Real Estate Listing Video: Shot List and Types

Choose a walkthrough when the goal is to show buyers how the home flows and to let remote viewers decide whether to visit. Choose a cinematic video when the property is the story, such as a view, an architect-designed house or a high-end listing. Most agents need both: one standard tour for the listing page and a short vertical cut for social. This guide gives you the shot list, the prep checklist, and the drone and disclosure basics to check before you publish.

Walkthrough or cinematic: pick by the listing

Do not choose by taste alone. Ask what a buyer needs to decide. A family comparing five similar houses needs layout. A buyer of a hillside home needs to feel the view and the light.

Prepare the home before the crew arrives

The prep list matters more than the camera.

1. 1Clear counters, remove personal photos and paperwork, and put cars away from the front.
2. 2Turn on every light and open the blinds, then turn off televisions and ceiling fans.
3. 3Clean glass and mirrors. Cameras show smears that eyes miss.
4. 4Move bins, hoses and pet items out of sight.
5. 5Plan the order: exterior, entry, main rooms, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, outdoor space, view.
6. 6Tell occupants or tenants when the crew is coming. If the home is tenant-occupied, check the notice requirements with your broker.

The shot list, room by room

• Exterior front: a wide establishing shot of the front elevation, shot in good light, with the street clear. Add a gate, a door or a path for movement.
• Entry: step in through the door so the viewer follows the path a guest would take.
• Main living space: a wide from the corner that shows the most floor, a slower move toward the window, and one detail such as a fireplace or built-ins.
• Kitchen: wide, then counters, then appliances and the sink view. The kitchen sells many homes.
• Dining and flow: a shot that connects kitchen, dining and living so the layout is clear.
• Primary bedroom and bath: wide from the door, a closet, a vanity, a tub or shower.
• Other bedrooms and baths: one wide shot each, no more.
• Outdoor space: the patio, the pool, the yard, the best seating area, and the view.
• Neighborhood context: only if it helps, and without showing identifiable neighbors or street signs that give away private information.

Shoot horizontal for the main video and capture vertical clips of the best rooms for a short social cut. A 30 to 60 second vertical edit works well for Instagram Reels and TikTok. A set of short clips can run in Stories.

Drones: the basics for Los Angeles

Aerial footage is useful for large lots, views and context, but the rules are not optional. Our broader guide to drone videography in Los Angeles covers the regional picture. The basics:

• Part 107. The FAA says flying a drone under its Small UAS Rule (Part 107) requires a Remote Pilot Certificate, which in turn requires passing an aeronautical knowledge test. Commercial real estate work generally falls under Part 107. Ask any operator for their certificate number.
• Remote ID. The FAA says drones that are required to be registered must comply with the Remote ID rule, either by flying a Standard Remote ID drone, using a broadcast module, or flying within a FAA-recognized identification area.
• Airspace. Much of the LA basin sits under controlled airspace. The FAA describes LAANC as a way for pilots to get access to controlled airspace at or below 400 feet. Your operator should check airspace and temporary flight restrictions before every flight.
• Local rules. Cities and parks set their own rules on taking off and landing, and a shoot from public property may need a permit. LA city, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and other cities each handle this differently, so ask your operator which jurisdiction applies and whether a permit is needed.
• Privacy. Do not fly over neighboring properties in a way that captures people or private areas, and remove or blur anything that identifies neighbors.

This is a summary, not legal advice. For authority, check the FAA's UAS pages and the permit office of the city where the property is.

Digital edits and virtual staging in California

California AB 723 took effect January 1, 2026. As summarized in the Senate Judiciary analysis and by California MLS organizations, it requires a licensed broker or salesperson who digitally alters a property image used to market a sale to conspicuously disclose the alteration and to include the unaltered image or a link to it. Routine fixes such as exposure, white balance, cropping and straightening are described as excluded, but moving or adding furniture, changing finishes, or removing power lines or neighboring buildings is not.

Several local MLS systems also have their own rules, for example how and where the original image must appear. Read the chaptered text and your MLS rules, or ask your broker, before you publish an altered image or a staged video clip. The same logic applies to video: do not edit out features of the property or the view.

Delivery and approvals

• Branded and unbranded versions. Many listing portals and some MLS rules want a tour without agent contact details. Ask your MLS what applies, and ask for both versions.
• Music. Use licensed music from a library the editor has rights to. A popular song that sounds right is a copyright claim waiting to happen.
• Seller sign-off. Get written approval from the seller on the cut, especially if the home is occupied, and have anyone who appears on camera sign a release.
• Fair housing. Do not describe neighbors, schools or the area in ways that imply who should or should not live there. Stick to features of the property.

What affects the quote

Factors, not prices: the square footage and number of rooms, whether you want a drone, a twilight shoot or a cinematic edit, how many cuts you need (horizontal, vertical, stories), turnaround time, and whether you need styling, an on-camera agent, or voiceover. See how video production quotes are built in Los Angeles for the longer explanation.

Want a person to help?

If you are listing a home and want video that fits the property and the portals, we can plan the shot list with you and handle the edit and cutdowns. Look at our video production service, the page for real estate video production, or contact us and a real person will reply.