Focus
Videography is a powerful tool—a medium capable of conveying messages and images in an illustrated way while also being a fine art form in its own right. While image capture is at the heart of videography, it’s just one of many phases in a long production chain that begins before and ends after the actual videography.
While your DIY practice may not require a professional set of skills and high-end production knowledge, it is nonetheless important to remember what the wonderful world of moving pictures is made of.
To gain a complete understanding of what it takes to create a video, whether it is a 20-second handheld recording or a full-fledged cinema production, we will go over the various stages of video production, from strategy to action and finally to editing and creating the final version of our work.
Pre-production: Conception and Preparation
It may be tempting to grab a camera and rush into action, but for the latter to be successful, you must first know what will happen, how it will happen, and how the video will end, and you must have the necessary resources to ensure that everything goes as planned.
To put it briefly, pre-production is organising a video shoot before actual filming begins. It typically entails the following actions:
- Writing a script: A script is a written plan for what will happen and what will be said during the video. It helps the video creator stay on target and prevent mistakes while recording. Despite requiring more time and thought, a script helps shape the finished video and saves time throughout the production and editing stages.
- Gathering materials and equipment: Make a list of the supplies, equipment (technologic, etc.), and information you need to get
- Selecting the locations: Ensuring access to film at the location before scheduling a shoot there and making sure to visit the selected location at the same time of day as the shoot to ensure it works as planned.
- Selecting the participants (actors, voiceovers, collaborators, etc.): You should assist the people you invite to appear in your video in getting ready for the part. This includes updating them on the idea of the video, its topic, and your overall goals.
Put simply, it is the procedure that merges creativity and logistics. We will learn more about how to carry out these preparations later in our module, in the “Explore” part.
Production: Videography and Filming
The time has come for action. It is the moment everyone awaits: actual filming begins, and images are born. So, how can we easily explain what filmmaking and videography are? The centrepiece of our definition naturally evolves around recording footage with a camera or mobile phone. “Writing” what the eye sees is an even more precise definition of the word videography from an etymological standpoint.
Videography is usually associated with living in the moment: showing up at the location and recording the video. Filmmaking, on the other hand, includes capturing images. Still, in this definition, the image is considered a medium used to tell a story in the most appropriate and best-illustrated way.
In any case, our goal here is to ensure that we have a story and something to show the world, even if everything is not as meticulously conceived and planned as it would be in a film production.
Post-production: Editing and Finalising
You may believe that we have reached the end of the procedure and that the outcome we have at this point is final. But this is where the magic happens: the image created during filming comes to life and acquires its visual identity.
To be more precise, post-production is the process that any video project goes through after filming is completed but before it is published. It includes raw video editing, sound mixing, visual effects, colour grading and correction, and music/sound integration. In this module, we will not go as far as adding special effects; however, knowing the available options can open up a new window of inspiration and increase your motivation.
Armed with a clear picture of the entire video creation process, let us move on to the next section, where we will delve into more practical knowledge and begin preparing our own video.