So we’ve planned and filmed an amazing video, but what’s next?
Next, we need to re-order and edit all these short sections of video together to make the final finished product. That may sound easy, but in reality, post-production is another major stage in a video project. Here at Take One Productions, we treat every video as a unique production – every programme is different, but here’s a breakdown of some of the most common stages of video post-production.
Collating and sorting what we’ve filmed
First thing’s first, all the filming work we’ve done needs to be collated and sorted before we can get editing!
There can be huge amounts of footage to sift through and the file sizes we’re dealing with can be enormous, especially if we’ve used multiple cameras or recorded in 4K resolution. Therefore, state of the art storage and processing power is essential, along with careful file management, to move and sort footage and other important assets, such as photographs, graphics and music. We don’t just organise these assets in any old way, it’s important that there’s an agreed file structure so that any member of our video post-production team can come in and find exactly what they need without wasting any time.
Editing pictures
This is the basic process of piecing together all the best ‘takes’ that we’ve filmed into sequences and in an order that will create the ‘story’ and structure of the programme. We create what’s called a ‘roughcut’. This is an initial edit which usually includes suggested music tracks, graphics and titles all designed to compliment your company branding.
If we’ve filmed long interviews about specialised subjects, you may wish to be involved in selecting the best snippets for the final video. In this case, we’ll edit together all the good and usable footage and send it to you, with an in-picture time code, so that you can easily pick the best segments you’d like us to use.
Sorting soundtracks and sound-effects
Once we’ve got the footage sorted, it’s a lot easier to add sound in at exactly the right moments. We can now synchronise music and sound-effects to exactly what’s going on on-screen. To ensure we use the right music for your video, we access our library of over 2,000 different tracks. To start with, our professionals select a track that we think matches the style and pace of the video, based on our previous experience. Despite this, we know taste in music varies from person to person, so if you don’t like the music we select, we’ll send you some alternative options for you to pick from so that the final product is perfect.
Finalising graphics and animations
Some films really benefit from extra graphics or animations. At this point in the process, we design, animate and add any extra bits, such as titles, captions, graphs or charts. We can even animate your company’s logo and open and close the video with it. If you’re wanting to show and explain how something works, but it’s impossible to film it – for example the internal workings of a complex piece of machinery that you’re wanting to promote, don’t forget our highly skilled designers can create these environments as amazing 3D computer graphics.
Approval
Once the rough-cut version of your video is ready, we’ll upload it to our approval site and send you a password-protected link so that you can watch it online. Any comments or feedback you have will be taken on-board, the programme amended and re-uploaded for you to view again.
Subtitling and adding foreign languages
Traditionally, subtitles were added to videos to help those who were deaf or hard of hearing. Nowadays, many clients ask us to subtitle everything we produce for them. Captioning videos has a big effect on how successful they are and it’s all down to how we view videos today. On social media, audio is often turned off by default, so subtitling is necessary to appeal on these sites. On top of this, surveys show that subtitled videos reach 16% more people, are more engaging and have a positive effect on SEO.
Don’t forget – not everyone speaks your language! Think about your audience’s language before you commission a video. If their default language isn’t English, don’t worry! During the post-production stage, we can produce subbed or dubbed foreign language versions of all your videos, in any language you need.
Mastering
Once all of the previous steps are completed, it’s time to ‘master’ the video. This involves us encoding the video at a high bit rate in order to create an h264 master file. This file, along with the project files will then be stored in our digital archive, allowing future amendments or updates to the programme, as well as copies of the programme in whatever file format you need.
So in a nutshell, post-production is the name given to almost everything that comes after the shoot.
If you’d like to know more about post production, or you’d like to discuss your video requirements, call us for a free, no-obligation chat on 01403 256255, or email us at info@takeoneproductions.co.uk
We’ll be happy to help!