How to Edit a Property Video with Your Smartphone

Prospective tenants starting their search online are looking to gather as much information as possible about a property, especially as current closures and social distancing mandates have made in-person offices tours difficult. As virtual tours continue to be an effective leasing tool, listings with video content will stand out online.

After you've filmed a property video with your cell phone, which you can watch a tutorial for here, you'll need to edit the footage into a final video for prospective tenants to watch. In this video, LoopNet photographer Jason Hunter takes you through the process of putting the final product together using the Adobe Rush app, which you can download on your phone from the app store. Below, you'll also find a step-by-step guide for how to use the app.

If you have an iPhone and want to try out different editing options, you can learn how to create a video with iMovie here.

Adobe Rush Steps

After downloading the app, the first step is to touch Create New Project and then Add Media.

Now select Camera Roll, and touch your clips to select the ones you want to use for the video. Type in the name of the project, and finally touch the Create Button to begin editing your Sequence Timeline.

Before proceeding with your Sequence Timeline, make note of the undo option. This will help you revert to your previous place and undo any mistakes from unintended swipes.

Now familiarize yourself with how to use the Sequence Timeline editing interface. All your clips have been placed in the order you selected them from the Camera Roll into the bottom half of your screen.

To review the clips more closely, use the two-finger pinch to zoom in and out, viewing more of one clip or all of the clips in sequence. Swipe sideways to go forward and backward throughout.

You will notice a clip is selected when it is outlined in orange. Click and drag selected clips into the natural walk through order of the space.

For example: Entrance > Lobby > Elevators > Reception > Open Office Area > Conference.

Now that your clips are in the correct order, you may notice doubled movements or portions of clips that are redundant and need trimming. Select one clip to adjust, and at the left side of the clip drag it to shorten.

Alternatively, you can use the Blue Line Cursor to mark where you want the clip to start, and then move the Bottom Toolbar scrolling to the end and touch the Scissors cut button to clip. Back in the Sequence Timeline, select the portion of the clip before the cut you want removed. Return to the Bottom Toolbar and touch the Trash button to remove the selected portion of the clip.

Trim all of your clips to your liking. Avoid leaving a clip with movement that goes back and forth over the same information or swerves at the start or end. Try to keep the clips at a similar length for a steady natural flow.

Your Sequence Timeline is now sorted and trimmed, but there are more advanced touches to consider. A few other tools in the Bottom Toolbar can help make your walking video tour even better. The first tool to look at is the Transitions Button.

Your video currently has straight jumps between each clip that might not flow nicely. To fix this, put your Blue Line Cursor between the first and second clip. Then in the Bottom Toolbar, touch the Transitions button.

A new set of options will appear. Select Cross Dissolve. Do the same between the rest of the clips in your Sequence Timeline so the video flows smoothly between each clip.

If some clips still look too different, for example one clip has normal lighting and the next one suddenly becomes too dark, you can even them out with Exposure. Select the clip to adjust, then touch the Color button in the Bottom Toolbar.

Some filters will appear at first but ignore those and go to the slider options below them. Choose exposure and move the slider until the clip has a more natural lighting level. Once you are finished, press the left arrow button in the bottom lower left corner to save and continue. Adjust your other clips as needed.

The last adjustment to your video tour will be to eliminate the noisy audio feedback. Select the first clip with a long hold touch. A new menu will appear. Then select Expand Audio. Touch the Audio button in the bottom toolbar and then the Clip Volume button at the bottom left. Move the slider from the center 50 level all the way down and left to Zero. Do this for all the clips in the Sequence.

Now move your Blue Line Cursor to the beginning of your Sequence Timeline. Hit the Play button in the center of the screen and review your complete waking video tour. If you still notice some mistakes, go back through the steps and apply fixes as needed.

Now your video is ready to share. Hit the Share button at the top, then hit the blue Export Button. Save to your files or your preferred cloud service so you can then add the exported file to your LoopNet listing.