh · June 7th, 2005, 07:43 AM

Please don't let Pandora out of the box again! For Edward, if you take the example of this "Get rich quick" scheme, you would market at about $200. You are proposing taking more time and care than they were saying, so the extra money may be OK. As always, the market and quality of your product will combine to set a fair price.

Bob Costa · June 8th, 2005, 10:47 AM

Its all about marketing. Most realtors don't spend a dime on stuff like this, and even take their own still pictures for what they call a web tour. You will have to do some educating and convincing. A lot will depend on the market and price of the house. For a $100k house where the listing agent gets about $1500, unlikely they will share $300 with you up front.

Nicholi Brossia · June 9th, 2005, 04:02 PM

You'd be suprised how quickly that 2 hours will fly by and leave you with a very incomplete day of shooting, especially if your goal is 4-8 minutes. The one thing I learned most from doing the same type of "home touring" videos is that its not just a get-in-get-out operation. Zoom out of the kitchen, zoom into the bedroom, etc. are all easy to do in that two hours, but when you begin tying in voice overs or interviews (you'd be suprised how fast realitors freeze up on camera, considering that their job is to talk) then your time multiplies quickly. The guy I worked with (notice the past tense) would schedule a "Yeah, sure we can get that done in two hours... tops." production and I would end up sticking around four or five before heading off to another "Yeah, sure we can get that done in two hours... tops." shoot, one hour late. Then had to work all kinds of magic, trying to edit an incomplete shoot into something slightly presentable.

Now, I'm not saying the two hours isn't possible, but you'll have to be ultra organized and everything will have to go smoothly to get there... which won't happen until you've finished a few tours and start to get the knack. I would advise devoting an entire Saturday to one home, development, or agent to get your first feel of how this will all go down. That will give you the best understanding.

Also, keep in mind who you're dealing with. A lot of realitors are very nice and let you do what you do best, but there are also a lot that feel they do best and go out of their way to get that point accross. Plus, they are salespeople, many of them really good salespeople. So be prepared.

June 6th, 2005, 02:47 PM	#1
Edward Croteau New Boot Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Lincoln, NH Posts: 10	video home tours Hello All, I have some recent opportunities to do some video home tours for local real estate companies, but have been struggling with how much to charge. I believe that they would generally be 4-8min in length per house. Also, I figure an hour or two shooting, and an hour or two editing at around $300 a house (plus expenses...tapes, gas, etc) makes sense. Is this too high? Can anybody share what they charge for house tours? Otherwise, can anybody point me in the direction of someone who does this work & visits these forums? I suppose I could go as low as $200 house...I just don't want to price myself out of these jobs. Any advise? Thanks in advance, Edward Croteau Red Quill Productions

June 6th, 2005, 03:44 PM	#4
Edward Croteau New Boot Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Lincoln, NH Posts: 10	re: thanks Oh yeah, I remember reading that one. It seemed like people were all over the map, so I can understand not wanting to get into that one again. I was hoping that someone could give me some real advice outside of the obvious lowballing/potential scam that the 'goldenopportunity' thread represents.

June 8th, 2005, 10:47 AM	#6
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	Its all about marketing. Most realtors don't spend a dime on stuff like this, and even take their own still pictures for what they call a web tour. You will have to do some educating and convincing. A lot will depend on the market and price of the house. For a $100k house where the listing agent gets about $1500, unlikely they will share $300 with you up front. __________________ You are either growing or dying.

June 9th, 2005, 04:02 PM	#7
Nicholi Brossia Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 389	You'd be suprised how quickly that 2 hours will fly by and leave you with a very incomplete day of shooting, especially if your goal is 4-8 minutes. The one thing I learned most from doing the same type of "home touring" videos is that its not just a get-in-get-out operation. Zoom out of the kitchen, zoom into the bedroom, etc. are all easy to do in that two hours, but when you begin tying in voice overs or interviews (you'd be suprised how fast realitors freeze up on camera, considering that their job is to talk) then your time multiplies quickly. The guy I worked with (notice the past tense) would schedule a "Yeah, sure we can get that done in two hours... tops." production and I would end up sticking around four or five before heading off to another "Yeah, sure we can get that done in two hours... tops." shoot, one hour late. Then had to work all kinds of magic, trying to edit an incomplete shoot into something slightly presentable. Now, I'm not saying the two hours isn't possible, but you'll have to be ultra organized and everything will have to go smoothly to get there... which won't happen until you've finished a few tours and start to get the knack. I would advise devoting an entire Saturday to one home, development, or agent to get your first feel of how this will all go down. That will give you the best understanding. Also, keep in mind who you're dealing with. A lot of realitors are very nice and let you do what you do best, but there are also a lot that feel they do best and go out of their way to get that point accross. Plus, they are salespeople, many of them really good salespeople. So be prepared. __________________ Nicholi Brossia

June 6th, 2005, 03:22 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	Geez, I'm reluctant to even mention it again, but since you asked... check out this thread: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=32947 Better grab a comfy chair and big glass of your favorite beverage, you're gonna be there for awhile... ;-)

June 6th, 2005, 03:33 PM	#3
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Ahhhk Boyd! You just yanked the stake from the heart of that thread! NOOOOoooooooooo!

June 7th, 2005, 07:43 AM	#5
Mike Cavanaugh Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Albany NY Posts: 311	Please don't let Pandora out of the box again! For Edward, if you take the example of this "Get rich quick" scheme, you would market at about $200. You are proposing taking more time and care than they were saying, so the extra money may be OK. As always, the market and quality of your product will combine to set a fair price.