thought, inc.

The phase of the video project that many clients think of as exciting and glamorous is actually known as the Production phase. On the other side of the coin, the Director, crew, and talent often find this phase stressful because they understand that it is their efforts that give life to the project. This is where the rubber meets the road and the project takes on a life of its own.

Production Coordination

After the video project has been greenlighted, the locations/sets/props/etc. that were identified during pre-production need to be locked down and scheduled. This is the process of coordinating the video production, also commonly called scheduling. It is simply making sure that the places are available at specific times and that the people are going to be there at the same time. Although it sounds simple, the larger the video production, the more complicated it becomes. Production Coordination is the official start of the Production phase of the video project.

Principle Photography

By far, Principle Photography is the most attractive and exciting phase of the entire process—ironically, it is also the shortest and most expensive phase. To maximize efficiency and minimize the budget impact, all the work of Pre-Production is now put to work during Principle Photography. This phase is highly organized and not a minute is wasted. The shooting script and shot list help keep the momentum going during Principle Photography. Most clients enjoy seeing all of the action and excitement of their video’s Principle Photography being shot. Once the Principle Photography phase is complete, the project is considered “wrapped” or finished. This is where the phrase “that’s a wrap” comes from.

Re-shoot

Occasionally after the video project has been wrapped, the director may find the need to re-shoot a scene. When this happens, it is simply referred to a re-shoot.

Pick Ups

To add visual interest or fill the audience in on a detail not mentioned in the dialogue, pick up shots are used. These are usually shot after the video project’s Principle Photography is complete, however, they are occasionally worked into the Principle Photography schedule. Pick Up shots rarely involve dialogue, but frequently do show the talent engaging in some activity.

B-Roll Photography

The term, coined by early television editors, refers to non-talent shots that are intercut with action and dialogue shots to add visual interest and further clarify the dialogue. B-Roll is never shot during Principle Photography because it doesn’t require the talent to be on-screen.

Audio

All of the audio for the production is recorded during the Production Phase of the video project. On-Screen dialogue is obviously recorded during Principle Photography. If audio is recorded independently of the video, it is kept in sync with the cameras by the use of synchronized time code. It is far more common to a sound recording technician to record the sound directly onto the video itself. The later prevents the audio and video from ever getting out of sync.

Voice-Over and ADR

After Principle Photography, other audio recording is usually needed. Voice-Overs are the most commonly done post-wrap audio recordings. They are effective tools for storytelling and off-camera dialogue. ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording or Automated Dialogue Replacement) may also be needed. ADR is achieved by allowing the talent to watch a loop of their performance while recording replacement audio for a specific take. It is a time-consuming process and most prefer to avoid it if possible.

Sound Effects

Without sound effects, video productions sound empty or flat. There are two main types of effects, Sound Effects and Foley Effects. Sound effects are the more dramatic of the two, and usually involve sounds that most of the audience aren’t familiar with (EG lasers in film Star Wars). Foley Effects, on the other hand, are sounds that are very familiar to the audience (EG footsteps). Without Foley Effects, the audience would have the sense that something was missing but couldn’t quite explain what it was. That’s because sets and locations are often enhanced or changed to look like an entirely different place—A room that is supposed to have hard-wood floors, may have been shot on a sound-stage with a concrete floor painted to look like wood. The sound of footsteps on concrete is far different than the sound of footsteps on hard-woods. Foley Effects artists are experts in creating a truly believable sound to match what is happening on-screen.

After all the video and audio have been acquired, the Production phase of the video project is completed and post-production begins.