Behind the scenes of my video shoot with Evoker

Because I was curious about what the experience would be like as I was planning this shoot, I thought it would be fun to share here how the day unfolded. First, a bit of inside baseball on the “who” behind the film. Evoker is a Chicago-based film company that specializes in helping real estate agents tell their stories. Compass worked with Evoker to plan film shoots for several of my colleagues over a couple of days in Seattle.

There was no script or storyboards, though a significant amount of planning went into the various locations and people featured. One of my favorite parts of the day was how we stayed on schedule! The entire shoot was planned to the minute on a “Call Sheet,” standard practice in the film industry but new to me. We made it to each location within minutes of the appointed time. Punctuality really is an expression of love in my book.

I started the day with a 7 am makeup “call time” with makeup artist Gaylinyet. I found her via Instagram by searching for Seattle makeup artists who my friends follow. Gaylinyet or “G” is a fellow mom of two little kids. The light in the Compass office was perfect that morning, and I can think of few things more relaxing than having my makeup done while chatting with someone who quickly felt like a friend. 

Following the makeup session, I drove to Madison Park where I had scheduled time at a friend and colleague’s listing. It was stunning–lots of visually interesting and well-lit spaces and room to spread out. We could have actually spent the entire day filming there and not run out of locations. Evoker suggested that I bring some artifacts along with me, so I had a few marketing materials and personal photos as props.

I set up my clothing choices (yes, there was a “wardrobe”) in the primary closet upstairs, feeling very pampered at this point. In choosing the clothes for the day, with some input from Evoker, I focused on things that looked seasonless and quite classic while still feeling like “me.” I rented a couple of sweaters from Nuuly and also wore my trusty faded black Levis and a pair of overalls from Alex Mill for the biking portion.

The first component that we shot was the interview. This is the source for the voiceover that plays throughout the film. I didn’t know the questions in advance, though the Evoker team did a pre-interview that helped them decide the questions to generate. It was shot straight through without retakes. From a ~20 minute  interview, they used under three minutes of dialog. It was interesting to see in the final product what they decided to use, and how they incorporated it with the other visuals we shot that day. The Evoker interviewer, Hannah, was also the producer and was very warm and easy to talk with. We had fun!

Next, my dear friend Holly came to the house for the “client” portion. Holly is also a former client, and we had fun pretending that this lovely home in Madison Park was her home that she was getting ready to list. We chattered about whatever came to mind because we knew that the footage of us would be silent, with my voice laid over it. Some of the marketing materials that I brought and am showing Holly in the video were from a tiny (like, teeny tiny) studio that I listed in Queen Anne, so it was a funny contrast between those images and the home we were actually sitting in.

After Holly headed out we shot a few more scenes of just me in the backyard, arranging pillows on the sofas, etc. to be used as needed. There were more re-shoots in this phase, and meticulous direction from the Evoker team of three to make sure they were capturing everything they needed.

I changed into my bike clothing at the house and we caravaned over to the University of Washington where we planned to meet Tyler and the boys to film the bike portion. There was some angst about parking on campus which is famously difficult, and we took a risk and parked on site in a staff area as I recall. Happily we didn’t get tickets! (If campus parking enforcement is reading this, sorry.) 

We had planned to meet at the Drumheller Fountain, one of the iconic spots on campus. On a clear day, which we had for the shoot, you can see Mount Rainier from the fountain. It’s a gorgeous vista. The most memorable part of this component was that there were brand new ducklings at the fountain, being babysat by a UW staff member. He shared that there is normally a ramp on the fountain so that the ducklings can get in and out, but it had been moved just days before for graduation. So he was acting as a duck parent, making sure they all stayed out of trouble. The brief imagery of the duck quacking at the beginning of the video captures this memory for me!

There were also various tour groups walking through (yes, the tour guides still walk backwards) and as we rode around and around the fountain we tried to avoid them.

When we filmed, our Urban Arrow e-cargo bike was brand new and we were (as we still are, actually) really excited about it. Those early days of glee are captured here!

I kissed the boys goodbye, and the film team and I headed to my boathouse for the rowing component to finish the day. My dear friend and teammate Deanna had agreed to take a double out with me for the shoot. We considered trying to get a launch to come out with us so that the team could film from there, but ended up keeping it simple and they filmed from land. We launched, rowed under the University Bridge and turned right back around to dock. The brief footage is also not my best rowing ever, but it gets the idea across. 

By around 2 pm, we were all wrapped up and I was back to my typical status as someone who is *not* starring in a film! I loved the entire day, the care and support that the Evoker team put into the planning and execution of the shoot, and the finished video is beyond what I expected. 

My goal for this video is to make it easy for clients, friends and family to connect me with their colleagues. I’m also looking forward to using it as a way to build relationships with other agents, especially those in different markets from Seattle who may have clients here that need help buying or selling. 

I hope that it resonates with you!