Layperson’s Guide (to Working with a Video Production Company)

A Layperson’s Guide (to Working with a Video Production Company)

Congratulations! Your palms are sweaty, you can't sleep at night, and your cat doesn't recognize you anymore - telltale signs that you are finally about to bite the bullet and enter the mysterious world of multimedia production. Your cousin Harry says it's a "piece of cake," and your niece in film school says she'll help out in her spare time. GOOD LUCK!!

Now that you've taken the plunge (or been pushed), how and where do you begin? Whether you are planning a program for education, training, promotion, research, motivation, recruitment or fundraising, creating a media program can be very frustrating without the proper preparation. Believe us, it's not as easy as you think it is or want it to be!

To help demystify the process, we'd like to pass along some basic information which has been useful in the past to clients developing their first video programs. There's really no magic formula to producing a successful program, only a lot of hard work which draws on experience, creativity, and common sense.

So, how do you proceed when you feel there's so much you still don't understand? There are several critical issues you as a client must consider when working with a multimedia producer and/or a production company. Those issues include:

• budget range
• stylistic approach
• time frame
• approval process
• understanding the entire production process
• distribution possibilities

Without doubt, the most common question a Multimedia Producer is asked

by potential clients is "How much do you charge to produce an X-minute program?" Budget is ALWAYS a major factor when considering whether to produce some media content. In our 20+ years in the business we have NEVER heard a potential client mention that their budget was unlimited and that we could do whatever we felt like to create the program in question!

However, it is practically impossible for a Producer or Production Company to quote a dollar figure for your production without first knowing some specific information. A good Producer will help you to figure this out in a step-by-step process by asking a series of questions which will help you to flesh out your idea and make it more concrete. This is a good way to "find out what you need to find out" before you proceed with spending a lot of money.

The Producer's job is to "manage" the production by balancing the client's vision, hopes, time frame and budget into one "creative stew" which will accomplish their goals. In the past, we have produced videos which have cost $2,500, and some which cost $80,000. The difference lies in the specific conditions within the project.

For example, a 5 minute video could cost anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000! Why? The budget depends on many different program elements. Do you want helicopter footage of the Amazon River? Are there hundreds of actors re-creating the scenes from "Ben-Hur"? Do you want 6 camera crews standing by to capture the implosion of a building? Or, do you want original music composed for a 40-piece orchestra?

On the other hand, you may simply be interested in documenting a 2 day training session for insurance reps. Or, maybe you simply want a record of Dr. Jones making a speech at a local conference of health professionals? Whatever the case, it is a Producer’s job to help you understand the cost implications of each decision you make about your program. The clearer you can be about the details of your project, the closer you are to an answer for "How much is this going to cost?"

Stylistic approach simply refers to the ‘look’ and ‘style’ of your program. Do you want a straightforward documentary approach to a subject? An MTV-style music video? A dramatic piece with actors and sets? Or something which needs to air on national or cable TV? Certain styles fit better with different types of programming. When considering these styles, bear in mind your audience. What would be appropriate for them?

You wouldn’t be likely to develop a fast-paced MTV-video for a corporate sales meeting, or use character animation for a school recruitment video. You might also avoid using elderly people to talk to young school children about the dangers of drugs. But, all of these decisions are up to you and your video team. You want to balance creativity with effectively communicating your message.

Being clear about these options will help you to flesh out the program’s content, and will also help you to begin thinking of all the necessary pre-production steps to take. Also bear in mind that each approach has budgetary and time limitations.

Another factor equal in importance to the budget is a clear understanding of the time frame needed to create a program. In many cases, you will be working toward a specific deadline for the completion of your video. For example, you might be unveiling a new product at the big trade show on April 12th. Your video will serve to introduce all of the regional salespeople to this wonderful new product. Delivering the video in May won’t do you any good. In fact, even delivering it on April 13^th isn’t likely to go over very well.

So, how can you figure out how long it will take to complete a video production? It’s actually a fairly straightforward process, and one you likely use in other areas of your work. It makes the most sense to assign a period of time to each step involved in the video production process, and then to work backward from your deadline. For example, the last phase in the process would be delivery of video copies to the client. The step before that would be the duplication and any packaging necessary for distribution. Before that is the final editing. And so on. Some steps may only take a day or so. Some may take 2-3 weeks.

If figuring through this process actually allows you enough time to complete all of the necessary stages of finishing the video, you are in good shape. But, in those cases where you run out of time before you even finish the editing phase, then you could be in trouble…!

You might also be wondering how you can or should know all of the stages involved in creating a video if you’ve never done it before. Ta-Da! Your friendly, local video producer comes to the rescue! It can often be a good idea to hire an experienced producer for a half-day or so of his or her time to look at your budget and timeline, and give you some feedback about any needed changes. This is money very well invested.

In most cases, this person can save you a lot of grief, effort (and money) by pointing out issues you may not have considered, or allocated incorrect time for. And, you now have this information as your own for any future projects.

Sometimes, you will come to the hard realization that you aren’t able to do your planned video due to a lack of adequate budget or timeframe. This can be more painful to learn AFTER you’ve begun your project and been forced to ask for more time and money… and been refused!

"Too many cooks spoil the broth" is a more appropriate phrase to consider here than ‘the more the merrier.’ It’s always a good idea to solicit input from people when creating something as definitive as a video. But, it’s also important to set limits on the amount and type of input you feel is valuable.

We suggest you pick one or two people closest to the project to act as the "approval team". These would be people who are essentially content experts about your topic, and will have the time and availability to meet periodically to approve such things as scripts, outlines, interview subjects and video drafts. For those other folks whose intentions may be good, but who you realistically cannot include in all decision-making, you may want to provide a "window of opportunity" period to make suggestions before that window closes. Or, have a large brainstorming session where everyone’s ideas can be aired and written down. But, keep in mind that including everyone’s point of view, hopes and political statements may lead to an incoherent and lengthy program which will not meet your program’s goals.

The video team should be those best qualified to make decisions in a timely and decisive manner. In addition, it is always wise to assign ONE person as the main liaison between the client and the video producer to keep things moving smoothly and consistently. When too many people get involved in the decision-making loop, chaos is usually the result!

Remind yourself that this is the only way to do things efficiently if you are going to stay within AND meet your deadline!

Now that you’ve nailed down the issues mentioned above, it’s time to put it all together into an entertaining and informative video program. Before you begin, you might find it helpful to understand how the production process works, and in what order things usually happen. We typically break down each production into four phases:

In the Pre-Production Phase representatives of the client

and the producer meet to identify and finalize all program elements such as research and scripting needs, a stylistic "look" for the program, the need for actors and/or sets, the selection of those people and locations to appear in the video, identifying special graphical elements such as animation or photo-animation, determining the need for narration and music, any travel needs, and overall program length. Once these issues have been clarified, the producer can then develop an itemized Production Budget and Project Timeline to be submitted to the client for approval.

At this point many different things can happen, such as acceptance of the proposal and progressing to the signing of a contract, a revision of the budget and timeline, a delay of the project to wait for additional funding, or rejection of the proposal outright.

Once a proposal is accepted by the client, a Production Schedule is created in consultation with many people. This will translate all of the elements in the desired final program into days of production. Most programs require 2-4 days of production, but of course, there are always exceptions.

The Production Phase is the actual videotaping of the program segments over a period of days. This can be done locally or in another city, in a studio, office or outside on location. This will occur with a selected video crew and with varying types of equipment. The specific crew and equipment needs, and the amount of days required for videotaping will have been determined during the pre-production phase.

The client should be present for some if not all of the Production Phase in case any last minute questions or issues arise. This is also the phase where the majority of the project budget is spent. Once this phase is completed, there are still many more steps required to shape the footage into the final product.

In The Post-Production Phase all of your footage is then copied, edited and ‘shaped’ into its final form in a series of stages which may take several weeks. You will have a choice whether to edit your tape in an Analog video suite or a Digital Suite. At David Smith Productions, we have made practically a complete transition to Digital video because of the time and money savings it offers over Analog video. We use the Media 100 Desktop System from Data Translations – it’s a wonderfully compact yet powerful system which creates some of the nicest looking programming we’ve ever seen! But, no matter what format you select for your post-production phase, it’s a long road moving from raw footage to a polished, final program. Some of these steps include:

• Copy your original footage to protect it, and then work with those copies until the final edit stage. If something goes wrong and you accidentally destroy a tape copy – no problem! You can always make a new copy from the original footage.

• Log your footage and transcribe any interviews you might have in your . This will inform you of exactly everything you have and where it is.

• The rough edit process – This is usually the longest single phase of assembling your Program. It may take a few days, weeks or even a few months.

• Selecting Narration, Music, Graphics, Transitions, Titles, Credits, Animation. These can lend your program a professional polish.

• Copying your final Program Edit - You’ve just spent months of hard work and a lot of money to create your masterpiece, but what if something happens to it? Having a copy will allow you to sleep easier at night…

The Distribution Phase - In many cases you will not be involved with distribution of your final program, but there are several issues to keep in mind. Figuring out the best way to market your video to its audience is a science unto itself, but here you have to consider such things as the number of copies to make, developing any study materials to accompany the program, buying mailing lists, talking to video distributors, and screening your program for sample audiences.

Whether you intend to distribute your program internally, locally, or on an international scale, the more thought you put into distribution before the program is actually complete, the more prepared you will be once it’s ready to ship.