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The pitch
YouTube is an Internet giant.
What started as a time-killer for laughing at kids drugged on dental anesthetics is now a globally influential platform for everything from emerging bluegrass artists to cooking shows about science fiction-themed baked goods.
Real estate agents should be all over it. And maybe Ezflix can help you get there.
The sale
I’ve worked in television studios and on small film sets; all I can do is shake my head when I see what apps like Ezflix are allowing us to do.
The evolution of computing power has taken high-definition video rendering out of the hands of $300-per-hour studio editors and put it into your shirt pocket.
I’m not saying the easy editing tools and MLS listing feed connectivity of Ezflix will give you Wes Anderson’s eye for frame composition, but it certainly lends you the technical capabilities to construct, narrate and publish good-looking real estate marketing videos.
If you’re not comfortable with editing, Ezflix automatically pulls images from your MLS listing feed and assembles them into simple slideshows. Frankly, I see this type of content as less video and more PowerPoint. However, to that end, these are pretty effective. They come loaded with a voice-over, compiled by an array of actual (not robotic) recording services. Nice.
I like that once your feed is connected, the app presents each of your listings in its interface, so a reminder to market them is right in front of you.
You can add media with your phone’s camera beyond what’s in your MLS listing — useful if the client has made changes since your initial visit.
As the folks behind Ezflix suggest, don’t just use video to showcase the home, grab content of the surrounding community and edit in a few frames of what’s going around the house. Editing is as easy as dragging into order the clips and photos you think are best. You can (and absolutely should) film personal intros or closings and save them as stock footage to use in multiple settings.
If you’re comfortable with unmanned aerial vehicle footage, it could look great integrated into an Ezflix edit.
Storage is an obvious consideration when working with video content. Those megabytes accumulate quickly, so Ezflix lets you send those into the cloud once pulled into the software. You can also use the desktop browser version of your account, so you can access any video that’s there as well and work on a larger screen.
Ezflix has a very nice array of stock soundtracks you can choose from. You can choose songs from your music library, too … but you might want to avoid layering a Metallica riff over a shot of the master bedroom.
Timing narration to visuals can be hard for video neophytes. But Ezflix has your back. It plays your audio for as long as the image appears. You can choose to narrate individual photos in a video, or you can do a single track over the entire piece. Audio recorded in your stock video footage remains intact, since its native to that file.
Voice-over quality still depends on your smartphone’s microphone, so give some thought to your shooting times and location. Or, record it in your office closet.
Finished videos are shared to social media with a couple of taps, as well as to your YouTube account. It sends an IDX (Internet data exchange)-compliant version to the MLS, and it also allows for connectivity to the major listing sites.
When you complete a video, Ezflix takes a minute or two to assemble it before sending you a link. From there, you can get feedback from your clients — or, if you’re that good, send it directly to the eager homebuying market.
The close
Could you make more dynamic videos with iMovie or another such professional-level editor? Yes, of course. Ezflix is is a basic video production tool, available for both iOS and Android operating systems. Best of all, it’s tailored to the way agents work and takes a great deal of the complexities out of the process.
Ezflix is fast; its automatic MLS integration saves you photo import steps, and its ease of sharing is hard to beat. It also makes editing very simple. And through the desktop interface, you can quickly assemble print fliers and postcards, too. All included.
Free for now, future plans for Ezflix do call for tiered pricing levels, as well as on-screen graphics and features.
Again, you need to think about how to make a listing video effective: Have a plan and practice. There’s a reason film directors do things like blocking and read-throughs, and plan for multiple takes.
Or, just wing it. If you do, please share the link. We’ll want to see it on YouTube.
Do you use Ezflix? What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know!
Do you have a product for our tech expert to review? Email Craig Rowe.
