Procedure of a video production with motionside pictures®
In this article I want to give you an overview of how a video production works for me.
Because in addition to the actual filming, there is a lot to do and pay attention to before and after the shooting day.
Don’t worry, if you hire me for a video production, I will take care of all the necessary steps towards the perfect video.
This guide is designed to give you a first impression of what I do for you as a video producer.
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Video type decision
First of all, we should think together about what kind of video is needed for your goals.
After all, there are different goals of videos:
With advertising and marketing videos, for example, you want to sell directly.
The assumption here is that the target group is already sufficiently informed, trusts the product or brand, and now only the benefits need to be directly advertised.
Such a commercial or sales video is completely pointless if you assume that viewers are coming into contact with a brand for the first time.
That would be a lot like proposing marriage on a first date. Which is, of course, completely pointless, because you want to get to know each other first.
In such a case, content marketing videos make much more sense. For example, if these content marketing videos can solve a specific problem, this becomes the first touch point of potential future customers.
Typical example of a content marketing video:
In this video, I explain what to consider when creating an image video.
Potential customers who want to have their own image video might be interested in it.
In this video they get useful answers. This added value creates trust and I and my brand motionside pictures® are positively remembered.
For other companies or brands, it may make more sense to connect with your target audience via entertaining videos on social media.
Typical example of a social media video:
In this video, which I produced on behalf of the German Ski Association, the German biathletes do funny duels.
Such videos are well received on social media and generate a lot of viewers.
So it makes sense to think about what kind of video you want to make as a first step.
Of course, you can think about it yourself first, but reputable video production companies will naturally help you with this step, think about it and suggest concrete video types.
Fixed price offer
Now that you know what kind of video you want, you should get a concrete fixed price video production quote.
Through the previous consultation, the video producer knows what will be necessary to implement the desired video.
It is worth asking whether the offer takes into account all points that may arise. For example, you should ask whether music licenses are included, travel costs, equipment or change loops.
For example, the video producer should have considered in which channels the video will run, because this greatly affects the cost of a Royalty Free music license.
For example, a license for online applications, i.e. on the website, YouTube or social media channels, costs much less than a license that also includes trade fair appearances, point of sale or major events.
In short, you should ask whether the offer simply includes everything and no additional costs.
Storyline
Now that the fixed price offer has been accepted, they are already in the middle of pre-production.
For many videos, such as the image video, it now makes sense to think about a rough story and write it down in a storyline.
A storyline is not quite as detailed as a script, but it does fix how the video will play out.
This document says what mood the video will be in. What the nature of the music will be. Which scene is shown when. The speaker text. And the approximate contents of the O sounds, these are the speech parts of the protagonists in front of the camera.
The goal of the whole thing should be to develop a story that tells the desired message in a meaningful way.
One keyword here is the arc of tension.
Arc of tension
Every story should have an arc of suspense. This applies primarily to all fictional stories, i.e. feature films or short films, but can also be applied to commercial films such as image videos.
At the very beginning, curiosity should be created as soon as possible for what is to come. So you have to think, what is the most exciting or interesting thing for the viewers in this video. Quasi the core statement.
This point needs to be made clear as soon as possible to keep viewers tuned in.
After that, the tension flags a bit for a moment, and you start to tell the story. Not so slow and not too fast you explain slowly towards core message and the most exciting in this video.
This is then the highlight of the video. For this, the viewers stayed tuned to the beginning of the video, so it is of course important that the curiosity that has arisen is satisfied and not promised something that cannot be delivered later.
From this point on, the tension quickly dies down and the video comes to an end as soon as possible without any rush. What there was to tell has been told, curiosity has been satisfied, now it makes no sense at all to start something new again.
individual scenes
The storyline should be divided into individual scenes.
Typically, a scene is played in one location. If a new location is needed, the next scene begins. In this way, you can use the scene numbers in the subsequent shooting schedule to plan what is filmed where and when.
Shooting schedule
Now the story is set, we know how the video will tell its story.
Now, of course, it is also clear what is needed for this. So which locations, which protagonists and which props.
Now, to plan all this carefully, you need a shooting schedule.
Typically, this shooting schedule states when which scene will be filmed. This should also be indicated with times. You don’t necessarily have to adhere to this exactly, but everyone involved knows approximately when and where what is being filmed.
Personally, I always do the most complicated scenes at the very beginning of the day. This applies, for example, to the scenes with the most extras and protagonists.
There are a lot of imponderables, some things can take a little longer sometimes and if you only do it at the end of the day, it can get a little more stressful.
But if you do the most difficult scenes first thing in the morning, at the beginning, you can concentrate nicely on the rest of the easier scenes.
It is a good idea to create the shooting schedule in table form. Each scene gets its own line. There you can then write the time on the left side, for example. In the center the content of the scene. And on the right side other notes. There you can note what else you need, such as props.
Please also be sure to pay attention to the supposedly unimportant things. Like a proper lunch break, for example.
If such things are neglected, it is very easy for the mood to change. The motivation rushes into the basement and a successful shoot then becomes really difficult.
You have to deal with people. They also need to be kept happy a bit. A proper lunch is so important in this regard and is very often underestimated.
The shooting day
Based on the storyline and the shooting schedule, it should now be clear what equipment is needed.
Already the day before this equipment should be checked. Batteries must be charged. The cards formatted. And be all ready to go.
Sufficient time should be allowed for unloading the equipment and setting up.
In the best case scenario, the shooting day is not that exciting anymore. For this, one has planned thoroughly in advance.
As far as possible, we try to stick to the time specifications from the shooting schedule. In doing so, you have to approach the matter with a bit of tact. It is not necessary that everything goes exactly according to plan. Some improvisational talent is always useful on the day of the shoot.
The important thing is that everything was filmed at the end. Preferably without hustle and bustle and without stress. That’s what you can see in the end product, if it was fun. And fun is clearly allowed on the day of shooting, by the way.
The postproduction
After the shooting day, the so-called post-production begins. So the video editing.
There are somewhat different approaches to this. Some create a rough cut first, and then edit the finished video from that. Some show this rough cut to the client so they can help decide what goes into the final video.
Personally, I always prefer to create a version that matches the quality of the finished video.
In doing so, it is important to develop a skillful workflow. So that one can react as flexibly as possible to possible change requests.
For me, that means doing everything in video editing software. In Adobe Premiere Pro.
So, for example, I don’t use any extra software for color correction. Da Vinci Resolve works great for this. But it has the disadvantage that you have to go back to Premiere Pro if you want to make changes. This can get a little more complicated very quickly.
But my experience is that lay people, which of course is most of my clients, can’t imagine that an image will be beautiful later on if it doesn’t have color correction yet, for example, or the sound isn’t clean yet.
To get around this stumbling block, it’s always important to me to show a video, even as a first version, that just looks really good already.
What still works, of course, is that you first use an unlicensed music file. This does have a digital watermark to identify it as unlicensed. For example, on YouTube. But for the customer, the music sounds the same as if it were already licensed.
>> learn more about music rights
Then, when the customer is satisfied, it’s time to finalize. The music is licensed and exchanged. Possibly purchased videos are licensed and exchanged. The speaker speaks his text in final. And the video will be played out in high quality final.
I hope I was able to give you an impression of how a video production works.
If you have any questions about the video production process, feel free to ask them in the comments.
If you are interested in a video production, please contact me for more information about my services as a video producer:
>> learn more about motionside pictures®
If you want to contact me directly, you are very welcome to do so. You can find my contact details under the following link:
I look forward to seeing you!
Thomas Vettermann
CONTACT
motionside pictures
Thomas Vettermann
Snowdrop St. 79
80995 Munich
Germany
E-mail: info@motionside.de
Phone: 089 2097 5795
Whatsapp: 0179 830 2418
Catchment areas: Germany (e.g. Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Rosenheim, Augsburg,…), Austria, Switzerland