The pre-production process is absolutely critical to any successful video shoot. It is during this stage that your production team formulates a plan for the video to ensure it meets your goals, caters to your audience and goes smoothly on the day of filming. It might be tempting to rush through pre-production to get to the “exiting stuff,” but here’s why you shouldn’t.
Why pre-production matters
Like all aspects of marketing,
video production
should always be done on a solid foundation of research and planning to ensure that the final product is useable and high-quality. Without preparation, how will you know what you’re creating and putting out into the world? Viewers can tell when a video project is rushed—especially if that video doesn’t use the right tone or message. Pre-production helps mitigate these issues.
Perhaps most importantly, pre-production ensures that your team is taking every step necessary to make your video fit your marketing goals. Without the pre-planning, you won’t be able to perfect the strategy and messaging you’ll use to tailor the video to the right audience, the call to action or the return on investment.
Pre-production elements and their uses
The video pre-production process encompasses many steps, from the very first hint of an idea to setting the schedules for hired actors and camera crews. Here are some of the key pre-production elements and why they are so important to get right.
• Research and goal setting:
The first step in any video production project is
research
to understand the “who” and “why” of your video. Identifying the target audience and the purpose for your video usually requires research into data and analytics for your brand, as well as trending ideas or opportunities in your industry. Then, determine how the video will fit into your overall marketing goals and what the specific goals for the video will be.
• Budget:
Every video production needs a budget. Setting one early will ensure you set aside enough money to pay for equipment, location, actors, music and any post-production work needed. Without a budget, the costs for a shoot could get unwieldly!
• Concept development:
With a better understanding of your video targets and budget, you can begin formulating a more specific idea for the
creative concept. What will the video entail, what video format will it take (live footage, stock footage, animation, etc.) and what will the storyline be? This is where you gather potential ideas and turn them a solid one that guides the rest of the video preparation process.
• Script and storyboarding:
Whether your video requires dialogue, voiceover or just music and sound effects, you’ll want to create a script and a storyboard to depict the exact vision of your video. Too many companies gloss over this step, thinking it will all come together during the shoot, but later realize that they didn’t get the high-quality takes or specific shots they needed. Spend time on the script to make sure it uses the right tone and message for your audience and include all the crucial shots in your storyboard to create the perfect composition.
• Final production prep:
With a concept, storyboard, script and goals in place, the final pre-production steps can begin, including sourcing a location, hiring actors, sourcing equipment and preparing a shoot timeline. Taking care while completing these things will ensure that everything goes smoothly the day of the shoot and that your entire team is prepared to produce a great video in the end.
Failing to prepare the early elements of a video project can leave your team disjointed and without a clear goal. If your brand needs guidance when preparing a video project,
say hello
to the experts at Spin Creative!
About Us
Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.
