What Are the 4 Phases of Video Production?

If you are creating a video marketing strategy, you're going to want to follow these 4 phases of video production. And remember: don't skip a step!

If you're undertaking a creative video production, corporate video production, tutorial video production, product video production or any kind of video production, it would be smart to follow a 4-phase video production process.

Intro:

Keeping up with marketing trends isn't easy. It seems that every year, marketing trends change a lot, and sometimes completely. Even something as simple as image/video sizes changes all the time 😳 And that isn't even considering where the trends are leaning, what people want, what your audience wants, etc. It seems impossible to keep up!

Lucky for you, if you follow a plan for your videos, they will simply age like a fine wine. This means they will remain valid, no matter the trend.

So, let's dive in!

The Steps:

First, I'll outline the steps for you. Then I'll dissect them one by one, so that your video marketing strategy can be a success!

1. Pre-Production: THE most important part of the whole thing. Do not rush this part. It will determine the entire video production process for you, which will directly affect the success of the final product, or lack thereof. This phase is the part where you fine-tune your video marketing strategy. This is also the phase where you plan out every step in video production, start to finish.

2. Production: the actual day(s) of filming and capturing your video content. If you're working with a video production company, they'll show up with their video production equipment, camera and lighting setup, and professional microphones. If you're doing this on your own, you'll need to use the best equipment you have.

3. Post-Production: taking the video content and using post-production techniques and video editing tools to turn the raw footage into a final product. This phase often takes the longest amount of time, so just be prepared to be patient.

4. Implementation: this is when the rubber hits the road. Your videos get released into the world, and your plan goes into action. You strategically post, place, and pin your video(s) into the appropriate places in your digital ecosystem.

Easy right? Now let's dig a little deeper into each phase.

1. Pre-Production:

Ta-da! The most important video production phase. Planning, planning, and lots of planning. Get out a notebook, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and dive deep into answering these questions.

• WHO is this video for?

• WHY am I making it? What is the purpose? Ex: build more trust, convert leads on a landing page, automate tasks, etc.

• WHERE is it going to go? The information you're trying to get is, which format will it be in? 19:6? 6:19? Both?

• WHAT shots do I need to get? Map out the video from start to finish. You'll need to brainstorm quite a bit, get creative, and try to picture each moment of the video. You'll want to write/draw it out, scene by scene, exactly what happens with video, audio, lighting, music, or anything else. This is called a shotlist.

• HOW am I going to accomplish this? (how will you get the shots you want?)

• What video equipment or extra supplies will I need? Make a list.

• What music will I use? Plan the video to match the music.

• And, how is this video going to be on-brand? Is your brand funny, relatable, and welcoming? Then how is this video going to show that? For more info, check out our blog post about How Video Production Communicates Your Brand.

Make sure you thoroughly answer each of these questions. By the end of the Pre-Production Process, you should have a deep understanding of every aspect of this video you're creating.

2. Production:

Now that you're armed with a solid plan, it's time to set out to capture your video content. Of course, you'll want to already know the basics for your video production. If you want your video to stand out and look more professional, you'll want to learn the basics of content creation. We highly recommend Anthony Gallo's "14-Day Filmmaker" course. (No commission, we just genuinely like it). Other than that, you'll want to just remember these important rules for production day:

• Get the perfect shot. Don't say; "I can fix it in my video editing software!". Believe us- this will make your life a living nightmare down the road. Just take the time and effort to get the right shot, while your setup is all there.

• Follow your shot list and make sure you get every one.

• Leave some time for creativity. We've captured some pretty amazing, unexpected shots by leaving time for just playing around outside of what we wanted to capture on the shot list. This leaves space for that artistic magic, and 9 times out of 10, we actually end up using that footage in the final product!

At this point in time, all of the heavy lifting is done. Time to move onto your next phase!

3. Post-Production:

For the 3rd phase in the video production process, rev up your video editing software and upload your media! It's time to sort through your video content and start forming your video. Follow these simple editing steps for a smooth flow:

• First, gather all your videos and begin sorting through them. Decide which takes were the best. Delete the ones (from your editor, not your video storage) that don't make the cut. At this phase, you'll be skimming out 95% of the footage you captured. Take into account lighting, exposure, audio, and any good little moments that happened. Make decisions based on the plan you originally set out to follow. Be ruthless.

• Next, trim down your videos and cut out any places that are unnecessary. This is a long process, so be patient.

• Add your music- you'll begin to see the video taking shape.

• Add your B-roll (complimentary video footage)

• Cut out anymore unnecessary spots in the video.

• Add any graphics, transitions, special effects, or text that you'll want.

• Once again, cut out any unnecessary moments in the video that are going to distract from the main message or make your audience lose interest. You want the video to be engaging, intentional and purposeful. Every frame should have a reason for being there.

• Do any tweaks, and then you're finished! 🎉

Phewf. Now you've gotten to the starting line 😉

4. Implementation:

Congratulations! You've made it to the final phase of the video production process. Do not get lazy with this step, though. This is where your video marketing strategy comes into play.

Now's the time for you to use your video(s). Go back to your plan you made, and make sure you understand the most strategic way to use your video.

Check out this blog post for a complete guide on how to use a branding video. (Not for social media videos).

Basically, you want to ask yourself these questions:

• Where can I put this video?

• Where does it make sense to post this video? (Where is my target demographic or biggest raving fans hanging out?)

• How can I post this video so that it looks good? (different platforms have different size requirements for videos. Research the platform size requirements before posting, otherwise your video could completely flop 😬). You hopefully created the right size of videos though, because you did your planning and research in the pre-production phase, and that's a part of that. Refer to this blog post here for a guide to size requirements for each platform in 2024.

• Am I running ads with my video? If so, please please do your research on investing in paying for ads before you go head first into it. It's really easy to waste money if you're DIY'ing it. We recommend hiring a reputable marketing agency to help you if you have the budget for it.

• Make good COPY for your video! Sometimes if you pick a horrible way to introduce the video, no one will care. Harsh, but true. Pick a good, catchy hook for your video that you can imagine will pique people's curiosity.

Summary:

It's hard to keep up with marketing in 2024, but video will forever be a great way to communicate a message, connect with an audience, build trust, and encourage conversions.

Investing time and resources into video is a great investment, especially for the longterm. And it's 100% worth it. Especially if you follow the right steps.

BUT: If you've read this and you've thought, "Aw heck, I don't want to do all that myself, I don't have the time," then you can always consider hiring a video production company to come in and do it for you. Soon we'll have a blog post covering how much video production costs, so you can begin to budget for it.

Otherwise, happy planning, capturing, editing and implementing!

Stay Awesome. 🎥