MAKING A VIDEO

Why video?
Including a video with your property listing is a great way to tell potential buyers more about your home. In your video, you can point out the best bits of your home, like a great view, a sunny balcony or a large wardrobe. It's a great opportunity to give buyers more information and get them excited about your home.

How do I do it?
You can create a video using a digital camera, a digital camcorder or even your mobile phone. Our advice is to keep your video short, simple and to the point.

Here are some basic tips that you may find useful:

1. First of all - don't worry about it not being perfect. No one's expecting Hollywood production values. A few em's and er's in the commentary are fine.
2. Plan in your head what you're going to film and say, and keep it short - we recommend 2-3 minutes tops.
3. Ensure that the lighting is suitable and allows the viewer to see your property clearly.
4. If you are providing a commentary over your video make sure you speak clearly and turn off all unnecessary background noise (eg radios, dishwashers).
5. Videos containing inappropriate language, nudity or any other content that we deem to be unsuitable will be removed.

EXPORTING / EDITING VIDEOS

File formats
We can accept your video files in most formats such as .WMV, .AVI, .MOV and .MPG - these are the most common files that your digital camera, camcorder or mobile phone will produce.

Getting your video from your camera to your computer
You should consult your camera’s instruction manual for exact directions on how to transfer the video to your computer, normally this is done using a USB or FireWire connection. If your video file has been recorded onto a DVD-R or CD-R, you can just insert it into your computer and copy it across this way.

If your video file is in analogue format (e.g. VHS, VHS-C, SVHS-C, 8 mm or Hi8 tape) you can still transfer it to your computer. Doing so will require the video to be digitised so that the computer can read the file. You can buy equipment to do this yourself or you can take your video to a business that provides this service and have them do it for you.

Once you have successfully transferred your video file to your computer you can then upload it directly to our website.

Editing your video
If you want to edit your video before uploading it you should be able to do so using your computers video editing software. Most computers come with some standard video editing software already installed such as Microsoft Movie Maker or Apple iMovie. Many other video editing software packages are also available to buy for this purpose.

Settings
Below are our recommended settings for your video file.

• Video Format: MOV, MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid), WMV
• Resolution: 640x480 pixels
• Audio Format: MP3
• Frames per second: 30
• Maximum length: 5 minutes (we recommend 2-3 minutes)
• Maximum file size: 50mb

If your video file doesn't match our recommended settings you should use video editing software such as Microsoft Movie Maker or Apple iMovie to convert it to a more manageable format. You can find out how to do this by using the 'Help' guide in your software.

REMOVING / CHANGING A VIDEO

If you want to remove a video from your listing you can do so at any time. Just log in to your account and edit your listing to delete the video. Please note that if you have basic listing you will not be able to remove or change your video.

If you want to change your video you can simply log in to your account, delete your current video then upload your new one.