How to film a job-site video on your phone: shot list by trade
A phone, 90 seconds and five shots are enough. Here is the job-site shot list for plumbers, HVAC techs, cleaners and landscapers, so raw footage turns into clips that get used.
You can film a usable job-site video with the phone already in your pocket. Shoot vertical, hold still, and capture five shots in about 90 seconds: the problem, the work, the result, the area, and a one-line voice note. This post gives plumbers, HVAC techs, cleaners and landscapers a shot list per trade, plus the mistakes that make footage unusable.
Why the footage matters more than the editing
A clip is only as good as the raw job it comes from. Our AI clipping trims, sizes and formats footage. It cannot invent a before-and-after that nobody filmed.
So the work that counts happens on site, in the 90 seconds before the tech packs the truck. Get that right and the rest is automatic. Get it wrong and you have a camera roll of sideways, dark, silent clips nobody posts.
For the full mechanism from footage to booked job, read how AI video clips work for home service businesses. This post covers the first step only: capture.
The five-shot rule
Every job, in every trade, needs the same five shots. Keep them short.
- The problem (10 to 15 seconds). Show what the homeowner called about. A stained ceiling, a dead condenser, a overgrown bed, a greasy range hood.
- The work (20 to 30 seconds). Hands and tools in motion. One steady angle beats three shaky ones.
- The result (10 to 15 seconds). Same angle as shot one if you can. Same framing makes the before and after obvious.
- The area (5 to 10 seconds). A wide shot of the street, yard or building exterior, with no house numbers in frame. This is what tells a neighbor the job was close to them.
- The voice note (10 seconds). The tech says the job type and the town. "Water heater swap in Mesa, done in under three hours." Plain. No script.
That is 60 to 90 seconds in total. It is also the same length as the 90-second job clip our pipeline is built around.
Shot list by trade
The five shots stay the same. What you point the camera at changes.
| Trade | The problem | The work | The result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumber | Leak, corrosion, standing water | Cutting, soldering, fitting the new line | Dry crawlspace, clean new pipe, running tap |
| HVAC tech | Failed unit, dirty coil, thermostat error | Swapping the part, pulling the old unit | New unit running, clean pad, thermostat reading |
| Cleaner | Dirty floors, grease, stained surfaces | One pass of the machine or cart across a line | The finished hallway or kitchen from the same angle |
| Landscaper | Overgrown or bare yard | Crew edging, planting, laying mulch | The full yard from the curb |
| General contractor | Open wall, rotted deck board, tired room | Framing, tile setting, finish work | Walk-through of the finished space |
Pick one row, not all three columns of every row. A clean single shot of the result beats a busy montage.
Seven mistakes that ruin good footage
These are the ones we see most often in field footage, and every one is fixable before you leave the driveway.
- Shooting horizontal. Short-form platforms are vertical. Turn the phone upright.
- Filming into a window. The subject goes dark. Put the light behind you or over your shoulder.
- Walking while filming. Plant your feet. Move only when the shot needs it.
- Dirty lens. A work glove leaves a smear. Wipe it on a shirt first.
- No sound. Silent clips feel anonymous. Say the job and the town out loud.
- Faces, house numbers, license plates. Leave them out of frame. Get the homeowner's OK before you film inside their home.
- Waiting until the end. The problem shot disappears once you start the repair. Film it first.
Who films, and when
You are running the truck, the schedule and the invoices. You do not have time to film everything.
Give the job to the tech on site. They are already looking at the problem. Make it a step on the job checklist, between "clean up" and "invoice the customer." One person, one phone, 90 seconds.
Aim for the jobs that look good. A drain camera inspection, a full furnace swap, a sod install, a deep clean of a commercial kitchen. A routine filter change does not need footage. You want two or three strong jobs a week, not every job.
Keep one folder on the phone for raw footage and upload it once a week. That is the whole habit.
What happens after you film
Raw footage goes to the clip engine. It trims it into short-form clips sized for the platforms your customers use. You do not edit anything.
Those clips do two jobs. They run as organic posts that prove you work in the neighborhood. On the Growth and Premium plans they also feed ad creative aimed at your service area. Growth at $1,200 a month adds 4 to 6 exclusive, geofenced leads with a transparency report for each. Premium at $2,000 a month adds managed ads.
Starter, the AI Clip Engine at $500 a month, is the plan built around clips alone. All plans carry a 3-month commitment. Details are on the pricing page.
Your next step this week
Pick the next job your crew has on the schedule. Hand the tech the five-shot list. Ask for 90 seconds of footage and nothing more.
Then look at it. If you can tell what the problem was, what got done and which town it was in, the footage works. If you want us to turn a month of it into clips and map them to your service area, tell us your trade and service area. We will start with an audit of what you spend on leads today, not a pitch.