The Five Steps of a Video Production Project

Find out the five step process to complete a successful video production project from start to finish.

*Noble Bison Production team during an outside shoot.*

If your business or brand is considering professional services from a video production company, you may be interested in learning more about how the video production process works.

In this blog, we break down the production process into five steps that cover the essential elements of each stage. There are many moving pieces that bring together a successful video production, and it can be challenging work at times. However, it’s often insightful for business owners because it asks them to get real with their intentions, voice, and brand identity. With that, the video production process is a rewarding journey for those who are prepared. Find out what it takes to complete a video production project from start to finish with the following five steps.

FIVE STEPS OF VIDEO PRODUCTION

Development
Pre-Production
Production
Post-Production
Distribution and Marketing

1. DEVELOPMENT

Image via @youxventures — *Image via* *@youxventures*

The first stage of video production is where you establish the foundational components of your video project and ultimately shape what kind of video you want to produce. This stage is essential to ensure your expectations are met in the end. The clearer you are about these elements and communicating them to the video production company the better your final product will be.

The most important factors to help you determine the type of video you will create are your video goals, audience, and estimated budget. Based on these three factors, you and the hired video production company can storyboard a video tailored to your wants and needs. Then, the details need to be storyboarded and pieced together in a project proposal.

GOALS: To get clear on the goals of your video ask yourself what problem you hope that your video will solve or what led you to seek out professional video production in the first place. You can usually determine the type of video you need by answering these questions. Maybe you want prospective customers to understand your product or service better, or you want to shift how people view your company with an “about” or “how we started” video. There are a handful of common videos companies create for their video marketing. It all depends on the goals you hope to accomplish.

AUDIENCE: Knowing your audience further informs the type of video you will create. Sort out exactly who it is for and where you want your video will go. Perhaps you need a high-quality website banner or an explainer for a certain landing page of your website. Maybe you specifically need a Facebook or Instagram ad? These decisions help to curate the length, content, and tone of your video.

BUDGET: Your budget will be an important factor in determining the scope of your project. The cost of equipment, crew, location, editing, etc. all depends on the content of your video and the scale of the production.

PROJECT PROPOSAL: You and the video production company will collaborate to storyboard a video once the above aspects of your project have been determined. From there, a reputable video production company will put together a project proposal. The proposal will outline the video script, camera shots, and breakdown of costs. Be open about any concerns or changes needed in the project proposal because it will become the signed contractual agreement between you and the production company. Then, your project is off to the races!

2. PRE-PRODUCTION (Logistics)

Things get exciting during pre-production. During this step, the production team will coordinate all the components that bring the production together. This may include securing the following:

Shoot Locations / Studio
Actors/Voice Actors
Film equipment
Special effects artists (SFX)
Sets, props, and costumes
Video effects artist (VFX)
Animation Services
Production crew, such as lighting and sound, director of photography, director’s assistant, etc.

Lastly, a finalized filming schedule will be established once the logistics of the production come together. A call sheet will then be sent out to the production team and client about a week prior to the shoot that provides a concise detailed schedule of the production.

3. PRODUCTION

*NBP team setting up equipment for shoot day.*

Now that everything has been ironed out during pre-production it is time to produce your video. The production stage takes place during the scheduled shoot days. Each shoot day the production team will unload and set up lighting, sound, and video equipment, as necessary. Thereafter, all the raw footage of your video will be captured, including the main footage (A-roll) and secondary footage, often referred to as B-roll. It may also be necessary to record certain audio for your video.

Note that it’s extremely important to find a quality video production company that is organized and has great communication because there are many moving pieces and people involved that contribute to the overall success of the production.

4. POST-PRODUCTION

This is where the magic truly happens. Now that all the footage and audio have been captured, the editors go to work assembling all the raw footage into a first cut that is sent to the client. This opens the discussion for any critiques or revisions the client has, such as adjustments in sound, modification to scene lengths or story structure, etc.

Once there is a version that the client is happy with, the team moves into the last stages of post-production. Colorists, animation artists, and VFX teams come in to make the finishing touches that elevate and finalize the video project. The production company will then create a “final cut” for the client. Depending on the contract, the client may receive different versions, or cuts, of varying lengths to post in different digital arenas. Additionally, your contract could have included product still images from the production.

5. Distribution and Marketing

Now that you have obtained your new content, the last step of your video production journey is to put your distribution and marketing plans (from the first step) into action. It seems an obvious statement but knowing the best strategies for video marketing will give you the greatest return on your investment. It’s important that you have done your research and think outside the box to reach your anticipated goals, especially if you don’t have a full marketing team behind you. For example, to strengthen brand awareness beyond your website or socials, consider contacting local media outlets for press now that you have fresh, high-quality content that represents your brand.

DENVER VIDEO PRODUCTION

Noble Bison Productions is a local Denver video production company. If your company or brand is looking for video production services in Colorado — we’d love to hear from you! We are dedicated to communicating with our clients and seamlessly guiding them through the video production process. Reach out to get a free quote on your next video project:

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