Welcome back to our blog series on the art of making a video. Now that we’ve completed the Discovery phase and have a clear vision for our project, it’s time to dive into Pre-Production. This critical stage involves meticulous planning and preparation to ensure a seamless production process. In this blog post, we’ll explore the essential steps of Pre-Production, including the production brief, kick-off meeting, creative, logistics, scheduling, and creating a production plan.

The Pre-Production Process

Production Brief: The production brief serves as a roadmap for the entire pre-production phase. It outlines key details such as the project scope, objectives, target audience, creative direction, and budget. This document ensures alignment among all stakeholders and sets clear expectations for the project. If people ever have a question on the details of the video, the Production Brief should be the main source of core information for the project.

• Tip: Be thorough when creating the production brief. Include as much detail as possible to avoid misunderstandings later in the process.

Kick-off Meeting: The kick-off meeting brings together all key stakeholders to discuss the project’s goals, timeline, roles, and responsibilities. This meeting sets the tone for collaboration and ensures everyone is on the same page before moving forward.

• Tip: Encourage open communication and brainstorming during the kick-off meeting. This is an opportunity to generate ideas and address any concerns upfront.

Creative Messaging: Whether you’re writing a full script or writing your interview questions, this step is where you create the messaging that will carry your video. The video creation process absolutely starts with solid scripting and messaging. Once you have the words, you can then start to fill in the visuals of what you will show in your video. We highly recommend a two-column script format, with one column, the “Audio,” which contains the words of your script or messaging points, and the second “Video” column describing what will be seen on screen. The script should be broken up into smaller rows for each shot or scene of the video. Once you have a final approved script, you can move on to the next step.

Logistics, Scheduling & Creating a Production Plan: With the creative direction established, it’s time to focus on the practical aspects of production. This includes securing locations, hiring crew members, arranging gear and equipment rentals, booking talent (if needed), and creating a detailed production schedule. A well-thought-out production plan is essential for keeping the project on track and within budget. Your production plan should include a detailed schedule for who, what, when, and where for every aspect (minute) of your production day(s).

• Tip: Start early when it comes to logistics and scheduling. Popular locations and equipment rentals can book up quickly, so it’s best to secure them as soon as possible.

Pre-production is where the magic begins to take shape. By laying a solid foundation and planning every detail with care, you set yourself up for success in the production phase. From setting up lights to capturing captivating footage, we cover it all right over here in the third blog post in this series.