Creative

We all love to hear a great story, but media is also created to elicit a response. This gravity holds together a media project’s requirements. The message and tone of the story is usually conceived first in a development meeting. Once this is complete, a breakdown will be developed. In documentary-style productions, the breakdown may take the form of an outline with questions for interviews, sourced video or photo content, and descriptions of graphics. Ultimately, the editor will shape this type of story in post-production.

Determining factors for physical production and the budget will depend on how many cameras need to be operated, how sound will be recorded, how the location will be photographed and designed, whether production insurance is required, and if permits need to be obtained. Documentary, news and small video productions typically operate with skeleton crews of two to three people, depending what needs to be photographed in a given time frame and at what scale or production value. With the blueprints of the shoot finalized, one can begin scheduling talent, and booking equipment, if needed. Call sheets or email notifications are sent to personnel attending a shoot, and detail when and where they need to be. At least an hour of setup time is standard for running cables, prelighting, and camera and audio setup.

Once the video and assets are obtained, a rough assembly of the project will be cut, including temp music, mock ups of graphics, and voice over audio. This assembly is then reviewed with the client for content. When feedback is in, a final cut is edited with completed graphics, lower thirds and music. On approval, the project is transcoded to a high quality version for backup and a web version for publishing.