There are three main stages of video production. Within each of the 3 stages, there are a series of stages that the production team will go through. Each phase has specific goals and deliverables. The three stages are pre-production, production, and post-production.
Video Production Requires a Lot of Time, Effort, Patience, and Discipline
The video production process is a long, tedious, and often time-consuming process. Many people have a misconception about how long it takes to produce a good video. It can take up to several months to shoot and edit a film – and that’s only if everything goes according to plan! The most important part of a successful video project is assembling the right team from start to finish.
Video and film production is an art form. That’s why it’s normally a good idea to engage a professional production company. Make sure to check their client list, showreels, and specialisms if you do.
The process is divided into three phases: Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production.
Each phase of video production is important to creating high-quality content that will engage viewers – whether you’re using video for marketing purposes, as a videographer (such as a wedding video or corporate video production), or for professional television or streaming productions.
Pre-Production
The first production phase – the pre-production stage – is the planning stage. No matter how much time and money you spend on filming and editing, if your initial plan and production crew isn’t good, you’ll end up with an inefficient final product.
The pre-production phase is where you gather all your ideas – usually at a pre-production meeting – set your budget, and assemble a team to make it all happen.
Pre-production has two main components: Writing and Planning. These components can be further broken down as follows:
Research and Development Stage: it’s important to understand who you’re approaching and what particular challenges you’ll face.
- What’s my story about?
- Who is the target audience? What will resonate with them?
- Is it a promotional video or a more personal project?
- Do I need actors for my video and if so, who’re they?
- Should I hire a crew (sound engineer, camera assistant, etc.)?
Script Development: your script is the foundation for your entire production, so it’s important that it communicates well.
Storyboarding: after you’ve completed the script, it’s storyboarding’s turn. Storyboards are basically illustrations that show how each scene will look in the video, as well as text details for voiceover scripts and other shots like animations or graphic elements. The storyboard helps point out potential problems with your project to save time and money later in the production process.
Planning: From creating a shooting schedule to preparing locations, planning can help ensure that everything runs smoothly during filming.
Scheduling: one of the most important parts of pre-production is making sure all the pieces are in place before filming begins with a carefully planned production schedule.
Casting: when choosing actors and voice actors, careful attention must be paid to their skills and suitability for the production.
Location Scouting: finding the perfect location for your video can make a big difference in getting the message across to viewers. Or finding the right studio or set.
Production
Everyone is in agreement, and the creative vision is set. It’s time to start the video shoot to record your raw footage, and acquire other types of video content, such as stock footage or archival footage.
The production phase is when the fun really begins. Once you’ve approved your script and storyboard, it’s time to bring them to life.
This phase of video production involves filming, recording sound, and gathering other elements necessary for the production, such as archival footage or photos.
Most of the footage is shot during this phase, and you’ll direct the actors, set up lights and cameras, get props, hire a crew (if you don’t already have one), and plan the shoot on location.
A professional video production team usually includes at least one cameraman for lighting and one sound technician. A director or producer/director is usually responsible for ensuring the crew shoots the footage you need and then works with an editor to create the final film.
There are some important factors such as lighting, angles, and composition of images that need to be worked out before the actual shooting and not forgotten during the filming.
- Lighting: one important aspect is the lighting you need to provide for your actors and the location. Since these are planned in advance, you can either rent or buy the lighting equipment. If you’re working with a small budget, you may be able to rent some things and buy others depending on what you’ve available in your area. You can save money by opting for practical lighting rather than using lights to create special looks or moods. Make sure your actors/actresses are always well lit! This will allow them to look their best and increase visibility for the audience. SO They won’t get lost in dark scenes where it’s hard to see what’s going on.
- Sound: The sound quality of a video production makes the difference between an amateur and a professional project! If viewers can’t hear the actors clearly because of background noise such as traffic or wind blowing through the trees during filming, they’ll be frustrated by what they see on screen, even if it looks technically good (e.g., camera work). A big mistake that many make when shooting their first videos is that they don’t take such issues into account. This means that poor sound quality could ruin otherwise great footage, so always look out for anything that could affect the sound recording before you start shooting a scene!
- Equipment testing is important: you need to make sure that all the equipment is working properly during the shoot.
Post-Production
Now that you’ve all the video and audio files for your production, it’s time to put them together into a final product. All of this work happens in the post-production stage. This is the final stage, where the videos are edited and graphics or visual effects are added.
The post-production phase also includes adding sound effects and music, color correction, and finishing touches such as title slides or credits.
In the video editing phase, all footage is recorded and transcribed so the team can make selections. Typically, a rough cut is created first – the first version of a film where the shape and story of the production are apparent – before the fine cut, where every second of your video is edited to fit the rest of the production.
The Critical Rouch Cut
The rough cut is crucial because it’s an early version of the entire video, still missing some elements but giving everyone involved an idea of what they’re working toward.
After the rough cut is approved by the director or the directing team, the process moves on to adding motion graphics (moving text or images) and visual effects (anything inserted into the real footage that changes the look, such as computer-generated images).
This means that all cuts are carefully made and colors are corrected for maximum effect in your final video.
Also, special effects can be added at this stage to enhance the mood or action of your project. For example, a scene set on an alien planet: In post-production, you might use green screens or motion-tracking techniques to create a realistic final product. This phase can take weeks to months, depending on how complex your project is.
Films Are Made in the Edit
The old adage is that ‘films are made in the edit.’ This means that in the filmmaking process you should pay special attention to getting the post-production process right.
You can save poor footage with great editing, but the best footage in the world will suffer from a bad edit.