An Overview Of The Video Post-Production Process
Having a video made for you by a content production company, but do not know what to expect? Here is an overview of the process from start to finish.
Timing Cut
Everything starts with a timing cut. The editor will likely take still images from the board and place them into their editorial timeline, then record the voice-over or dialogue themselves to get a good idea about the overall length of the video. This can be a good way to review the initial boards you provide to know if the video is going too long in places or is simply not working in others. Now is even a good time to make changes to the script before production begins.
Rough Cut
The next step after production is to start the rough cut. This is a very unpolished version of the video that simply gets all of the elements into it. There may not be the best take from the production, the graphics will likely be simple text titles, and there will likely be several music options that are not final. This will give you a good idea of what the video is shaping up to be before much work is done on it.
Refined Cut
You'll be working with the editor to make a more refined cut based on the feedback given from the rough cut. You may say that you are not liking the music they selected or a certain take from the production for live-action scenes. Everything will gradually become more refined over time, including inserting the final graphics.
You are typically given a set number of rounds of revisions so that you can present a version to your stakeholders and get the necessary feedback to continue finishing the video. It is important to get concise feedback so that you do not have to make unnecessary changes down the road. The goal is to refine the cut until everything is finished except for color correction and audio.
Finishing
Once you have approval on your refined cut, the video will go into the finishing process. The picture will be considered locked, so now the editor can take the time to color correct all of the final footage that made it into the video. This saves time on a very time-consuming process that requires having each shot locked down so that it can be matched to the color of the scene before and after it. The audio track will also receive a final mix where the levels of the music, dialogue, and sound effects are balanced so that they sound great together.
The final video will then be presented for your approval. If everything looks good, the content production company will move on to creating the deliverable file formats for your uses.
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