If the various studies out there are proven to be accurate, there’s no better form of marketing to catch the attention of the online consumer than video. More than half of consumers say they would prefer to view a video production over any other type of advertising content.

How can you create stunning videos to capture the attention of your viewers? You’ll need to familiarize yourself with the three main stages of video production. Read on, and we’ll walk you through everything you need to know.

Pre-Production

There is no one “perfect” video out there. The video your business needs at this moment to get ahead will depend on a variety of circumstances. Determining what these needs are and how best to capture them is the core of the first stage of video production: pre-production.

Pre-production covers any actions that take place before the actual shooting of the video. It’s a lot of planning, discussing, and logistics and the success of your eventual video will depend on a lot of hard work done in this space.

First and foremost, you’ll need to decide what you hope to get out of the particular video or videos you’re planning to make. Are you trying to attract brand new customers, advertise a sale or special, or highlight a specific product or service?

You need to settle on your goal before you can land on the best way to go about getting the (visual) word out.

Once you’ve settled on a concrete goal and feel good about it, it’s time to start brainstorming how best to get this information across to a viewer. Maybe you can create an informative vlog or webinar that can inform the viewer on a subject your business deals in.

Maybe a quick and attractive commercial spot can get the word out about your business and help to create brand awareness.

Coming up with the right video concept can take a lot of time, work, and debate. Once you settle on an idea, there’s still much more work to be done before you can yell ‘action!’

Planning The Shoot

With the right video concept in hand, you’ll have the hard work behind you. But you still need to put some elbow grease into making that idea happen.

Consider all the logistic factors of your shoot: what location will you use to shoot in? You might be able to shoot in your own business, a backroom, or you may need to rent a studio space.

What equipment do you plan on using? You’ll need a camera of some sort, but you also might need lights, microphones, a tripod, and other such video equipment. The exact equipment you’ll need to gather will depend on the video concept you’ve come up with.

Consider the schedule: how long will your video take to shoot? It’s best to always plan a little more extra time than you need just in case. Ensure that all who you intend to work on the video will be available during the time you’ve set up.

Think about how the video itself will be shot. Are you planning on using multiple shots or one simple vlog-type setup? If you’re doing many different angles and shots, you might want to storyboard your video ahead of time.

Putting it on paper in this way will help get everyone involved on the same page.

Production and Shooting the Video

The second stage of the production process is just that: production. This is where all of your hard work will come together in the actual shooting of the video.

Gather all of the elements you’ve worked on in pre-production and make your video happen! As you’re putting the video together, you’re likely to run into problems. A key collaborator might oversleep and run late, some piece of equipment might malfunction.

Some elements of the video you’re making might not come off the way you intended. Try to keep calm during these inevitable issues and work to solve them or make a new plan.

Don’t feel the need to put your head down and power through without taking the time to fix problems that arise.

Post-Production

The very last stage of the production process is post-production. This is where you’ll take the raw footage you captured in the production stage of the process and turn them into the final video.

You’ll need to use editing software to do this. Most professionals use a program like Final Cut X or Adobe Premiere Pro.

Arrange the video clips in the program in the order you want them. This is the time to add any music or titles as you see fit. If there are certain parts of the video that didn’t quite work, you can cut them out.

It’s best to keep your video short and tight, so cut out excess fat or moments that feel slow or uninteresting. Shorter content tends to do better online than longer content. Show your video to other individuals and get notes on what feels like it is working and what doesn’t.

Once you’re done editing, you can export your video and get it online for the world to see!

A Crash Course in Video Production

If you want to capture the attention of consumers online, you’ll need to get into the world of video. The above information can help inform you about the stages of video production if you were unaware of how the process worked.

Need help creating video content for your brand or business? Give us a call anytime for assistance.