Benefits of Pre-Production in the Video Production Process

Pre-production is an essential part of the video production process. It involves the prep work that will make your video look the best. Many people think of pre-production as the time when you’re creating video assets, but this process is much more involved than that.

The Video Production Process: What is Pre-Production?

Pre-production is the first step in the video production process. During this stage, you’re defining the scope of your video and making decisions about what you want your final product to look like. This is when you’re creating the storyboard and creating the assets you’ll need to shoot your video.

It is also the time when you’re determining who your target audience is and what tone you want to create in your video. You’re also thinking about the production of the video and making decisions about your video camera, lighting, audio, script, cast, and more. All these decisions will impact the final product, so it’s essential to get them right early in the process.

Benefits of Pre-Production

Pre-production is the first step in the video production process. When you plan ahead for the process, you’re able to share your vision with the team so they can execute it with the highest level of quality. Here are only a few of the ways pre-production can help you with video production:

Allows Your Team to Outline the Video Production Process

Outlining the video production process can help your team members visualize what they need to do and break down a project into smaller pieces. By defining the steps, everyone will know what they need to do.

Also, pre-planning the process means you’re able to better plan for any unforeseen circumstances that might arise. This prevents any last-minute scrambling and ensures you’re able to meet your deadline.

Saves Time During Production

The pre-production process can also save your team a lot of time during the actual production process. Since everyone knows what they need to do, they can work more efficiently. This means you’ll get your video produced faster, so you can get it in front of your audience faster.

Keeps You on Budget

Finally, pre-production allows you to keep your budget under control. Since you know exactly what you need to create, you’ll be able to keep your total cost down. This means you can invest that money in other areas. Once you’ve put in the time and money to create a great product, it will be well worth it, and the investment will pay off.

7 Steps of Video Pre-Production

There are many steps to getting a video out the door when it comes to video production. It takes a lot of pre-production work to get a video from conception to completion. Here are the seven steps you need to take before you’re ready to hit record.

1. Script Breakdown

Scripting is part of pre-production and allows you to think about your video’s purpose, tone, and audience. This also enables you to think about your script and the best way to tell your story.

Script breakdowns happen early in the pre-production process. During this stage, you’re breaking down your script into smaller sections. You’re also defining your video’s purpose, tone, and audience. This allows you to think about the best way to tell your story.

2. Setting of Budget

Setting a budget is also part of pre-production. This is the first step in planning your video and knowing exactly where to invest your money.

3. Creating a Production Schedule

Creating a production schedule is the next step in pre-production. When creating your production schedule, you create a blueprint for your video. You’ll know exactly what steps to take and when. This is especially important if you’re on a tight production schedule. You’ll be able to execute a plan you’re able to follow and get your video out the door faster.

4. Crew Assembly

With a plan in place, it’s time to start assembling your crew. You’ll be putting together the people responsible for executing your plan during this stage. This includes everyone from the director and editor to the sound, composer, and graphics team. You’ll be able to create the perfect team and ensure your video is produced correctly.

5. Visual Breakdowns

When it comes to video production, visuals are essential. During this stage, you’ll be laying out the visuals for your video, making sure they’re in line with the script. This ensures everything is connected and helps keep your focus on the script.

6. Casting

At this point, you’ll have an outline of your video. It’s time to start casting. You’ll be sourcing the best talent for your video during this stage. This means finding the right people to help bring your story to life.

Casting happens throughout the entire production process, and it’s essential to keep going until you find the best fit for each role you have. You want to make sure everyone on set is committed to making your video the best it can be.

7. Rehearsals

The final step in the pre-production process is your video rehearsals. This can take on many different forms, all of which depend on the format of your final video.

For example, if you’re shooting a video that will be illustrated, rehearsals will likely only involve script readings to help the actors get into the right headspace. However, if you’re shooting a traditional video, rehearsals will likely involve camera blocking, lighting, and sound.

Rehearsals are essential because they allow you to run through all the steps of your production plan and make any edits necessary. Rehearsals also give you a chance to tweak your script and get everyone on the same page, so you’re not wasting time in production.