Apartment Videography in Los Angeles
Why use video instead of just photos for an LA listing?
Video drives 2 to 3x the engagement rate of photo-only listings on Instagram, TikTok, and Zillow. The walkthrough shows scale, flow, and natural light in a way still photos cannot, and prospective tenants who watch the full video are roughly 2x more likely to submit a showing request. For LA submarkets where time-on-market is the dominant cost, the video tour in the $399 package usually pays back in days of saved vacancy.
A produced apartment walkthrough video is not a phone clip with better framing. The camera sits on a 3-axis gimbal, which mechanically cancels the bob and roll of human walking the difference between footage that feels like a listing and footage that feels like you're watching someone trip through a hallway. Pacing is deliberate: entry, kitchen reveal, living area orbit, bedroom pull-back, bathroom detail, exit. A produced video lingers on features the listing copy can't carry, the kitchen island, the view, the closet depth, at a tempo that reads on social. Behind the cut sits a color grade that pulls warm tones out of LA daylight and a licensed music bedcleared for residential listing use, so the video doesn't get muted on Reels or struck on YouTube.
Two deliverables, two purposes. The vertical 9:16 cut is built for Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, 60 seconds, music-driven, designed to stop the scroll. The horizontal 16:9 cut is the listing video that goes on MLS, Zillow, your property website, and the listing agent's email blast, 90 seconds, slower pacing. Same shoot, two cuts. Music vs voice-over is the call you make based on where the video lives, Reels are watched on mute, MLS pages are watched with sound on by serious shoppers.
What's outside the scope of this service. Drone aerials rooftop pulls, building reveals, neighborhood overheads, live on the sister drone photography service because they require a Part 107 pilot and LAANC airspace clearance for most LA zip codes, so standalone drone work is handled there. The video tour itself is part of the $399 TLA Launch Pad Media Package, captured in the same session as the professional photography and AI staging, so the listing ships as one finished package rather than a stack of separate vendor invoices.
The full videography deliverable
Gimbal-stabilized 4K capture
Mirrorless camera on a 3-axis gimbal, no shake, no roll, no phone-walkthrough wobble. Filmed at 4K 24fps so the footage holds up on a 65-inch TV and on a 6-inch phone.
Smooth dolly and orbital walks
Deliberate pacing through entry, kitchen, living, bedrooms, bath. Reveal shots, slow orbits around features, and a clean tour spine that reads in one take.
Color grade and music license
Footage is color-corrected for warmth and contrast, then graded to feel like a listing, not a security camera. Royalty-free music bed cleared for paid social and MLS.
Vertical and horizontal cuts
Vertical 9:16 for Reels, TikTok, and Shorts. Horizontal 16:9 for MLS, Zillow, websites, and YouTube. Same shoot, two cuts.
48-hour cloud delivery
Final cuts uploaded to a private link, download MP4s, share the preview, or hand it to your listing agent. Standard turnaround is 48 hours.
Royalty-free music bed
Tracks are pre-licensed for residential listing use across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and MLS portals, no copyright strikes, no muted audio on Reels.
See the work
4K walkthroughs for every listing
Gimbal walkthrough
Living area
Kitchen pass
Social cut (vertical)
Exterior b-rollHow much does apartment videography cost in LA?
Apartment videography in LA is included in the $399 TLA Launch Pad Media Package, the single per-listing package that bundles featured placement, a 36+ platform blast, a social push, professional photography, AI staging, a gimbal-stabilized video tour, and qualified lead screening. Independent LA videographers typically quote $700 to $1,500 for a single listing video alone, with no photography, marketing, or lead screening attached, so the package delivers the walkthrough plus the full marketing stack for a fraction of a standalone video shoot.
How long does a video shoot take?
A video shoot takes 60 to 90 minutes for a studio or 1BR, 90 to 120 minutes for a 2BR, and about 2 hours for anything larger or when a twilight exterior is added. We arrive with the gimbal pre-balanced, light meter the unit, set the path, and run the walk twice for safety. Twilight exteriors add a return visit at golden hour. Standard delivery is 48 hours.
What makes LA videography different
Tenant-occupied shoots and §1954 entry rules
California Civil Code §1954 requires written 24-hour noticeto a current tenant before a landlord-arranged filming visit. The notice has to state date, a reasonable time window (between 8 AM and 5 PM on weekdays absent consent), and the purpose. We coordinate around that, you deliver the notice, we arrive inside the window, and we work around the tenant's belongings instead of asking them to pre-stage. Frames that capture personal items get reshot or cropped before delivery.
Coastal sound interference
Venice, Santa Monica, and Marina del Rey shoots that include outdoor or balcony cuts pick up PCH traffic and ocean noise that wrecks the audio bed. We schedule exterior B-roll for low-traffic windows (early morning, mid-afternoon weekdays) and capture clean ambient room tone inside the unit so the music mix sits properly. Properties on PCH-adjacent blocks get exterior shoots tilted toward side streets when the listing allows it.
HOA and on-site manager filming policies
Downtown LA high-rises, gated buildings in Beverly Hills and WeHo, and most luxury HOAs require pre-clearance for any filming, even a single videographer with a gimbal and no lighting kit. Some buildings ask for a certificate of insurance, some restrict filming to private unit interiors only (no hallways, lobby, or amenity spaces), and some charge a filming fee. We handle the COI and the building's standard filming form, but lead time matters , book three to five days ahead for any DTLA tower or gated property.
Frequently asked questions
Three things. Stabilization, a gimbal removes the handheld wobble that makes phone walk-throughs feel cheap. Pacing, a produced video lingers on features (kitchen island, view, fixtures) and moves at a tempo that reads on social, not at the speed you happen to walk. And post, color grade, music license, and a clean cut. Phone footage uploaded straight to Reels is fine for off-market checks; for a listing you're trying to lease in 7 days, a produced video moves at 2-3x the engagement rate.
On-site time is 60-90 minutes for a studio or 1BR, 90-120 minutes for a 2BR, and roughly two hours for anything larger or when a twilight exterior is added. We arrive with the gimbal pre-balanced, light meter the unit, set the path, and run the walk twice for safety. Twilight exteriors add a return visit at golden hour.
Standard turnaround is 48 hours from shoot to private cloud link. The video tour ships alongside the rest of the $399 TLA Launch Pad Media Package, the photography and AI staging, on the same 48-hour timeline.
Yes. Every video ships with a royalty-free track pre-licensed for residential listing use across Instagram, TikTok Reels, YouTube, MLS portals, and Zillow. That means no copyright strikes, no muted audio on social, and no takedowns. If you want a specific licensed track from a commercial library (Musicbed, Artlist, Epidemic Sound), we can swap it in, license fees pass through at cost.
Yes, but it requires written 24-hour notice to the current tenant under California Civil Code §1954. The notice has to state date, time window, and purpose. We coordinate the visit through you, the landlord delivers notice, we arrive in the window, and we work around the tenant's belongings rather than asking them to move things. Footage that captures personal items is reframed or re-shot before delivery.
Drone aerials are a separate sister service, see the drone photography page. Standalone drone work (rooftop, building reveal, neighborhood overhead) is handled there because it requires Part 107 pilot scheduling and LAANC airspace authorization for most LA zip codes. The video tour in the $399 TLA Launch Pad Media Package is the gimbal walkthrough of the unit itself.
The video tour is included in the $399 TLA Launch Pad Media Package, the single per-listing package that also covers featured placement, a 36+ platform blast, a social push, professional photography, AI staging, and qualified lead screening. Independent videographers around LA typically quote $700 to $1,500 for a single listing video alone, with no photography, marketing, or lead screening attached, so the package delivers the walkthrough plus the full marketing stack for a fraction of a standalone video shoot.
Pair videography with the rest of the listing
Apartment Photography
Stills for MLS, Zillow, and the listing flyer. Bundle with a walkthrough for full-coverage marketing.
Drone Photography
Part 107 aerial coverage with LAANC clearance. Rooftop pulls, building reveals, and neighborhood overheads.
Make Ready
Get the unit camera-ready before the shoot, deep clean, paint, repairs, rekey. Rent-ready in 48 hours.
Venice Coverage
Local-knowledge dispatch for Venice, Santa Monica, and Marina del Rey rentals. Coastal-aware crews.
Ready to film your listing?
Text the unit address and shoot window. Dispatch texts back a quote and a gimbal-ready slot in under 15 minutes.
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