What is the video production process

With today’s video & editing technology available in the palm of your hand, anybody can make a happy feel-good holiday video for their Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or any other social media platform. But would you accept the same quality to tell a story or show a product from your business? I’m going to take a wild guess and say no.

Depending on your product or service, a photo may not give your potential customer enough information about what it is you’re offering. Whereas a video can sum up everything in as little as 6 seconds. Why do I say 6 seconds? Originally when YouTube began selling ads,  the ad went for up to 15 seconds but the first 5 seconds were free, then you could click the skip button. How great is that? If you could tell your story or relay your message quick enough you could have had free advertising. Unfortunately, as time went on and our attention span fell shorter and shorter, YouTube now sells ad space as little as 6 seconds.

The “Skip Ads” button appears after the first 5 seconds.

But just because a video only needs to run for 6 seconds, doesn’t make it a fast process. To really get the most out of your video there are three main steps you should follow to ensure you are getting the best bang for your buck.

Pre-Production

Identify the communication goal of the video, then figure out how this will be achieved.

Things to consider:

• Location – When shooting video on the Gold Coast, it’s important to remember which areas can be accessed and the times they are open to the public.
• Time of day – If your video production is on the Gold Coast & you want to capture the beautiful golden sunshine at sunrise, ensure you check your weather app to be on location and rolling at sunrise as this beautiful light can’t always be recreated in post-production.
• Equipment – If you are shooting throughout the day, will the location of the Sun hinder or overexpose your shot? Quite often lighting will be required if you are shooting outside through the day. Equipment should never be overlooked. Do you want aerial shots with a drone in your video production? This needs to be considered in the pre-production stage as a permit may be required to fly in the area.
• Talent (actors) – I highly recommend hiring talent who are comfortable in front of the camera. I don’t know what it is but people can even begin to walk differently when the camera is on.
• Dialogue/script – If you have a lengthy video, consider hiring a scriptwriter to work with.
• Type of Video – Vlog, product review, event recap, ad etc.
• Logistics – Do you need a road closed on the Gold Coast for your video production or a shop to be empty to get the shot you need? These are factors you need to have in order pre-shoot day.

• • Schedule – to coincide with your logistics and the talent you have hired.
  • Catering – How big is your shoot (& budget)? If you will require talent for a better part of the day, you will need to consider scheduling a break and food and water to keep them energised and happy.

  To really get your pre-production over the line, a common practice is to storyboard your video, don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be drawn out at art level. Simply use similar images from the internet or even draw stick figures, every little bit of information helps. You can download a free storyboard template in the description below.

Production

Capture all of the raw source material you need. . . and then some. Consider the same shot from a different angle, and then shoot another angle three times. If you are shooting a production that is estimated to last at least a minute, I cannot stress enough how much you need to overshoot each scene.

• Footage – as I said, you might need to shoot the same thing three times from 3 different angles.
• Sound – There are so many sites where you can download organically created sound effects ie. a car door slamming or a boat engine running at idle. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t capture sound organically when shooting. Always catch what sound you might need while shooting, just in case you can’t find what you want online.
• Dialogue – Listen carefully to what is said. Although you may have read the script 14,000,605 times before shoot day, it might not sound right when you hear it. There is always the option of voice-overs after if the footage will allow for it but ideally, you want to get it right on the day. Listen carefully and always keep the goal of the video in mind.

Post-Production

Where the footage comes together with music, SFX, colour correction/colour grading & graphics to relay the defined goal from step one.

When creating your final edit you must keep the 3 M’s in mind.

1. What is the Message
2. What Mood are we setting
3. What is the Main Goal of the video

What is the Message?

Is the purpose of your video to highlight a single product in particular or is it to showcase a number of products across your entire range. Are you trying to demonstrate the quality that predicts your price point or demonstrate your positioning strategy?

What Mood are we setting?

When it comes to mood, ask yourself how your product is going to make your consumer feel.

Is your product or service going to give your consumers a sense of relief or happiness? Is it designed to make life more convenient or perhaps make a gruelling task more efficient? It is important to establish this mood with your visuals. This can be as simple as smiling, laughing or taking a deep breath after the use of your product.

What is the Main Goal of the video?

Finally, what I consider the most important part of any video is establishing the main goal. If you have created a video to sell a product or to generate a lead then ensure you let people know this. Finish the video with a call to action “CALL NOW” or “BUY TICKETS”. Alternatively, if you have created a video for brand awareness, consider finishing the video with your mission statement followed by your logo and social handles.

Another big part of the video production process is music.

Everybody loves the latest song on the top 40 charts right now, so to get the attention of your audience you should definitely use it, right? After all, our ears react faster than our eyes, so it only makes sense. Wrong! Not only does this breach copyright law but it will age your video as soon as that song becomes overplayed by every mainstream radio station. What I recommend to most business owners is to find a genre that you feel matches your business first, like hip hop or indie rock. Then, I encourage them to use a track that sounds of this genre, suits the mood you are trying to set and is royalty free. Purchasing a license to music is also a possibility, albeit more expensive.

This might feel overwhelming to begin with and your six-second production might not go as in-depth as the above mentioned but it’s putting in the effort before, to make sure you get what you want after. That is the difference between a good video and a great video.

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