OC Creative’s Guide to Getting it Right, No Matter the Project – Part 2

by Justin Difazzio

2. Three Stages of Success: Nailing the Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production.

After we’ve got a solid foundation in place for a project, it’s time to start producing. Well, maybe not quite yet. Let’s use a standard OC video again as an example. We break video production into pre-production, production, and post-production, with the emphasis on pre-production. When you’ve shot as many videos as we have, you learn that more planning, better structure, and specific branding guidelines allow for a better final product, one that is more efficient in message and cost and can be done with minimal edits.

Pre-Production

So let’s look at the most often undervalued step of the process: pre-production. What exactly does pre-production entail? Everything from writing the script to storyboarding to location scouting to figuring out what equipment you’ll need is undertaken in this stage. We put an emphasis on this stage of the project, talking with clients and the production team to ensure that the next stage—production—runs smoothly. And why do we work this way? Well, we’ve discovered that when the message is concise, when the amount of reshooting and editing is decreased, when everyone is informed and in agreement, when we know the channels of distribution, not only is the final product better, but the cost is lower as well. The less time it takes to get it right, the higher your returns will be, since time is money.

Production

After the ever-important work of pre-production is squared away, we’re ready to move on to production. With a solid plan from above, this should be one of the easier steps of the process. From the first call of “action” to the final “cut,” our video team is there to find the right shot to tell the story you need told. We bring professional direction and the ability to know when we’ve “got it,” whether that is insane action, B-roll footage, sound bites for interviews, or the perfect angle for an establishing shot. Our bag of tricks includes lighting and sound equipment, cameras and drones, and the people to get it done. All of these things combine with the planning of pre-production to make magic happen.

Post-Production

After the shots are in the can, we tweak that magic to look and sound even better. This is the bulk of the post-production work. Our editors take the interviews, the drone footage, the music, and the action, and they tailor these elements to suit the message established in pre-production. Motion graphics, animation, sound effects, and anything required are added and tweaked before the final product is reviewed. If there are changes to make (which, if enough care was taken in the pre-production stage, shouldn’t be too drastic), the content is revisited and polished until it’s perfect. After that, the project is released into the wild where it can thrive, spread, and start bringing you a return on your initial investment.

Conclusion

Having now taken a peak behind the curtain to see the three stages of success we bring to every client project, know that with the right talent and the right ideas from your creative team, all of the above should be seamless and look simple from the your perspective.

Have an idea for your next project? We’ve got a team of bright and talented vigilantes of creativity who would love to show you how we could bring that idea to life. Let’s get building on that foundation and produce something we can all be proud of!