Marketing Videos 101: How the Video Production Process Works

Every stunningly produced corporate video you’ve seen is the result of a meticulous video production process. Contrary to what some may believe, producing a corporate video isn’t as easy as hitting record on your camera. There’s a lengthy process that goes on behind the scenes to help bring a business’s vision to life. Of course, the exact process will vary a little depending on the style and type of content required. But generally, there’s a basic video production methodology that all professional producers tend to follow. 

At Kartoffel Films, we’ve got years of experience producing promotional videos for both well-established and growing businesses. We’ve learned a lot along the way and developed an efficient process to deliver a range of high-quality videos. 

Curious as to how we get to our end result? We’ve detailed all our steps for a behind-the-scenes look into how the corporate video production process works. 

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But first things first:

You must kick off the video production process with a detailed creative brief. This brief should include your objectives and information on your target audience, brand tone and personality, and key messages you want to land. You should also specify your budget, deadline, and required deliverables.

Back to the process –– let’s start by breaking it down into stages. Video production is made up of three main stages: pre-production, production, and post-production, as illustrated in the video production process flow chart below:

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 Read on for a better idea of what to expect in each phase of the process: 

Pre-Production 

At Kartoffel Films, we kick off all video creation with a pre-production phase. Now, this could very well be seen as the most important stage of the process. It’s the planning stage and is all about preparing and organizing everything for the impending production. 

We’ll look at the business’s brief in great detail during this period and decide what is needed. We’ll organize ourselves ahead of time so the production phase can be focussed purely on content creation. 

Pre-production can include the following steps:

• Taking a closer look at the objectives and developing a strategy to meet them
• Breaking down the budget to make the best use of it and ensure everything is covered
• Picking a narrative that conveys the product or brand message in a way that will resonate with the target audience (and, most importantly, make sense!)
• Concepting and storyboarding
• Developing a timeline of the project 
• Developing a script if requested
• Selecting the talent if there are any characters in the story
• Scouting for the best locations to film in 
• Deciding the production team
• Lining up the equipment required to bring the vision to life.

Pre-production is the stage where most discussions happen around the project. This is the correct stage in the process for the producer to ask a business all the necessary questions. Your production team will likely hold an initial meeting to discuss your objectives for the video. Within this meeting, be prepared to answer any specific questions around the brief, including more details about your brand personality, tone of voice, and target audience. You don’t need to have all the answers, but the more information you can share about your business, the better.

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Next, your production company will hold a pre-production meeting, where details such as the timeline, narrative, and location specifics will be finalised. It is helpful to have a representative from your business at this meeting, even if it’s just over the phone. 

At the end of the pre-production phase, a professional company should have a finalised script and story, approved by all stakeholders. They should also have a schedule in place, with all locations booked and equipment ready. Time to start filming! 

Production 

Quite literally, this is when producers actually start to produce. The production phase involves filming all the necessary footage for your corporate video content. 

Now, if all the steps in the pre-production process have been followed, the production stage itself should go off without a hitch. A professional video production company will spend this time capturing all the footage required to bring your brand or product story to life. 

The production phase can include the following: 

• Setting up all the sound, filming, and lighting equipment 
• Capturing all footage
• Conducting any interviews
• Recording any voice-overs
• Producing any animation

This is the stage where you can sit back and put your faith in your producer’s creative talent.

One of the most vital parts of the production stage is filming the b-roll. B-roll footage is extra footage of your premises, company, and any additional facilities. These shots enrich your video’s storyline, as they establish the context behind your video and support your video’s narrative arc. They give you more flexibility in the final editing stages because you can pick and choose from a greater variety of clips to include in the final edit. These images will add another dimension to your video, further immersing your audience in the story you want to tell about your brand.

Remote Video Production

In an increasingly changing working world, we know how much our clients value flexible working methods. That’s why we provide a 100% remote option for our clients, where they can produce content with just their laptop or phone. The PPM (Pre-Production Meetings) can be done over Zoom or Teams, followed by e-mail summaries that assign actions and detail progress. Our clients can virtually log into the set and oversee the shoot so they’re in control throughout the whole production process. In the final editing stages, we send our clients a Frame io-link where they can review the edit and provide feedback.

Post-Production 

Finally, we’ve got the post-production phase. This is when we edit together all the various parts we’ve filmed into one video. The video producer and editor work closely together to review footage and organize all elements into a coherent narrative. The final piece should convey the necessary brand and product messages while also telling an engaging story for your audience.

Post-production usually involves: 

• Reviewing all footage including any interviews
• Editing all the elements into one story 
• Selecting background music 
• Editing down to the required length
• Getting final approvals 

Post-production can be a lengthy part of the process that many businesses don’t expect. At Kartoffel Films, we’re always transparent with our timelines and will clarify how much editing time we’ll need at the pre-production stage. If you’re looking for a quicker turnaround, extra staff can be brought in to help speed up the editing process. 

A key part of the post-production process will be getting input and approval from your business. You’ll receive an edit of the video once it’s all been put together. Get all the key stakeholders to review and provide any changes to the producer in one go. Once these edits are made, you’ll get a final version of the video to approve. Keep in mind that multiple rounds of edits may not be available within your budget, so discuss this beforehand. 

Finally, your video will be delivered to you in the formats and specifications of the deliverables listed within the brief. You’ll also receive a full-length version that you can use for future edits.

Animated Video Content

If you’re looking for a format and style perfect at breaking down difficult concepts into digestible chunks of information, you might want to consider animation. Just like live-action, the initial stages of animated video content are all about the scripts and storyboards, but in more detail. Here at Kartoffel Films, we send our scripts with moodboards, which are select frames communicating the intended style, character design, colour palette, and backdrops. Once the script and moodboard have been finalised, we can commence with developing a storyboard. This is a comic book version of the eventual animation, giving you a stronger understanding of the overall look, pacing, structure, visual storytelling, and messaging. Following the sign-off of the script and storyboard, we can start the animation. If applicable, a temporary voiceover track will accompany the animation. The final version will include all of the final audio elements, such as the voiceover, music tracks, and sound effects.

Due to the more intricate planning stages, animated video content does take longer to produce. We can help you choose between live-action and animated footage, and show you the different costs for both formats. As a result, you can make an informed decision about which layout is best for your business goals and budget.

Conclusion

Every production company may adopt a slightly different video production methodology, but the phases listed above offer a glimpse into the process that most follow. 

For any business looking for corporate video production, it helps to have an understanding of what to expect once you’ve submitted your brief. Greater awareness of the production process will also help you understand when is best for you to provide your input and sit back and trust the producers to do their creative best.

At Kartoffel Films, we’ve worked on over 2000 video productions across a range of sectors. Take a look at our showreel for some examples. We pride ourselves on our ability to create engaging and compelling content for a diverse set of audiences. Get in touch to find out how we can help you with your production needs.