Understanding the Process of Video Production

Determining a specific audience is vital to producing an effective video. Who is your audience? What kind of background does your audience have? What kind of presentation would your audience be most receptive to? The answers to questions like these will help you to better understand your audience, and to more effectively communicate your message to your audience. To expect one video to work effectively with two or three different types of audiences would be like expecting one textbook to work effectively for both high school freshmen and college seniors.

Because of the popularity of home video equipment, many people believe that producing a video is simple; all you need is a camcorder and some blank tapes. Recording an image on videotape is simple (one button), but producing an effective video presentation is not. It requires painstakingly detailed research, planning and scripting before shooting even begins. Listed below are the major steps in video production.

The subject and application of a potential video production should be researched to determine if the usefulness of the video justifies the expense of production. Will the video be cost effective?

The target audience must be identified and researched in order for the information in the video to be presented effectively.

The scriptwriter should research the process or product to be presented and outline the points that should be covered.

In this meeting everyone involved in the production process reviews the outline and gives input to the scriptwriter on how to present the subject on video.

The scriptwriter should consult regularly with the video production personnel to confirm that the scenes contained in the script are technically possible. The scriptwriter should also consult with the end users of the video for input. The people that will be presenting the video to the target audience will have useful insight as to the type of presentation that the audience will be most receptive to.

In this meeting, the script is reviewed and any revisions are made.

Storyboards are used to help visualize a production and contain a series of illustrations in frames, each with a scene number identifier and a couple of description lines.

In this meeting, the storyboard is analyzed for visual ideas, continuity, flow and basic storyline. Final revisions are made to the script based on the storyboard.

Location shooting should be scheduled for as early as possible because of the possibility of delays due to variables such as weather. Locations should also be scouted in advance to plan staging and to determine any special needs.

This includes shooting footage and obtaining footage, graphics, and animation from other sources.

Present at this meeting are the people involved in the production and the people that will give final approval to the finished video. After reviewing the gathered content, final revisions are made to the script and post production begins.

The finished video is presented to a group of people that are unfamiliar with the production for input. This helps predict presentation effectiveness.

At this meeting the final edit is reviewed and approved or revised by the appropriate people.