Videos can be a great source of entertainment. No matter the type it is, most of us find a great source of pleasure and entertainment through videos; whether it is a home video made during a birthday celebration, wedding anniversary, or just one to capture ordinary moments of our everyday lives; making videos can be an interesting experience.
On the other hand, if you are an amateur videographer or aspiring to be a professional one; understanding how a video is made and what it takes can help make your video production both a worthwhile and financially rewarding venture.
Video Production refers to the process of making videos that may be used for TV broadcast, home video, or uploaded to the internet.
But whatever the purpose it is meant to serve, a good video production undertaking comes in three distinct stages: Pre-production stage, Production stage, and Post-production stage. These three main processes of producing a video may also be referred to as pre-production, filming, and editing.
In this first part of the series, we consider perhaps the most crucial stage of the video production process: the Pre-production stage and learn what it takes to be ready for video production.
1. Pre-Production – The Planning Stage
No matter how skilled a professional we might be in the art of filmmaking; it is impossible and perhaps unwise to commit to a video or film production without first adequately outlining the plan for successfully executing such production.
The Pre-production stage is when ideas have coalesced into a viable plan of action and the objectives of your video are determined. This planning stage requires you to consider your target audience, determine the possible budget and ascertain the message your video needs to convey.
Planning is crucial to the overall success of your video production. It is very likely that if you commit enough time to plan; the more smoothly your filming process will go and the better your final video will be.
This planning stage will require you to consider the kind of set you need to use; would you need a green or blue screen behind the presenter if you were filming in a studio? This could be in addition to the consideration of whether any make-up will be required, the kinds of props are required or even the amount of filming time is needed?
The planning stage will also include the need for your video to be scripted or storyboarded. Storyboarding involves determining the key elements of your shots and arranging the list of shots that will be required to complete your video.
The primary importance of scripting or storyboarding is that it will help you to be able to come up with your final filming guide that would enable the team to shoot effectively and with as little waste of time as possible. It also gives the post-production team a proper working guide and providing the grounds for any additional voiceover work.
The importance of proper lighting in video production cannot be overemphasized. The ability to use light effectively can mean the difference between poor video production and a very good one. Light is very significant to a video shoot, and it might surprise you to find just how much light may be needed for even the simplest of videos.
To achieve the effective use of lighting, time, and consequently, patience is needed to light the foreground, background, and the subject. If the lighting is not properly deployed, shadows can appear in the video and it can be difficult to work out where they are coming from and thus present an editing challenging; so don't be rushed. Taking sufficient time at this stage to plan will reduce the amount of work needed after the video has been made.
Another aspect of the pre-production stage to give thoughts to is that of the video audio. You will need to make sure that you are using the proper microphones and the sound you need is getting picked up. You may need to use headphones plugged into the cameras to assess the audio quality.
In the second part of this series, we will consider the two other parts of filmmaking and how you can make a good video.
The Watchtower makes every effort to provide you with content that is both relevant and of high quality. More information on video production, photography, and graphic design can be found at www.thewatchtower.com, a multi-award-winning web design, and development agency with offices in London and Dubai. There's also aspiring content on movies, cinemas, lifestyle, content, firm marketing, and production on the website.
