Video has proven itself to be the greatest most influential form of content in today’s digital age. It comes as no surprise that brands the world over are banking on this format to increase engagement and sales and achieve sustainable growth.
More than 80% of marketers claim to have been able to generate more leads through video content, and at the consumer’s end, almost 82% have been convinced to buy a product or a service after watching a video on it. It only makes sense for all companies, including small businesses to take advantage of this avenue.
Here we have a detailed and comprehensive video production guide for you to gain a better understanding of the concept, and get started in your journey. Keeping in mind these pointers and partnering with full-service small-business-friendly video production companies in Chicago will give you the running start you need.
Starting with the basics…
What is video production?
Video production is an all-encompassing term used to describe the multi-dimensional art of creating a video. While the word “production” technically incorporates only the part of shooting visuals, video production is a more comprehensive term that encapsulates all aspects involved in bringing a compelling video to life, disseminating it across various media, and inducing action through it. It uses the powerful technique of storytelling to convey a crucial message with engaging visuals or graphics and encourages the viewer to not only watch the video with interest but also perform an action at the end. Needless to say, it is a data-driven science and art mastered by professionals.
Some of the processes involved in video production are concept and story generation, scriptwriting, casting, shooting, editing, sound mixing, graphics incorporation, and final consolidation, divided into three main stages – pre-production, production, and post-production.
Video production process
The production process entails several contributing steps culminating in a final, refined, and polished video. It typically starts with an idea, followed by its expansion and execution, and ends with a crisp product, developed as part of a comprehensive video content marketing strategy. Professional video production companies in Chicago, like K3, provide all-inclusive packages along with consultations to help brands leverage the power of video content for their business.
Pre-production
The pre-production stage includes the prep work required before shooting or creating the footage for the video. Some of the key tasks in the pre-production stage are:
Defining objectives
The first step to making a successful video is to have the purpose and objectives of the project clearly laid out. Do you need the video to drive traffic to your website, spark engagement, or increase sales? Is your intention to educate, connect with your customers, or sell? Answering these questions will help you form a solid idea of what you need your video to do.
Concept development, story, and scriptwriting
Once the objectives are defined, it is time to brainstorm and develop the creative aspects of the video, such as the basic concept, the storyline, and the script. Professional video production companies in Chicago have dedicated creative teams for concept development and scriptwriting.
Storyboarding and shot list
Storyboarding involves breaking the script down and visualizing the elements scene by scene, and the shot list is essentially the list of shots required to be taken, including the angles.
Casting
Casting involves hunting for talent to play the characters in the proposed story and script. It is often a time-consuming and crucial part of video production.
Location selection
The next step is finding suitable locations to shoot the scenes of the video. This involves production experts setting out to scout various places in and around the city, finalizing the sets, and making arrangements with the management to obtain legal permissions.
Production schedule preparation
A production schedule is prepared specifying the dates, times, and places where the scenes are planned to be shot. This stage also involves creating a detailed budget of pre-production work including the location and conveyance charges.
The next step is to shoot the video, which marks the beginning of the production stage.
Production
The tasks involved in the production stage include:
Technical prep work and equipment setup
This is where the technical crew – the qualified videography experts prepare and set the necessary equipment up including the cameras, the lighting, and audio systems, at the proposed angles to shoot the scenes of the video. The selected actors get into their costumes and get ready to film as well.
Shooting
The next step is to shoot the footage required for the video. The scenes are shot per the prepared script, storyboard, and shot list, after which the footage is sent for editing, marking the beginning of the post-production stage.
Post-production
The tasks involved in post-production are:
Consolidation of raw footage and editing
The filmed footage is assembled, sequenced, consolidated, and edited to remove fillers and unnecessary content in this stage. The result will be an unrefined video that sequentially and coherently showcases the planned narrative.
Addition of graphics, sound, voiceovers, and the like
Elements like motion graphics, animations, voiceovers, special effects, music, and other audio tracks, are added to the video in this stage to further enhance the visual impact of the video. This is where most of the magic happens, as the ordinary footage is transformed into an impactful piece of content through these processes. Most video production companies in Chicago invest a solid number of days in this stage of the project to ensure the most compelling results.
Finalization
This is where the edited video content is further refined and polished for clarity, sound, and visual impact. Things like color-grading and effects are done to improve the quality and effectiveness of the video and the final version is completed.
Marketing
The last stage of the video production process involves converting the video into the required format and distributing it through various marketing channels. Comprehensive video production service providers often prepare detailed video content strategies where campaigns are designed and prepared to channel the content to the right audience. This is a crucial stage that impacts the effectiveness of the video in terms of its reach and fulfillment of objectives.
Types of video production
As mentioned earlier, different videos are meant to serve different purposes and objectives. While one brand may need a video to explain what their product does to the target audience, another brand may be looking to generate engagement and spark conversations through their video. Depending on these objectives, video production projects can be classified into a few types.
Educational videos
Videos like tutorials, how-to guides, online courses, webinars, and more constitute educational videos. As the name suggests, these are meant to provide information and get viewers to understand concepts better. Hence, the focus of these videos is on clear and precise communication of the matter.
Corporate videos
Internal training videos, workshops, company introductions, product introductions, demos, etc. come under the purview of corporate videos. These are meant to convey important matters while maintaining a clear and cohesive brand identity. Brands often use these videos to display professionalism and earn the trust of viewers.
Entertainment videos
Entertainment videos include creatively shot documentaries, short films, films, music videos, animated videos, etc. With these videos brands typically intend to engage the audience emotionally and form a connection with them. The focus of these videos would hence be on artistic expression and creative visualization, both of which contribute effectively towards getting viewers to watch.
Marketing videos
Marketing videos can be product, service, or brand commercials, social media ads, reels, and more. These videos are meant to be persuasive, engaging, and impactful in inducing action from the viewers. For the same reason, these videos need the most amount of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. The ultimate intention is to increase leads and conversions.
Wrapping up
Video production is a comprehensive and rich process that involves bringing an impactful and visually engaging video to life. Starting from pre-production to finalization and distribution, each step involved in the process adds value to the project and systematically leads to an effective piece of video content that not only fulfills the intended objectives but also reflects the brand’s ethos wholesomely. Indeed, it is a creatively complex art that requires the professional skills of Chicago headshot photographer.
Use this guide to acquaint yourself with the nuances of producing a high-quality video for your brand. For more hands-on assistance, tips, and a free consultation contact K3 Video Production.
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