1. Business

The production process of video advertising

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What make video advertising production different? Videos allow people to visualize using your products, business or services, getting a TV advert on air allows companies to build trusted brands and boost sales by putting their product in front of huge numbers of customers. Though the video production methods have advanced in recent years the process for TV commercial production is the same: careful planning, efficient shooting and sharp editing. However the industry normally divide the process to 4 major phases, Creative consultation, Pre-production, television commercial Production and Post-production.

1: Creative Consultation for video advertising production

In this phase we agree the concept with the client and write a Creative Brief, the job is to listens to everything the client is trying to achieve and then writes up a brief which needs to include:

  • Objectives – is this a new product launch? Are you looking to drive immediate response?
  • Message – what is the one clear message you want to get across in the Ad?
  • Target audience – who are you trying to reach with your campaign?

Standard requirements include:

  • Brand guidelines – is there a look or feel which needs to be incorporated?
  • Format – where will this commercial be seen? How long must it be?
  • Budget – how much have you got to spend?
  • Timing – when should the campaign run?

Step 1a: Creative concepting

Once there is consensus on the creative brief, the creative team will produce several concepts/ideas that answer the brief in different ways. It’s important that the brief contains as much detail as possible as this is what the creative team will use to spark off ideas and come up with concepts. They may vary by tone, messaging hierarchy or by production approach e.g. animation versus real actors. All proposed ideas will aim to achieve the objective as set out in the brief. Be incredibly careful of the claims you make in adverts. Not to mention the colors must be graded a certain way and all must go through various stages of approval.

2: Pre-Production of video advertising

The pre-production process includes scriptwriting, location scouting, prop collection, hiring actors, equipment renting and creating shot-lists. When the concept has been agreed upon, the creative team will write up the script and possibly produce storyboards to show the visual intent for each frame. The script will provide context, so we know when and where each frame is set. It will also include all speech, voice overs, acting notes and supers (text that’s placed over the visuals). The storyboards convey the visual intention that helps to tell the narrative. It will show things like camera angle, focus point, camera movement, any visual type treatment and more. These can be accompanied by mood films and images so that both production team and client understand the visual intent. When both the team and the client is happy with the script, the client approves it. It’s somewhere between settling on a concept and moving forward with a finished script that I find the advert changes the most, and it is good that it happen in this phase as you do not want any changes later on in production phase as it can make the project much more expensive.

Whether we’re filming anything new or just making changes to something old, the script must be sent off to – they’re the people that read through the script and decide if what we’re saying is allowed on TV, it usually takes somewhere between 2 – 7 days to get a response from them, however if you are just producing the video for internet you don’t need their approval.

After that the script has been approved, there are some reviewing process involved. This involves making choices about:

  • The Director – who will bring the script to life?
  • The Talent – who are the right actors or voice overs (age/sex/look) for the commercial?
  • The Music – what music enhances the script or is a memorable jingle require for brand? Does the Ad require any sound effects to enhance the narrative?
  • Location – what should the set look like or does the commercial need to be set outdoors or in multiple locations?
  • Food styling/ wardrobe/ prop stylist – Who do you need to set to bring it to life?

3: Production of video advertising

The actual shoot can last anything from one day to several weeks depending on what is involved. Similarly, there can just be a skeleton crew, or a sizable entourage. Whilst this is often seen as the glamourous side of advertising, production can often be very slow, with a lot of hanging around during the Director’s quest to get the look of the Ad as envisioned.

4: Post-Production video advertising

Includes all video editing, sound editing and exporting of the TV commercial. Once the footage has been shot and complied into the rough cut of the commercial, it will be finessed into the final Ad.
Anyway, the whole 360 video production company can take from few weeks to few months depending to the job specification. So, if you are planning a video campaign it is good to give the production enough time in advance.

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