A few weeks ago, I was flicking through Facebook and saw that someone had tagged me in this video.
Now of course, property videos are nothing new. But most are lacklustre, uninspiring and frankly, unprofessional. But this was something really different, and we love different at AshdownJones.
As I watched, I was completely captivated by how beautiful it was, and what a wonderful way to showcase a property for sale. I showed it to my co-director, Phil, and we decided to commission a lifestyle movie for one of our properties.
After a long chat with Gareth from North Shore Productions, we arranged a weekend shoot. We’d decided to use the wonderful Amberwell, to showcase with a fabulous movie, with me as the ‘mum’! Because Amberwell is so close to Windermere Lake, we really wanted to show what #Lakeslife could be like for the future owners. As we made a list – kayaking, mountain biking, campfires – it all started to take shape. We had secured a ‘husband’ and two lovely children, so we were good to go.
Over a glass or two of wine, we created a fun storyboard to guide the video that would be a ‘Day in the Life at Amberwell’.
The only element out of our control was the weather, but we needn’t have worried; as Gareth and his ‘crew’ arrived at Amberwell on the Friday evening, the sun was still high in the sky and a glorious sunset promised. We quickly headed off down to Cockshott Point to get some footage of the sun on the water, the sailing boats and of course the star of the movie – my border collie Georgie – splashing about in the lake.
Worn out, we managed to stay awake until the sun finally set around 11pm, to get some shots of us enjoying a romantic campfire at Millerground. It wasn’t Champagne in our glasses though, it was lake water! We refrained from drinking….
The next day our models arrived bright and early and after getting some footage of me on my run with Georgie, we spent a fun day playing in the garden, mountain biking, kayaking at Storrs Hall and even doing a jigsaw. Our ‘children’ had a wonderful time, despite trying to remember not to look at the drone as it passed overhead. As the last shots were in the bag, the raindrops started to fall, and we dashed into the house.
The following day was spent following Gareth around the house as he carefully set up each shot, using his high-tech equipment to get the most beautiful angle of each room. Moving flowers, altering furniture, polishing surfaces, and all the while keeping us all going with tea and biscuits – it was exhausting!
By the time Gareth and his family left on the Monday morning we were already eagerly anticipating the finished product. When it arrived a week later, we were all blown away by it. It’s so much more than a property video.
Not only has Gareth captured the Lakes life and Amberwell itself beautifully, he also managed to find the perfect soundtrack to go with it. Our Amberwell movie was complete.
The result is so much more than a property video. This lifestyle movie captures beautifully Amberwell’s proximity to the lake; how it sits into its green-meadow setting; how each room ‘works’ and all the property’s stunning features. And it’s created a mini media sensation: at the time of writing this, it has been watched over 12,000 times, and that’s just on Facebook!
It was an amazing experience, filming Amberwell for our first property lifestyle movie, and I’m sure it won’t be our last.
If you’d like to know whether your home would be a good candidate for our next property lifestyle movie, drop us a line at sam@ashdownjones.co.uk and we can have a chat about the details.
In the meantime, enjoy our Amberwell movie here.
