Video Production Process: Complete Guide for 2024
In today’s experience economy, video is everything, everywhere, all at once. Who among us hasn’t streamed a TV show about television on Apple TV while scrolling through our feed on TikTok during the commercial break for a YouTube video on our laptop?
We love being immersed in the content that helps us get through the day, so naturally, video is the ideal way to introduce new audiences to your brand through targeted advertisements.
If you don’t have video marketing front and center in your digital marketing strategy, it’s not too late to catch up. You just need to know where to begin.
Let us help you get there fast with this birds-eye view of everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the video production process (but didn’t know you should ask.)
Need help making videos? See how our video production platform can help your business.
What is Video Production?
Video production is the process of creating video content, encompassing five key stages: planning and development, pre-production, production, post-production, and marketing and distribution.
In the planning and development phase, the initial concepts and strategies for the video are established. The process continues through pre-production, production, and post-production, and concludes with marketing and distribution, ensuring the video reaches the intended audience effectively.
Video Production vs. Film Production
Film production typically involves creating movies or films intended for theatrical release, often with higher budgets, longer timelines, and a more intricate production process compared to other forms of content creation.
Video production, on the other hand, covers a broader range of content types, including commercials, corporate videos, and online content, and usually involves shorter timelines and more streamlined production processes.
Video Production vs. Videography
“Videographers” tend to be (for example) the personnel who shoot weddings, while “video production” covers a more professional process of planning, shooting, editing, and distributing video content.
The term “cinematographer” or “director of photography” is still used to describe the craftsperson who oversees the filming process in video production. The cinematographer oversees lighting, camera movement, and a team of technicians who make sure the images being captured are right — that their color, focus, and other aesthetic and technical considerations support the message of the video production.
By contrast, videographers tend to film what’s already there, using minimal lighting and probably no crew.
Benefits of Video Production
Leveraging video production offers numerous advantages that can significantly enhance a brand’s marketing strategy and overall success.
1. Enhanced Brand Visibility
Video production increases brand visibility by reaching a larger audience across multiple platforms, including social media, websites, and video-sharing sites like YouTube. Well-produced videos can improve search engine rankings, making it easier for potential customers to discover your brand.
2. Increased Audience Engagement
Videos are a powerful tool for capturing and maintaining audience attention due to their dynamic and visually appealing nature. Engaging video content encourages viewers to interact with your brand, share your content, and spend more time on your platforms.
3. Improved Conversion Rates
Video content can effectively convey messages and persuade viewers, leading to higher conversion rates compared to other forms of content. By showcasing products, explaining services, and providing testimonials, videos can drive more sales and generate leads.
4. Versatile Content Creation
Video production allows for the creation of diverse content types, such as tutorials, testimonials, advertisements, and live streams, catering to different audience preferences and marketing goals. This versatility helps brands communicate their message in various formats, maximizing their reach and impact.
5. Strengthened Customer Connections
Video content fosters stronger connections with customers by allowing brands to tell their stories and convey emotions more effectively. By presenting a human side to your business, videos help build trust and loyalty among your audience.
Types of Video Production
Businesses can choose between different video production approaches, such as in-house and outsourced production, depending on their resources and strategic goals.
In-House Video Production
In-house video production involves creating video content using a company’s internal team and resources.
Pros
- Greater control over the production process and brand messaging.
- Faster turnaround times for revisions and project completion.
- Cost-effective for businesses with ongoing video content needs.
Cons
- Requires significant investment in equipment, technology, and skilled personnel.
- May lack specialized expertise in certain aspects of video production.
- Limited creative input and perspective from external professionals.
Outsourced Video Production
Outsourced video production involves hiring external agencies or freelancers to create video content.
Pros
- Access to experienced professionals with specialized skills and expertise.
- Greater creative input and fresh perspectives on projects.
- Scalability and flexibility to handle projects of varying sizes and complexities.
Cons
- Higher costs compared to in-house production, especially for smaller projects.
- Less control over the production process and potential for miscommunication.
- Longer timelines due to coordination with external teams.
5 Stages of Video Production
As mentioned previously, there are five general stages of video production (some leave out the first and last stages mentioned here, but it’s important to include them, so you understand the big picture of the video production process).
Phase 1: Planning & Development
For many, this can be the most exciting phase of production: video production planning. It’s the phase in which the big questions and topics driving a video content shoot are posed and answered.
These could include:
- What is the overall aim of this video content?
- Who is the target audience?
- How can you best express the content’s aim and reach the audience?
- What resources do you have?
- What are the problems or hurdles you might face in creating the content?
Planning and development start with macro questions that get progressively more granular.
Once you know the goal of a video, you can start considering how to best convey it.
Questions of style will be discussed, like:
- Will it be live-action or animated?
- Will the style feel polished or more in the vein of authentic-feeling User Generated Content (UGC)?
- Is this video content going to live on Instagram? TikTok?
- Will it be used across several platforms, albeit tweaked and refined?
Questions of budget and shoot length (which helps dictate budget) will also come up. Can the idea be achieved on the proposed budget, or does it need to be scaled down?
Sometimes, video planning and development can involve an iterative process of trying video marketing ideas, testing them and retesting them. Still, this is the production phase that can be the most fun, as ideas get floated and tested before any video has been shot. Eventually, the process will end with a brief or outline, ready to go to a production team that can improve it with their ideas and ultimately execute it.
Phase 2: Pre-Production
The questions surrounding “how will this get made?” start taking on a more practical edge in pre-production. So do questions about:
- Hiring personnel and crew
- Answering questions related to location
- Budget
- The duration of the shoot (which will directly impact the shoot’s budget)
- Location scouting (where the shoot will take place)
It’s a great time to run an audit on your historical production budgets, see where you can cut fat, and ensure you’re keeping key performance indicators (KPIs) in mind.
Ideally, many problems get solved during video pre-production. Productions often get scaled-down during this phase, as it comes clear that original plans are too costly.
During pre-production, many teams rely on pre-visualization techniques like storyboards, shot listing, and software that allows 3D visualization of sets and lighting. By the time production starts, it’s all but a formality, and it’s relatively straightforward capturing the right footage.
When it comes to video content production, sometimes the best tactic is to keep things simple. The important thing is the concept, which can likely be achieved more modestly than you realize with the right choices of props and location.
Pre-production is the time to note exactly what deliverables you need by the end of the process, including:
- Aspect ratios
- File types
- Video lengths
Phase 3: Production
Production involves the actual shoot. Production is usually highly controlled, as it involves talent and crew who are on the clock and who will be paid overtime if the shoot runs long. Despite the best-laid plans, there are often hurdles to deal with, whether these are logistical issues like weather or a location that’s somehow different than expected or a performance by an actor that isn’t quite jelling.
It’s key to remember all the different end uses for your footage. That means (among other things) framing aspect ratios so footage can work for Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and any other social media formats.
Learn More: Social Media Video Specs and CTV Ad Specs
Phase 4: Post-Production
Video post-production involves everything required to make your video look and sound polished after the shoot. That includes:
- Editing
- Color correction
- Visual FX
- Sound design and mixing
Post-production is usually a mixture of problem-solving and creativity, like adding motion graphics and music. Post-production can allow you to repurpose production content to work in several ways, effectively giving you an entire campaign from just a day or two of shooting.
Phase 5: Marketing & Distribution
Marketing and distribution were once done purely on instinct or happenstance. Now they’re achieved with the help of data and targeting. You should have a good idea of where your audience lies and ensure content is crafted so that it connects with them.
This phase can still involve creativity as you monitor the popularity of your campaign and keep testing and tweaking to make sure you’re hitting your KPIs.
Examples of Video Production
Different genres of video production work better for certain kinds of products and audiences. Some common types of videos are:
Brand/Company Video
This is a video extolling the virtues and story of your brand and company. Brand/company videos create a narrative in which your brand is the hero. These could involve testimonials from customers or employees.
- Corporate Video Production
- Training & Instructional Video Production
- Branded Video Production
- Small Business Video Production
Explainer Video
These videos explain how a product works, often through animated or graphic content. They’re especially suited to more abstract services and technologies, like apps. The best ones are both informative and friendly.
Industry-Specific Video
Industry-specific videos target audiences who work or are looking for a service in a particular sector.
- Real Estate Video Production
- Medical & Healthcare Video Production
- Non-Profit Video Production
- Law Firm & Attorney Video Production
- Industrial & Manufacturing Video Production
Product Video
Product videos center on an actual product and turn it into the hero of a narrative. Effective product videos could involve UGC-style content, featuring social media influencers or “regular users,” or case studies in which someone explains how a new product solved a problem for them.
Social Media Video
A social media video marketing strategy should be designed with native video advertising in mind, keeping to the style of a particular platform the video appears on, like TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram. They’re designed to be easily consumed and also shared.
- Social Media Video Production
- TikTok Video Production
- Instagram Video Production
- Facebook Video Production
- YouTube Video Production
- LinkedIn Video Production
TV Commercial
This is the most polished, classic form of video content, typically featuring professional talent, graphics, testimonials, and beauty shots of your product through linear TV or CTV advertising.
Website Video
These are typically for audiences already interested in your product, so they can involve longer and more detailed narratives to encourage conversion.
How Much Does Video Production Cost?
With technological advances, costs are coming down — and video production costs less than you might think.
The video production process is being rapidly streamlined. And video ads aren’t just classic long (or elaborate) commercials — they’re the bite-sized but equally effective ads you see on Twitter and Reddit. Those can be made cheaply and don’t need to be broadcast-quality to pique consumers’ interest.
Sometimes rougher and more authentic can feel more convincing.
Consumers are likely to trust “real people” sharing their positive experiences with a product, with the UGC-style content shot on a phone or a simple animated “explainer” video. Finding one non-traditional location can be visually compelling and save money. Similarly, traditional animated or stop-motion ads can be produced relatively cheaply anywhere.
How QuickFrame Changes the Game
QuickFrame uses a nimble marketplace approach to connect advertisers with innovative video content producers worldwide. That can keep costs down while ensuring you get the types of video content you need.
QuickFrame keeps shots streamlined while getting maximum value out of your productions by repurposing content for different platforms and making sure it feels “native” to each platform. Additionally, its data tools allow for continuous tweaking of a campaign so you can focus on what’s working.
- Related: Learn more about the latest video marketing trends.
Video Production Process: Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for the best guide through the video production process to get the most effective and compelling ads for your product, visit QuickFrame. They will help you create videos tailored to your needs in the most cost-effective and efficient way possible.
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