I’ll start this blog post by saying I’m not a fan of trying to shoot real estate videos at dusk or twilight!
But firstly the short drone video clip below is from a recent job and I didn’t end up using any of the dusk shots in the finished video and I’ll get to that shortly.
Camera Settings
For those of you interested the video above was shot with my DJI Inspire 2 with the 24mm lens.
ISO 400
White Balance 5400K
Manual exposure and focus
I also did a slight grade on the footage lifting the mid tones and highlights and adding a little colour saturation. And the glaring mistake in this shot was that once I got the drone in the air I didn’t realise until I started shooting that the owner hadn’t turned on the lights in the bottom layer of the home.
3 Reasons why Im NOT a fan of the Dusk/Twilight Video Shoot
1. Your Window of Opportunity!
By that I mean your very short window of time you most often have when shooting at dusk. For those of you out there that have shot stills or even video at dusk I’m sure you will be familiar with sitting around twiddling your thumbs waiting for that magic time when everything lines up as the sun dips below the horizon and its time to get your shots. And then before you know it, its too dark and the day is done!
Most often when shooting video we are trying to get more than one shot so we can edit together our sequence for the video so this very narrow timeframe can make it tricky to get a number of different shots or variations for our video.
2. Latitude!
Most often if we are shooting stills at twilight we will be bracketing the exposure so as we can edit up the beautiful twilight hero shot in Photoshop or Lightroom. Even thou it is starting to get dark the latitude or exposure differences between the bright sky and interior lights of the property and the dark shadows of the home is still very large.
Hence the need for bracketing the exposures to edit your stills shot in your editing software. Unfortunately when shooting video with our locked down shutter speeds and frame rates we just cannot capture this large exposure difference and fix it when editing. The newer cameras for shooting video are getting there with their ability to capture a larger range of exposure difference in each shot but we just aren’t there yet.
3. It dosen’t look like the photographs!
This was my clients reaction to the first draft of the video where I included the dusk shots above in the finished video. His comments were its too dark and didn’t capture how well the house looked when it was lit up at night.
There in lies problem number 3 which is obviously tied to problem number 2 in that because video can’t capture HDR or blended images as well as professionally shot and edited stills can people well naturally try and compare the video dusk shoot to the stills dusk shoot and the stills shots are going to win hands down.
As a side note I ended up re-editing the video and finishing it on nice late afternoon sunshine shots I already had and took out all the dusk shots and the client was happy.
Here is the finished video below,
I could be wrong!
Now I could be completely wrong here and by all means let me know in the comments below if you have had better luck shooting dusk video or perhaps some tips on dusk real estate video done well.
Somebody has some serious money! Nice work and client!.
I agree totally. Dusk is very difficult. Using the “SWEET SPOT” in post production, ( best looking brightness and saturation and contrast without getting film grain ) and keeping it looking fluid is very difficult. Having a camera with excellent low light capabilities is paramount. Still photos will ALWAYS WIN. Excellent post and thanks again.
Three techniques for shooting day to night or low light shots using a mavic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHDJUS0yC9k&t=140s
I actually thought the video looked realistic and great! Video gives us more reality. Just my opinion, but I would use that footage in a heartbeat to show a contrast to day shots. You can see the lights of town, etc I liked it!
Hi I agree with Russ, loved the twilight clip, I wondered if you edit in FCPX? As you could shoot the twilight as a still with 3-5 exposure settings then integrate in FC with say a Ken Burns effect, which will fit in no problem especially with the speed you change the frames, average person will not even realize it’s a still shot ?
Hi Alan – yes I use FCPX but just not a fan of using still shots in video as it always seem to be noticeable to my eye. Also if someone is paying me to make a video then I do my best to make sure video is what they get if that makes sense. Thats also just my personal opinion as well. Cheers
OK thanks for the fast response > A
Yes, the twilight just doesn’t grab the majestic setting but the finished video is EXCELLENT!! I struggle with twilight video as well.
I disagree with the client, but, at the end of the day, the client’s wishes…
The twilight shots—even with the lower level not lit—add an air of magic that makes it special. Apart from the interior shots, and the far vistas, I think the house looked less special in daylight. Nice job, though.
I would have liked to finish with them also but as you say, Client wishes. Cheers
I totally agree, video’s a lot more difficult to deal with lighting issues than stills.
What a fantastic home and the video you’ve shot here definitely highlights the beauty of not only this amazing home, but the world class views it enjoys.
With the unique viewpoints available using a drone perhaps a compromise could be shooting bracketed still images and then adding the Ken Burns effect to the edited images in post? I’m thinking that this work around would provide the appearance of drone video footage with the HDR benefits of the still image. Love to hear your thoughts on that.
Could even do it over a coffee (or beer) if you like. My shout you’ve definitely taught me some valuable insights into shooting real estate via your video tutorials.
Cheers
Jamie
Hi Jamie – I’m not a fan of still shots in video as they often stand out when used in conjunction with video whether its due to their resolution or movement (or lack of). Thats just my personal opinion thou. Cheers
lovely video! I agree, the twilight video can be a bit tricky. There is a small window, but with enough planning, you can capture the angles needed for the twilight stuff. I also prefer sunrise or sunset with a ND4 filter to help with maintaining colors in the sky and then mask the foreground with exposure adjustments to precisely capture what I envision. When you deliver photos and video, it is tough if your video doesn’t meet par to your photos.
Question for you… What about interiors for window exposure. So many times there are great window views, but it is tough to find a balance between interior ambient lighting and the exterior day-lit views. Do you use a ND filter for indoor shots? Also what camera settings do you find best for interior video to maintain window details?
Thanks for the info! So glad I subscribed! – Casey
Hi Casey – window exposures are always tricky shooting situations. My generally philosophy is to NOT try and balance the exposure or framing for both indoor and exterior view in the same shot. Instead I will always try and frame and expose for either the interior or the exterior and then edit them together in a sequence in post production. I always try and think what am I trying to focus the viewers attention on in my shot? is it the interior or is it the exterior?
I don’t use a ND filter for interior shooting but will often put one on for shooting and exposing for the view, usually a ND8. And to answer your last question I am most often shooting in a neutral picture profile with the contrast and saturation dialed back a little. Cheers
Grant, I quite agree with everything you say. As a primary still photographer, I get a lot of requests to shoot twilight shots and since my camera is always locked down on a tripod, ISO is not a factor since I just let the shutter speed drop to seconds sometimes which allows moving water in pools, ponds and little man-made streams get that lovely smooth look. And I shoot HDR always for stills which is a great help with twilight and “almost dark” shots in stills. And yes, I would say that I have about 10 minutes to get the shots. Little enough time to shoot all the stills with drone and tripod based DSLR and not enough time to shoot video as well although I usually manage to shoot stills and video with the drone in that time. I shoot the drone first at an earlier time for the added light, then shoot the stills with multiple exposures both with drone and ground based DSLR (or mirrorless). I start shooting too early just in case and keep shooting even when the light is gone since sometimes that results in interesting shots especially with a pool in the foreground that may not be brightly lit. But ONLY either the front or the back of the house. Just not enough time to do both even for just stills.
But I would say this. You have to time your shooting. If the sun sets behind you, you will retain more light after it sets and the sky will be darker while if it sets behind the house, you have to wait later for the sky to darken which means that the side of the house facing you is almost deprived of light altogether. Not such a problem for stills but a major problem for video for all the reasons you laid out above. So I often have to light the outside of the house as well; strategically. Have to be careful incase buyers think there is outside lighting when it is in fact photo lighting.
Also I usually bring along a lot of lights to light the interiors. These days, many houses have very moody, low wattage interior lighting which means you have to wait until the exterior light is almost gone to get an interior exposure. So by pumping photo lighting in the interiors to supplement the existing interior light, you can start shooting earlier and thus extend your window of opportunity. With the big glass walled houses you shoot, this is a problem as a mid century house I shot almost a year ago proved since it is hard to hide the lights from outside view as you fly sideways across the property. They can pop into view and shine directly into the lens or the stand, light and cable, if you use hot wired lights, also pop into view. And this of course takes a hell of a lot of time to set up so when I have to do this for video, usually shot with the drone, I have to allow from 2 to 3 hours before the estimated shoot starting time, to set up and test the lights in all the rooms that can be seen. Trying to do this with the sample above would be a night mare especially as I seem to remember that this property was remote and you had to take a plane. With all my lighting it would have had to be a troop carrier. But while I use 650 watt quartz movie lights, I also take along a whole crate of hardware store clamp ons with photofloods for the less important rooms.
It’s a big job. Something most of my clients don’t quite realize. But I charge for the twilight as though it is a complete shoot since it is and needs usually a lot of massaging in post. On one shoot, the client could not figure out how to get the smart lighting system controlled by mobile for the landscaping lights and the pool and spa lights to go on so I was not able to start shooting until that window of opportunity had almost past. Then my P4Pro announced that the radar would not work since there was not enough ambient light. So I was flying by the seat of my pants for the final clips which involved flying under tree branches and up to the wall of windows and back again without having the drone fly all over the place or get caught in the leaves of those tree branches. Hairy.
But having said all that, the impact is strong and eye catching both for stills and video as long as the grain (noise – I am giving away my age) does not create those drunk bugs that are doing the jitter bug. But even then, how many buyers are going to see the video on their large computer monitors as opposed to their tablets and cell phones? A trade off.
So I do favor doing twilight video for its visual impact and because very few RE videographers do it for all the reasons you outline. For clients, they pay a lot for just a few seconds of video time on the final video. So you need clients who think it is worth it. These days I schedule the twilight for a different day than the day I shoot the daylight video and stills since the pressure of shooting, the time for set up and the time in tear down is exhausting. I am too old to be working from 7.30 AM to 9.00 PM at night. And God help you if you have not recharged all your batteries (although the likelihood of using more than 1 is small) and have forgotten to download the images from your memory card of your daylight shoot and then wiped it clean before you start to fly. Not a time to run out of card space. Or suddenly have some control radio interference with the drone. Or forget if you have the required twilight strobes on your drone to turn them off for the low level “fly up to the wall of windows” and then see their flashing reflections. Much to remember. You just have to get paid for the hassle. And its a great way to finish a longer video and make a client happy.
Hey Peter – thanks for the description on how you approach lighting and twilight shoots. Its definitely a hassle that you need to make sure you are getting paid for but I think you hit the nail on the head saying not a lot of videographers are doing it, so if you do, your videos will stand out. Even thou I say in the blog post I’m not a fan of it, like most aspects of video production, if you can get it sorted its another tool for your toolbox that can lift your videos over the competition. Cheers
I had a good experience filming my last house at twilight. I was filming in Menlo Park Ca, and sunset was scheduled for 8:28pm. I had my shot list (about 7 short shots) which took me about five minutes to film. I was filming the backyard of this home which had a lot of outside lights and the inside lights shown pretty well too. I filmed the same sequence every five minutes: First at 8:28pm, then again at 8:33pm, and again at 8:38pm and again at 8:43pm. The shots were getting better and better and it grew darker. Bu then I bumped up my ISO and got my best footage at about 8:55pm. Youcan take a look at the final product here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/8JV0621XT1s?rel=0&autoplay=1&loop=1
The twilight footage is located at the end of the video.
Hi Keith – your twilight shots came up well. Thanks for sharing the video.