High-quality videos help tell stories that set you apart from the competition. The process of video production, however, is anything but simple.
From concept and scripting to post-production, crafting a compelling video requires careful planning and execution.
In this article, we’ll explore the stages of video production to help you get started on making your own amazing videos.
Table of Contents
What Is Video Production?
Video production is the process of producing video content for use across multiple media outlets, including TV, websites and social media. If you’ve ever watched more than a single video in your life, you can probably tell the difference between bad and good videos.
But, if you switch roles and put yourself in the creator's instead of the viewer’s shoes, how can you ensure what you’re creating is worth people’s while? Videos have a 52% retention rate—if you want to tap into their potential, you have to create truly amazing videos. One way to go about it is by hiring one of the top video production agencies.
There are different types of video production companies. Whether you need video ads, video marketing for real estate or video production for your small business—you can rest assured these agencies can handle all the tasks that fall under the video production umbrella, such as:
- Conception
- Planning
- Storyboarding or scripting
- Creating an animatic
- Conducting research
- Creating visual assets
- Rehearsing lines and movements
- Scouting filming locations
- Shooting
- Editing
- Incorporating additional effects
- Compressing the video for delivery
All these fall within three categories—pre-production, production and post-production—but we’ll get to the details later. Each category demands a great deal of creativity and technical expertise to produce videos that will captivate the viewers and compel them to act on what they see.
Even if you were to create a short explainer video to use in your HR messages—as 27% of businesses do—you still need to invest a lot of time and money into producing it. But, if you’re not an expert, it might be better to hire one of the top explainer video production companies and have them create awesome videos, like Dollar Shave Club’s:
Three Stages of Video Production
Video is the preferred content format among people, with almost 3.5 billion internet users watching videos at least once a month. With numbers like this, there’s no room to question whether you should invest in video marketing—the top video marketing agencies are here to serve all your needs.
However, owning a camera does not make you a video producer. If you consider that 84% of consumers have been persuaded to buy after watching a brand’s video, maybe you shouldn’t play one either—you risk losing a large pool of potential customers due to poor video production.
But, if you feel you have what it takes to produce killer video content, here are the three phases of video production to guide your way. You can always shoot your scenes and outsource video editing to professionals to bring it all together.
1. Pre-Production Stage
The pre-production phase of video production is of utmost importance as it lays the foundation for the rest of the project. It involves the initial planning, scripting and preparation of all the elements necessary for a successful video shoot.
It's where you plan out your concept, create a storyboard to map out what will happen during each scene and make a list of all the visuals you want to capture.
During this stage, you should:
- Research current video marketing trends
- Discover filming techniques
- Develop a storyboard
- Decide on the budget
- Identify your goals
- Work on scripting
- Scout locations
- Set schedules
- Hire crew
All this helps ensure that everyone involved in the project is on the same page when it comes to vision and execution, as well as keeping costs down by avoiding costly re-shoots or editing caused by miscommunication. By providing all stakeholders with well-defined roles and tasks right from the get-go, you can produce polished results within given timeframes.
Good pre-production work is also essential in ensuring that any potential problems are identified and addressed before they become too expensive to resolve during filming and post-production stages.
Pre-production allows for creative ideas and crucial technical details for each shot or scene to be sorted out in advance. This can help keep shoots efficient and organized, minimizing the risk of errors or delays which could otherwise negatively affect the outcome.
2. Production Stage
Production is the most exciting part of crafting video content—this is where you capture all the footage and audio that you need to tell your story. During this stage, you should finalize the script and storyboard and acquire all resources such as crew, actors, locations, props and equipment.
Whether shooting with a team or going solo, having an organized workflow can ensure everything runs smoothly during filming, once again proving the importance of the pre-production stage.
On set, directors guide the action while camera operators capture every moment either through live-action shooting or animation. As a bonus tip, don't forget to bring plenty of extra batteries and memory cards—those are key for a successful production day.
Once all the footage has been captured, it's time for post-production—which brings us one step closer to creating something incredible.
3. Post-Production Stage
As the final stage in video production, post-production takes place after pre-production and production. It’s your time to shine and prove that you can create one of the best video production designs your customers will thank you for.
Post-production includes a variety of tasks such as editing, color grading, mixing audio, motion graphics, compositing special effects and titling.
Editing refers to selecting and assembling shots into a cohesive sequence based on the director's vision. Color grading involves adjusting the brightness and color balance of each shot to create a consistent look throughout the film.
Mixing audio balances music, sound effects and dialogue so they can be heard clearly in the footage while eliminating unwanted background noise. Motion graphics add animation or graphics to videos, while compositing special effects add computer-generated visual elements like explosions or other digital effects into scenes. Titling is used to generate opening and closing credits for projects as well as create titles for each scene or sequence.
Of course, the post-production stage can include all of these steps, some of them or even more, depending on the scope of your project. It can be tricky at times—but with the right tools and techniques, you can ensure everything looks great when it comes time for delivery.
Note that post-production isn't just about making technical tweaks—this is also where creativity really shines through as you develop unique sequences and visual effects. With some practice and patience, post-production can help you turn raw footage into something truly spectacular.
You Produced a Video, Now What?
What good does a video do if it doesn’t see the light of day? On the other hand, if you publish it online, it has an audience reach of 92%—no wonder 82% of global internet traffic in 2022 came from video.
Despite this, many content marketers feel they could do better in terms of using videos to reach their goals. The only way to tap into the unlimited potential of videos is through proper advertising, with 86% of businesses now relying on video marketing.
Once you have your video ready, it’s time to set a number of strategies in place to ensure the finished product reaches its target audience. You can do this by coordinating with advertising agencies and media outlets or utilizing social media channels to maximize reach.
Above all else, you have to craft compelling messaging that communicates the desired message effectively while staying on-brand, as well as launch campaigns that are both cost-effective and successful at driving viewership.
If done right, you can enjoy tens of video marketing benefits. For starters, video marketing can bring better ROI, as 89% of marketers agree. 74% of them claim video has a greater return on investment compared to static images.
Plus, 84% of video marketers say it boosts lead generation. If you play your cards right, you can increase website traffic by 86%, and 53% of marketers reported it aids in building brand awareness.
To achieve such results, remember that each video project requires its own customized approach. If it seems like too big of a bite to chew, you can give one of the top video marketing agencies a chance.
Process of Video Production: Key Takeaways
The success of a great video project largely relies on the quality of the production journey. That said, producing videos is a time-consuming and detailed process, but the results are worth it.
It requires thoughtful planning, creative ideas and careful execution. It all starts with a story and continues with elements such as an effective script and visuals. As daunting as it may seem at first, breaking down the video production process into these key stages makes it easier to understand.
If all else fails, you can always bring extra help on board. With the right professionals by your side, you can create visual stories that will leave an impression on your viewers. If you choose to outsource, don’t forget to prepare an RFP for video production. And, if you don’t know how to choose a video production company, we’re here to help with that too!
