4 Tips and Tools for Creating Better Cell Phone Videos

Let me just say, I don't recommend making a real estate video with your cell phone. What you gain in convenience, you lose in image quality. If your videos are not high quality, you risk losing your viewers to videos that are.

But sometimes cell phone videos are a necessary evil. Production companies can be expensive and learning how to use your own camera equipment can be time-consuming. For quick clips on social media, cell phone videos can be an extremely effective marketing tool.

With that in mind, here are four tips/tools that can improve the quality of your cell phone videos.

#1 - Slow motion

The latest iPhone has several features that can greatly improve your cell phone videos. One of the more exciting features is the camera's slow motion capabilities. The camera allows you to shoot at 240 fps (super slow motion) while still maintaining 720p HD video quality. Obviously, 720 is a step down from 1080, but considering most YouTube videos default to 720 HD, your viewer is not likely to notice the drop in quality.

• Check out some cool examples here

Slow motion is great for a lot of things, namely, creating dramatic effect. For real estate videos, I would avoid slow motion shots of interiors and instead save your slow-mo for images that will resonate with your viewer. Take some slow-mo of the sun shining through the trees, children or animals playing in the back yard, detail shots of lifestyle within the house, shots of the neighborhood alive and thriving etc. Be mindful not to overuse the effect—using slow-mo for every shot will literally make your video slow, which is a turn off for viewers. For that reason, use the effect sparingly and strategically.

#2 - Hyperlapse

Hyperlapse is a time-lapse app from Instagram, free for your iPhone. Time-lapse is the opposite of slow-motion, where footage is sped up instead of slowed down. Professional production crews can spend a lot of time and money to achieve this effect, so to have it for free is just awesome.

Time-lapses are typically used as establishing shots—that is, the very first image in a scene or sequence that is meant to give the viewer an introduction to that scene or sequence. I would recommend using Hyperlapse in this way. Consider creating a time-lapse of driving through a neighborhood, or the view of the house from the street, or use the time-lapse to create a walk-thru of the property before going into the house.

#3 - Videohance

Videohance is a video editor app. The editor has a user-friendly interface and comes with a variety of video filters that you can use to spice up your footage. Think Instagram, but for videos. These filters include vignettes (dark edges around the frame), light-leaks (J.J. Abrams-like lens-flares), blurs (create depth) and gradients (create texture).

• Check the app out here

These filters are a great way to stylize your videos and can help you attract a younger audience. I'd recommend using the filters on listings with a lot of character or in neighborhoods with an interesting or vibrant culture.

#4 – MusicBed.com

The most important advice I can give you is to not scrimp on your music selection. You've already taken a big risk in producing a video with reduced image quality—don't compound this risk by using a cheap song. Videos are comprised of both image and sound so your music selection is half the battle.

I've looked long and hard for good music licensing sites and Musicbed has a) the best songs b) the best variety and c) the best browsing experience. Whereas many music licensing sites have cheap songs that are also cheaply produced, at Musicbed you get real songs by real artists using real instruments. Though it may cost you a bit to purchase a song, you can use this song over and over again to your heart's content. And considering how many listings you have now and in the pipeline, that initial cost will more than pay for itself.

• Here's a cool example of one of their songs in use
• Check the site out, too

To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.