What Is The Video Production Process? A Simple Breakdown

Don't let the process of video confuse you, understanding the following stages of the process will help you understand the general process that all videos go through - from initial concept all the way through to completion! There are three main stages to the video production process - pre-production, production and post-production.

What Is The Video Production Process? A Simple Breakdown

The video production process can seem complicated at first but it’s actually a lot simpler than you might think. Even though every video will follow the process a little differently, they all follow three main steps.

Don't let the process of video confuse you, understanding the following stages of the process will help you understand the general process that all videos go through - from initial concept all the way through to completion!

There are three main stages to the video production process - pre-production, production and post-production.


Pre-production

Put simply, this is the planning stage. This is where initial concepts are shared and you begin to develop new ideas or build upon existing ones.


Lots of ideas will be exchanged and questions will be asked. Some of the questions you could be asked will include - what do you aim to achieve from this project? Who is your target audience? Are you working to a deadline?


In terms of length of time, the pre-production stage does vary depending upon the video. You may already have a solid concept that you want to go ahead with, in which case this stage is likely to be short for you. However, if you want to utilise video marketing but don’t really know which direction to go in, the planning may take a little longer.


A crucial piece of advice here - don’t rush the planning. This is the foundation of your whole video and arguably the most important phase of the process. Get it wrong here and your video could be doomed before it even gets off the ground.

Production

At this stage, all the planning and preparation has been completed and filming is ready to commence.


This is where your ideas come to life! All that planning is starting to pay off.


In terms of how long this will take, again it very much depends upon the video. It may take anywhere from half a day to a few weeks. This will all have been confirmed during the planning phase though so you won’t be stung with unexpected waiting times.

Post-production

The final stage of the process. This is where the magic is worked behind the scenes to turn the footage from the production phase into a masterpiece. Otherwise known as editing.


Everything that you’ve previously spoken about, requested and agreed upon with the production company will be evident in the final product. You should now have a video that you are not only happy with but are proud to use to showcase your brand/business.


Obviously, you will also have a chance to review the video and request changes where necessary. Again, the number of change requests will be something that is agreed upon before the project goes into production so no need to be weary about how much input you’ll be allowed to have.


A lot of the time, when good planning has gone into a video, there are only small teething type changes to make so it usually doesn’t take too long to alter and return back finished.


In terms of the timeframe here, it again depends on the video project itself. Some videos only need a small edit before they are ready whereas other videos can take a lengthy time to edit.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have the three main phases that all videos go through. Like I said at the beginning of the article, each video is different. Therefore, you have to expect that not all will follow the same steps when moving through the process.


Timeframes differ with different projects and understandably, bigger projects require longer time frames and vice versa. Saying that, you’d be surprised at how long some of the most effective five second ads take to create.


Ultimately, the most reputable video production companies will offer a free consultation so there’s no need to worry about the process too much. You can simply get in touch and go from there, completely free of charge!