What Does It Take to Make a Video?

Making a video is like any other successful project: it starts with a specifc need, and ends with that need being sucessfully met.  What are you trying to accomplish? The possibilities are endless, but will be defined by your business necessity, resources, and vision.

Traditionally, the process is seen as 3 phases: pre-production, production, and post-production.  We recognize a 4^th phase: delivery and follow-through.

Pre-Production: Discovery & Planning

First, you need to determine the goals for the video:  what is its mission and purpose? Who is your audience?  In what way do you want your audience to be changed?

What is your product or service? What  do  you want to say about it? Does marketing and branding already exist? If not, perhaps the entire project should be reconsidered.  What level of prodcution value best represents your product or service?

Make a business case.  What is your anticipated ROI?  How would you measure that?  How much money do you need to budget for the project to be successful? How much money can you budget? What is the timeline? Who will manage the project?

Based on the information gathered during dicovery, we develop a proposal, scope, and budget for the project.  Once these are approved, the project is on!

The next step is to develop a creative treatment.  Once the treatment is approved, we are ready to write a detailed video script.

With an approved script, we are ready to gather all the assets needed (artwork, graphics, still photos, locations, on screen talent, crewmembers, schedules, etc.) to go from paper to reality.

Production: Following the Plan & Capturing It on Video

This is the phase where the filming actually happens. It can involve the gathering and coordination of huge amounts of crew and resources. Careful pre-production, planning, and project management are essential for the overall success of the project..

Post-Production: Bringing It All Together & Adding Finishing Touches

We use a tapeless workflow.  We bring all video assets into our Avid editing suite and conform them to the approved script.  We add text, still and motion graphics, still photos, music, voiceover narration, and ambient sound recording, so that it meets the original vision.

We provide rough cuts of the video for reveiw online at pre-established approval milestones.

Delivery: It's Not Over Yet!

How we deliver depends on who your audience is and how they need to view the video. Typical distribution channels include broadcast television, corporate websites, social networking sites, PDAs, and DVD.  We are fluent in all the technologies to assure that your video is delivered efficiently, appropriately, and correctly. We are also able to interface directly with your technical people, TV stations, webmasters, and AV technicians.