Video Production Process Journey
The video production process is a journey, you start the journey with a goal. Along the way you gather tools, resources and allies to help you on your way to achieving that goal. This may be in the form of scripts, locations, crew members, actors and the edit. Along the road there may also be threats and a time limit to which you must achieve the goal. When you reach the end of the road, you have, hopefully, achieved your goal, your video is basically how you got there. So think of this blog as a map to guide you on our video production process, every step of the way.
Why Follow A Video Production Process?
We’re creatives, why should we follow such a rigid process? Following a structured video production process is essential for maintaining our organisation, consistency, and quality control. It provides us a clear roadmap, ensuring efficient management of our time and resources while facilitating better communication and collaboration amongst our team. It ensures that each phase, from pre-production to post-production, adheres to high standards, resulting in a polished and professional video at the end of the video production process. It helps in delivering a consistent and high-quality product while meeting your deadlines and staying within your budget, ultimately leading to a higher likelihood of a successful project outcome.
How Much Will It Cost?
This is often the first question we are asked and rightly so, but this is where Film Division differs from other video production companies. We are honest in that we admit, we don’t know how much it will cost, because we don’t yet know how we get to your end goal. We don’t know what we are going to create for you but we do identify the goal you want to achieve. Sure we could pluck a video concept based on a 30 minute conversation with you out of thin air, produce that, take your money and hope that it works. However this would be doing you a disservice as this is a sure way to create an ineffective video. What we offer is the process in order to achieve your organisations goal(s). Therefore, at this stage, we are only charging for the time it takes to research and formulate a costed up video concept. You can then, essentially, take that concept and get a different video production company to produce it for you if you want to.
Problem Diagnosis
We first need to define what a successful video campaign would look like to you. What you want to achieve as an organisation heavily influences what type of video you might need to achieve it. Whatever your vision might be for the final video, we want to make sure your video works towards your goals. Don’t take the word “problem” negatively, we use this term quite lightly. A problem might be that you aren’t getting enough sales via your website, or too many people are using their mobile phones whilst driving. The goal then becomes increasing your website sales or reducing the amount of drivers using their mobiles.
Is your video for internal or training purposes? Who is the video aimed at? Where is it going to be shown? What is your unique selling point? This is probably the most crucial stage in the commercial video production process. The final video could look and sound great, but if it doesn’t do what you wanted it to do, then it’s a failure.
Audience Research
We research and learn about your target audience in order to empathise with them. If we fail to understand the target audience, they won’t accept your message and you will have wasted your time and money. By delving into their needs, preferences, and behaviours, we can tailor your message to resonate deeply with them. Miscommunication can lead to a negative perception of your brand, further compounding the inefficiency and potential harm to your reputation. Therefore, understanding your audience is not just beneficial; it’s essential for the success of your video campaign.
Brand Research
We understand you and your brand to ensure that it is instilled with every piece of public-facing video content we produce. This involves a thorough analysis of your brand values, mission, and unique selling points. By immersing ourselves in your brand’s identity, we can create video content that authentically represents your ethos and resonates with your audience. Each video is crafted to not only convey your message but also to reinforce your brand’s image, ensuring consistency across all platforms. This attention to detail helps to build trust and loyalty with your audience, fostering a deeper connection between your brand and its viewers.
Video Design
This is where we design a video that will achieve your goals using all of the information we have gathered when problem diagnosing. At this stage, we purposefully put on pause any initial video ideas either we or the client have, to ensure they are not influenced by preconceptions. Instead, we focus on analysing the data and insights we’ve collected, allowing fresh and innovative ideas to emerge. We explore various storytelling techniques, visual styles, and messaging approaches to find the most effective way to communicate your message.
Our goal is to craft a video that not only captures attention but also drives engagement and action. By taking a step back and considering all the information with a clear perspective, we ensure that the final video is both unique and impactful.
Idea Generation
One of the most exciting parts is the generation of ideas! We get to think outside the box and devise the perfect creative ideas for your video marketing needs. The challenge lies in enticing your audience to engage with and commit to your message. This involves not just delivering information, but doing so in a way that captivates and motivates your viewers. Through a combination of storytelling, visual appeal, and strategic messaging, we come up with ideas that grab attention, builds interest, and drives action. Whether it’s through humour, emotional appeal, or striking visuals, the goal is to make your audience feel connected to your brand and eager to take the next step.
Concept Development
Here things get serious and committed! Once the most effective idea, plot or hook to reach your audience has been picked, we fully develop it and formalise it into a working concept with the aim to produce it into a video format.
A concept summarises the story and determines the creative approach of your video. A well-written concept takes the light bulb glowing over your head and makes it visible to others. Its at this stage that we can fully cost up the budget you need to create this video based on the concept that we are certain will achieve your goal. It is important that all stakeholders view and sign off on this concept and budget as further changes after this stage can incur additional costs.
Pre-Production
With the concept development of your video fully fleshed out and signed off, we begin to plan & schedule the production of your video by working backwards from your deadline and creating a working schedule. We make sure all of the logistics for the shoot are in place. We source actors, crew, equipment and locations. In some cases, these may not all be necessary, but quality should never be compromised over convenience.
That concept includes scripts, storyboards and shot lists. It also involves a whole lot of project management and logistics. It can, at some points, feel a bit tedious, but it is a vital step to produce video marketing content. The entire video is planned out before the camera has been setup, that way know one has to do any thinking when it comes to the shoot day, the crew just follows the plan. Without planning and management, your entire video could be left to chance and that could really harm your ROI.
Scriptwriting
Depending on the type of video you have commissioned, we create a script with all the dialogue and visuals that will be on screen. This highlights the fine detail of the dialogue and the visuals. In a commercial video production process, this may not be necessary, but it can clearly lay out the structure of the video and dialogue.
Storyboarding
A storyboard is a written and visual outline of your video. Again in a commercial video production process this is optional but the storyboarding process helps everyone make sure the visual style and progression of the video reflects your expectations. We tend to use our timeline structure to visualise the storyline and shots.
Production
Production is where the fun begins! Finally it’s time to film! All of the work completed to this point is in aid of the production stage of your video and to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible. This could range from shooting on location or in a studio to creating visual elements which will then be animated. With a clear visual style in mind and years of experience we make sure every shot enhances the final video.
On an atypical video production shoot, we typically have a few different types of crew. Each of them has their own role and responsibility on set: the Producer, Director, Camera Operator and Assistant.
- Producer – The producer is the person who manages the logistics of the shoot and keeps a keen eye on the on the schedule to ensure that all content is captured within the set day.
- Director – A director oversees the entire projects vision and story and is usually there to direct any talent and ensure that everything captured aids the message.
- Camera Operator – To produce video marketing content, you need a video camera. And operating a camera is much more than just pressing the little red record button. In a small crew, a camera operator acts as DoP (Director of Photography) or even director.
- Assistant – As the name states, the assistant role is to help the Producer and/or Camera Operator on set. They could be assisting with lens changes or focus pulling. On bigger shoots, every lead crew member could have their own assistant. Their main goal is to free up the other crew members from tedious tasks such as battery changes so that they can focus on creating the video. Production Assistants save a lot of time.
Post-Production
Post-Production is probably the most important stage of the commercial video production process as it is where your video is made and the narrative constructed. Once the production element of the project has been completed, we work on the various draft edits of your video.
There are three recognisable phase in the editing process: Narrative, Context and Final.
Narrative Draft
In the narrative edit, we concentrate on creating the message as set out in pre-production. We go through all the footage and select the best clips to bring the story to life. Our layered pre-production approach allows us to edit efficiently and get results quickly.
When its ready, we’ll send you an email with a link to a private online screening where you view your video and leave feedback on the the message. We then have a meeting to work through and implement your feedback. It is important that all stakeholders on your end of the video view and sign off on these drafts as any extra drafts will incur additional costs. We typically do not colour grade or sound mix the video until the narrative edit has been signed off and locked, allowing all stakeholders to concentrate on the message.
Context Draft
In the Context Draft, we start to see the tone of the visuals and the style in the edit. The important part here is to ensure that the visuals match with the message and that they show your organisation in a positive light. Again notes from the second draft of the video will be implemented into the edit and these changes will be shown to you in the final draft preview. Any further major changes at this stage will incur additional costs. Once you have a video that reaches and exceeds your objectives, we work on the final version of the video.
As you can see, there are many steps in the edit. And naturally, some video projects are quicker than others. Some project might not require extensive colour grading or sound mixing but every effort should be made to make a video that does the job and more!
Audio Mixing
No matter how flashy and perfect the imagery is, a video is wholly enhanced by good audio. A perfect background track or sound effects can make the video a much more engaging experience for the audience. Once the message is complete, the audio is mixed so it sounds crisp and the brings the video to life. Most videos not only have music, but we also have to consider spoken language and sound effects. Audio mixing creates a balance between all the different tracks.
Colour Grade
With colour correction and colour grading, the look, feel and mood of a shot is altered to match it with the message of the video. We add visual effects which give your video a compelling and vibrant look. Just like photographers who develop their rolls of film with different coloured lights in a dark room, we aim to develop the footage to make it look vibrant. We also add in any graphics to complete your video.
Final Review & Approval
In the Final Draft everything has been polished and finalised and all of your feedback changes have been made. Captions and motion graphics have been added and all of the short social media edits have been produced.
We will send you a link to a private online viewing of your final graded and sound mixed video. This is for feedback on the sound and look of the video. Any further changes to the edit of the video at this stage, no matter how small, will incur additional costs.
Final Delivery
Upon final approval, the completed video is delivered to you in the file type ideal for your videos final destination. But that’s not where our video production process ends!
Targeted Distribution
During this phase of the video production process, we put on our targeted video distribution hats. We utilise social media platforms, television or both to put your video in front of your actual target audience. Your audiences aren’t going to seek out your video so you need your video to seek out your audience.
The Video Production Process: More what you’d call “guidelines” than actual rules.
Following our structured video production process is crucial for ensuring organisation, consistency, and quality control within the production of your video and the achievement of your goals. It provides a clear roadmap, helping manage our time and resources efficiently, and facilitates better communication and collaboration among our team members. By adhering to this process, we can identify any potential risks early, our progress can be tracked effectively, and your satisfaction can be maintained through regular updates and feedback.
However, it is equally important that we do not to stick too rigidly to this process to allow for creative flexibility and adaptability. Unexpected changes, your edit feedback, and technological advances may necessitate adjustments to our original plan. Flexibility enables us to incorporate new ideas, adapt to challenges, and capitalise on spontaneous inspiration, ensuring the final product is innovative and aligned with the your vision and goals. Balancing our video production process with flexibility leads to a high-quality video that effectively meets the project’s goals.
I hope you found that useful and have eased your first steps in the video production process. If you have any questions then please feel free to get in touch with us.