Property videos in Munich — moving images for premium sales

A photo gallery shows individual rooms, which the viewer must piece together into a whole. A property video in Munich, on the other hand, takes prospective buyers on a tour through the house: from the entrance, along the line of sight to the living area, and out onto the terrace. It is only in this context that the ceiling height, the view and the distance to neighbouring buildings become clear.

This changes who turns up for viewings. Prospective buyers who are not taken with the floor plan or the surroundings are less likely to book a viewing, and those who do come are already familiar with the property. For owners, this means fewer appointments with strangers in their own home. The decision on whether to film is therefore made before the property is put on the market. Once published, the video would be added retrospectively rather than being part of the original plan.

A penthouse thrives on its views and the way the light falls; a house with a large plot on the aerial perspective; a listed historic building on the details that the camera needs to scan more slowly. Then there’s the target buyer group: viewers from abroad need more context about the surroundings than someone who is already familiar with the neighbourhood.

A property video for a Munich address is never the starting point, but follows the valuation. The extent to which the presentation can be developed only becomes clear once the scale of the project has been established. The process involved in this step is described in ‘Property Valuation in Munich’. In the top price segment – for example, with luxury properties in Munich – buyers expect a presentation of this calibre. There, a video is the norm rather than the exception.

Once filming is complete, post-production determines the overall effect of the footage. Editing sets the pace and sequence; colour grading harmonises the lighting moods across different rooms and shooting times; and a voice-over explains what the image alone does not show: year of construction, architecture and potential uses. The language and subtitles depend on whether the video is to be shown regionally or internationally.

There are five stages between the initial consultation and publication.

1. Marketing concept and video briefing: identifying what the target buyer group looks for, what story the house has to tell, and what formats are required to convey this.
   
   
2. Shooting schedule and property preparation: scheduling according to light and season, the sequence of rooms, and coordination with the styling and the residents.
   
   
3. Shooting day: interior and exterior shots; aerial shots only where flight authorisation has been granted.
   
   
4. Post-production: editing, colour grading and voice-over, plus short versions for social media.
   
   
5. Approval and distribution: The owner reviews the final cut, after which the film is featured in property listings, online portals, on social media and across the Christie’s network.

How long this takes depends less on the editing and more on the filming date: a garden needs foliage, a terrace needs sunshine. A sale in January is planned differently from one in May. The filming date is therefore set by working backwards from the desired marketing launch date.

Part of the preparation is the responsibility of the owner. The rooms must be tidied up and, where necessary, decluttered, as the camera picks up on clutter more clearly than the human eye. Personal items such as photos, documents or nameplates must be removed beforehand, as must any vehicles with visible number plates in the driveway. If a staged shoot is planned, the property is furnished first and then filmed.

A drone video for a property in Munich also requires a preliminary check: it is not permitted to fly over all residential areas, and neighbouring properties or people must not be recognisably captured in the footage. Flights are only carried out where permitted and authorised.