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Making a Video Part II - Audio and Posting

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Showcase Homes

I decided it was time to get on the video band wagon to take my listing presentation (what I will offer my sellers) and the marketing of my listings to the next level.  After all, it is a challenging market in Michigan and I want to stand out in Oakland County Real Estate - one of the areas that I service.  Not to mention that buyers want to see everything than can about a home--the competition is fierce.  I documented the first half my my journey in "Making a Video Step by Step"and now I have completed it and here are the final steps and My First Video Debut of the Rochester- Rochester Hill's"Art and Apples Festival".

I was stopped when it came to getting rid of the audio that was recorded when I took the video and adding music for a finished video.  I posted Part I to assist those that were as novice as I was and to get some tips on getting through the wall of 'Not Knowing'.  Brad Andersohnsaid I could give him a call (he has been very helpful in the journey) and I received several great comments.  I was busy with an upcoming Michigan Association of Realtors (MAR) convention and put all on hold.  At the event, I signed up for Podcasting Part I and Podcasting Part II and finally got into the world of audio.  I had never created a podcast either (maybe another post).  Between sessions, I asked James Spellos (our speaker who was great) how to mute the current audio to make room for the music and he gave me a few ideas.

1.  I finally figured out to right click on the audio right under the video and there was a mute button - YEAH!  I had to do this for each piece of video that I had added to the story board in Windows Movie Maker.

2.  I went on-line and searched for free music.  I need to experiment with this some more as I only went to the first link in google and listened to a few until I found one that "would do" - probably not my best choice but hey - I'm learning.  I imported it and then dragged it down to the audio portion of the editor.

3.  Well, it was only two minutes or less and my video was a bit longer so I just used the same music twice and stretched out the credits a bit to make it all fit - however the audio goes on a touch longer than the video and there is an obvious hic-cough in the middle.  By now I have decided that I want to post my Rochester Community Event with the still pictures I took as a back-up.

4.  Once I finished editing, I didn't really like the quality compared to what it looked like on my camera.  I had posted earlier about which is the best camera to buy and whether I needed a camcorder, flip video or still camera that does decent video.  One of my goals is to interview the local community at the events I promote and local business owners etc.  With interviewing, I feel I really need a microphone so I have a friend who will loan me a camcorder to see if I like it/use it/can edit it before I invest more money.

5.  Wow - I finally felt like I had accomplished something - even with the few defects.  Now I was ready to post it.  In Movie Maker, there is "Finish Video" - then save to computer, send in e-mail, save to the web.  I first clicked "publish to web" thinking this it it.  I ended up joining one of two choices for a 30 day trial and could share it with people but couldn't download it to YouTube.  So, I figured I probably need to download it directly and I have an account through my use of Real Estate Shows.  When I started downloading it from a copy on my computer, it wasn't the right extension.  So, I figured that I had to convert it once again.  However, a friend of mine said that every time you do that, you loose some of the quality - well - I thought the quality wasn't that good - I hated to loose more.  So, I played around some more and finally tried the "save to computer" option and it created the right extension for downloading to YouTube.  In my first attempt to download, I think I picked up the edited version directly out of movie maker and hadn't really saved it at all.

So, here is the Movie Premier of my very first attempt at shooting, editing and posting a Video:

Royal Oak Realtor selling Real Estate in Southeastern Michigan.  TishHouse sells Houses - selling Oakland County Real Estate with RE/MAX Showcase Homes in Birmingham, Michigan. Helping People in a challenging market by specializing in Short Sales. See what my clients have to say about my extraordinary customer service.

Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

Yea! You did it, Cathy ! Good job, keep it up. It takes time doesn't it?

Sep 27, 2008 12:49 PM
Cathy Tishhouse
RE/MAX Showcase Homes - Royal Oak, MI
Royal Oak Real Estate

Missy:  Your encouragement and support always mean a lot!  Thanks for taking a look.  I have been working at home all week and working on all my web stuff - particularly the videos - I made another just to make sure I had the steps down correctly - of course I didn't until after that one - I think I will time myself on the third - took it this week about a local cider mill - which I could capture the taste of all the doughnuts (I ate) on video :-) LOL  I am going out with a camcorder today.

Sep 28, 2008 01:19 AM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

You are becoming the pro, can I call you anytime?  :-)))

Sep 28, 2008 03:33 PM
Cathy Tishhouse
RE/MAX Showcase Homes - Royal Oak, MI
Royal Oak Real Estate

Brad:  Thanks for the compliment - but clearly I have a lot of room to grow - I did just post my send video which I feel is greatly improved.  However, I now have a camcorder and can ZOOM - I shot my first one and ready to edit - the sky is now the limit :-)

Sep 29, 2008 03:08 AM
Lee Morof
RE/MAX Showcase Homes - Birmingham, MI
Associate Broker, Attorney, CDPE

I am more inclined to shoot the raw video and send it to a VA to do the rest. I admire your tenacity. I also like your slogan.

Oct 02, 2008 09:01 AM
Terri Adams-Scott
J. Rockcliff, REALTORS - Walnut Creek, CA
Realtor, Walnut Creek CA Real Estate

Cathy, congratulations on your video production...and your tenacity!  The video looks good!

Oct 03, 2008 01:03 AM
Cathy Tishhouse
RE/MAX Showcase Homes - Royal Oak, MI
Royal Oak Real Estate

Lee:  There are times when I definitely feel like sending it to a VA - and maybe I will when I get rolling - right now I have two to edit and am behind.  But, I like learning how to do it as I can then say how I want it to flow and what's possible.  I like this business because it's so dynamic and constantly changing - so much room to grow.

Terri:  Thanks for the compliment about tenacity - I wanted to quit several times!

Oct 03, 2008 07:30 AM
Michael Sahlman
www.HomesForVIPs.com - Keller Williams Realty - Miami Beach, FL
e-PRO - Miami Beach Florida Luxury Homes

Looks pretty good. Congrats on your first. I guess it is like anything-there is a learning curve.

Oct 04, 2008 07:15 PM
Cathy Tishhouse
RE/MAX Showcase Homes - Royal Oak, MI
Royal Oak Real Estate

Thanks Michael.  There is definitely a learning curve and still going through it.  I just posted my first video with a camcorder about the Royal Oak Zoo and still not the quality I want it to be - so more to learn.

Oct 08, 2008 03:26 AM