The Process of Making Your Video

Written By Michael .

If you have looked at the pricing page and are unsure of what some of the terms mean, then this article is for you. I will explain what each phase of the production process (pre-production, production, and post-production) is and how they relate to your video. I will also explain some of the terms within each phase that may not be immediately obvious to someone not in the production industry.

Pre-Production

Pre-Production is the initial phase of any video project. How long it lasts can vary greatly depending on the size and scope of each project. Generally speaking, pre-production refers to the period of time before the actual shoot days. This time is used to plan and prepare for the shoot as much as possible. Some common items to accomplish during this time frame include:

  • Planning meetings

    • Any and all meetings where you and I meet to discuss the specifics of your video.

  • Location scouting/permit

    • This can be looking for shoot locations online and/or physically going to the locations to see if they will work for the video. This also includes getting permission from the appropriate individuals to use their location on the shoot days.

  • Scheduling

    • This obviously includes getting the actual shoot days scheduled, but it isn’t limited to just those dates. For example, it can also include scheduling other pre-production activities or discussing final video delivery dates.

  • Shot list

    • As the name suggests, this is a list of the shots in your video. This may or may not be necessary and can range from generic to specific depending on the type of video.

    • A fully specified shot list would include every shot within each scene of a video and have specific categories such as the talent (your actor/actress) in the shot, shot description (what they’re doing/what’s happening), INT/EXT (indoors or outdoors), and camera information (close up/medium shot, blurry background, etc).

  • Storyboard

    • This is similar a shot list, but more visual. It may contain much of the same information (shot description, talent positions, etc), but also includes either a sketch/drawing or a picture of what the shoot should actually look like through the a camera lens. This is very useful for visualizing shots, especially as they relate to each other.

    • Like the shot list, this may or may not necessary depending on the type of video.

Production

If pre-production is everything that happens prior to a shoot, the production is everything involved during the shoot. The includes driving to a location, setting up equipment, shooting, tearing equipment down, driving back, and everything in between. What production looks like varies as much as different types of videos do. Here are a few short examples of what production would look like for different kinds of videos.

  • Business Advertisement Video (brick-and-mortar)

    • This kind of production can be very straightforward. I would simply show up on the shoot day with any necessary equipment, set up, and shoot. The talent could be the business owner or manager. I would get any shots with the talent and b-roll (shots without talent).

  • Event Highlight/Hype Video

    • This kind of video is typically more run-and-gun than fully planned out. There can definitely be a shot list to follow, but it will be far more generic than a fully scripted video. I would arrive a couple hours before the event to set up my equipment and discuss the event with any relevant professionals (photographer, sound engineer, event coordinator, etc) to ensure that everything goes smoothly and that we don’t interfere with each other. During the event, I would likely be moving around with a portable camera to get a variety of shots.

Post-Production

As the name implies, post-production is everything that occurs after the shoot days. The main thing people probably think of is editing, color grading, and adding effects, but as a whole also entails feedback and revisions and exporting for different formats. It can also include things like file management and naming.

  • Prep

    • While it’s definitely possible to start editing directly after getting all the footage to the editing computer, there are some things that can be done before to speed up the process. This can include

      • Backing up footage to a secondary location

      • Naming individual shots to match the shot list

      • Organizing footage from multiple sources (different cameras, drone shots, etc)

  • Editing

    • This is the process of actually going through footage, finding the best shots, and arranging them into the desired video. It can also include

      • Listening to interviews and selecting the best sound bites

      • Adding music, sound effects, and basic graphics (titles, logos, lower thirds, etc)

      • Making sure shots look and sound good

  • Color Correction

    • Making sure the color in each shot looks accurate. If you’ve ever seen a photo or video that looks really orange or blue when it doesn’t seem like it should, color correction would work to fix that

    • The main goal is to make each sure look accurate to the conditions it was shot in. Making stylistic changes would fall under color grading

  • Color Grading

    • This is taking a shot beyond its natural look. Some examples include

      • Making a shot look like it was shot at a different time of day

      • Increasing or decreasing how vibrant a certain color is (either in the entire shot or a specific spot)

      • Matching multiple shots to look the same even if they were filming in different conditions

Obviously, these lists are not all-inclusive of everything that could happen within each phase of production. Individual details will change with each project and are affected by things like the scale of the project, the purpose, the audience, etc.

Michael .