---
name: "real_estate_video"
description: "Plan, shoot, and deliver property listing videos: the walkthrough route, gimbal camera moves, day and dusk exteriors, drone aerials, and MLS/portal-ready delivery. Use when making a real estate video, a listing walkthrough, property tour content, or quoting video work for an agent."
metadata: { "includeInPrompt": true }
---

# Real Estate Video

## Purpose
Produce listing videos that help a buyer feel the home. This covers the standard 1-2 minute walkthrough, the luxury 2-5 minute tour, and the 30-60 second social cut. It does not cover interactive 3D capture (Matterport, Zillow 3D Home); those are separate products with their own apps.

## Workflow

### 1. Scope the shoot
Ask: listing tier (standard or luxury), total rooms and standouts, property type, whether a dusk/twilight exterior is wanted, and whether drone footage is requested. Lock the route before anyone picks up a camera: exterior, entry, living, kitchen, primary bedroom, standout details, outdoor space, closing exterior. One path, no doubling back. Shoot rooms in final edit order when you can.

### 2. Prep the property
Walk every room before filming: declutter surfaces, open all blinds and curtains, turn on the practical lights, remove personal items, and check mirrors for reflections of you or the gear. Declutter the exterior too (hoses, bins, cars in the driveway).

### 3. Shoot the interiors
Camera basics: shoot 50/60p at 1080p for smooth slow motion, shutter at 2x the frame rate, white balance matched to the light (3000K-5600K), a flat picture profile, lowest ISO you can get away with. Keep rooms at roughly eye level.

Five moves carry the whole video (full move notes in `references/shot-library.md`):
- **Walkthrough.** The signature move. Film at about half your natural walking speed, slow enough that a viewer can look around the room while moving.
- **Pull-back reveal.** Start tight on a detail (countertop, fireplace), drift back to reveal the whole room. Makes small rooms feel bigger. Check the background for clutter as you pull.
- **Push-in.** Slow drift toward a selling point. Through a doorway works well.
- **Slide.** Side-to-side across kitchens, islands, cabinetry, living rooms. Aim for 5-8 seconds across the frame.
- **Detail close-up.** Selling features: fixtures, materials, craftsmanship. Short, steady, well lit.

Target 25-30 input clips for a 2-minute video, each 10-30 seconds, in edit order. Shoot room clips you will cut down to 3-6 seconds each in the edit. A prepared standard home usually takes 30-60 minutes to film.

### 4. Shoot the exteriors (day and dusk)
Daylight: facade from two or three angles, the walk from the street to the door, the door opening, backyard, and a view of the house from the backyard.

Dusk/twilight: this is a second setup, not an afterthought. Scout the angles in daylight, turn on every light (interior, exterior, landscape), and be ready to shoot 10-30 minutes after sunset, with the sweet spot around 20 minutes post-sunset when the sky holds blue and the windows glow. Arrive about an hour before sunset so setup is done. Full timing notes in `references/shot-library.md`.

### 5. Shoot the aerials (if requested)
Standard aerial clip list for a 1-minute sequence: full orbit front, full orbit back, facade reveal, low-angle facade tight shots, back facade reveal, backyard reveal and tight shots, backyard features, and a pullback end clip. Fly slow: reduce gimbal pitch speed and smoothness settings, pinch the sticks, and layer movement (climb while pushing forward while pitching the gimbal) for a cinematic feel.

Legal gate: any drone flight that supports a real estate transaction is commercial under FAA rules. The pilot needs a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, the drone must be registered and broadcast Remote ID, and airspace must be checked before every flight (B4UFLY / Aloft LAANC). The certificate is per pilot, not per drone; flying for a client on a small drone still needs it.

### 6. Edit and deliver
Cut the listing video to 1-2 minutes (2-3 for luxury), then pull a separate 30-60 second social cut. Export MOV/MP4; keep master files under 5GB. Deliver to the agent with: the master video, the social cut, a thumbnail from the strongest exterior shot, and a one-page shot list of what is in the video so the agent can write the listing copy from it.

## Output Contract
Every deliverable has: a final video at the agreed length, a social cut, the thumbnail, and the shot-list document. Files are MOV/MP4, masters under 5GB.

## Operating Rules
1. Story order is law: wide exterior, entry, main living spaces, kitchen early, private rooms, standout details, outdoor finale. If the views or the yard are the selling point, move them earlier.
2. Aim for about 75% interior, 25% exterior. Skip boring rooms; the video is a highlight reel, not a survey.
3. Never invent facts about the property. Square footage, prices, school names, and neighborhood claims come from the agent or the listing sheet, never from memory.
4. Quote drone work only when a Part 107 pilot is flying. If the pilot is not certified, aerials come off the list until one is hired.
5. Check current portal specs before uploading. Zillow's in-app walkthroughs are silent and capped at 2 minutes; paid upload programs change over time, so confirm terms at booking.
6. Use `bin/real_estate_shotlist.py` to generate the shoot-day plan from the scope answers, and attach its output to every handoff.