Planning a Property Video People Actually Finish

A property video has one job: make someone want to see the place in person. Many miss for the same few reasons. They run too long. They show every room at the same pace. And sometimes the music was never licensed.

Planning fixes most of this before anyone presses record.

Start with the story, not the footage

Every property has a short version of its story. A farmhouse with a big front porch and a view of the valley. A cabin a few minutes from the lake. A storefront on a busy corner of the square.

Write that story in one sentence before the shoot. Then build the video to tell it:

1. Arrival. How you approach the property. The road, the drive, the first look.

2. The main feature. The view, the kitchen, the barn. Whatever the one-sentence story is about.

3. The flow. How the spaces connect. Keep it moving.

4. The setting. The land, the neighborhood, or the town around it.

5. The close. One strong final shot, then the contact card.

For most listings, 60 to 90 seconds is plenty. It is better to leave a viewer wanting more than to lose them halfway through.

Build a shot list

A shot list keeps the day efficient. For each shot, note the location, the movement, and the time of day.

• Slow push toward the front entrance.

• Pan across the main living space from the doorway.

• Reveal of the view from the porch or deck.

• Detail shots: a fireplace, a hardware detail, a barn door latch.

• Aerial establishing shot of the property and its surroundings.

• Aerial pull-back to close.

Shoot more than you need, but plan for what you will use.

Aerial shots come with rules

Aerial footage is often the most memorable part of a property video. It is also the part with the most regulation.

Commercial drone flights fall under 14 CFR Part 107. Among other things, the rule requires the pilot to keep the drone within visual line of sight, caps altitude at 400 feet above ground level unless the drone is within 400 feet of a structure, and limits ground speed to 87 knots (100 miles per hour). Flights at night or during civil twilight require anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles. Civil twilight is the 30 minutes before official sunrise and after official sunset.

That last one matters for video. The "golden hour" shot everyone wants can fall right at the edge of twilight. Plan aerial work with those limits in mind.

Music: the part most people get wrong

Picking a popular song for a listing video is tempting. It is also an easy way to run into a copyright problem.

The U.S. Copyright Office explains in its guidance on Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings that a musical composition and a sound recording are separate works, and that copyright in a sound recording is not the same as, or a substitute for, copyright in the underlying composition. In practice, using a commercial track can involve rights to both.

Some people assume fair use covers it. The Copyright Office's Fair Use Index explains that fair use is evaluated using four factors, including the purpose and character of the use and whether it is commercial. It also notes that transformative uses are more likely to be considered fair. A song played behind a sales video for a property is commercial and is not usually transformative. Do not count on fair use.

The safer route is music that is clearly licensed for commercial use, with the license saved alongside the project files.

Edit for honesty

Editing makes a video watchable. It should not make the property something it is not. The National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics, Article 12, says Realtors shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations. You can read it in the NAR Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

For video, that means no cutting away to hide a neighbor's junkyard if the buyer will see it from the porch, and no color grading so heavy that a brown lawn turns green. Correct the footage. Do not change the property.

Practical takeaways

1. Write the property's story in one sentence before the shoot.

2. Keep most listing videos to 60 to 90 seconds.

3. Use a shot list with locations, movements, and times.

4. Plan aerial shots around Part 107 limits, including twilight rules.

5. Use music you have a commercial license for, and keep the license.

6. Edit to improve the footage, not the property.

If you have a property that needs a short, honest video, contact 48 Pegasus, serving properties within 75 miles of Macon County, Tennessee, across Middle Tennessee and South Central Kentucky.

Sources

• 14 CFR Part 107, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-107

• Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings — U.S. Copyright Office — https://www.copyright.gov/register/pa-sr.html

• U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index — U.S. Copyright Office — https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/

• 2026 Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice — National Association of Realtors — https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/governing-documents/code-of-ethics/2026-code-of-ethics-standards-of-practice

Photos: cover by Voice Video / Unsplash; inline by Georgia De Lotz / Unsplash. Free to use under the Unsplash License.