We realize the video process can be a little mysterious if you haven’t been involved before; but fear not, friends! The Upswing Creative Video Process is here to lead the way.
At Upswing, we’ve been making videos for industrial and essential organizations for years, and we’ve got our method locked in. In fact, we’ve created an interactive tool that walks you through every facet of our process.
To start, most videos we create fall into one of two categories – soundbite-driven or script-driven. Without getting too far into the details, in general, but not always, soundbite-driven videos (which are based on interviews) tend to create a more emotional, authentic impression on viewers, because they feature real people telling a story.
Script-driven videos are better for delivering your message exactly as you intend it through professional actors, spokespeople or voiceover artists and might feature original or stock footage, motion graphics, or 3D work.
We bring up script-driven vs. soundbite-driven because each follows a slightly different process; however, at Upswing, both are broken down into four phases: Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production and the Wrap-Up Meeting!
In Pre-Production, we engage you in our discovery process to develop the message we want to share and talk about how best to share it. That’s the foundation for everything.
Then we choose a concept to move forward with and either write a script or develop an outline and interview guide, if it’s a soundbite-driven video.
At the same time, we’re working on logistics for the shoot – scheduling crew and talent, renting equipment, setting dates, booking travel and securing locations. Pre-production is where the bulk of the mental work is done. We’re planning the work.
Next up is Production, where we work the plan. Production is what most people think about when they think about making a video! It can be a half-day, it can be a week long; but for our clients, it’s time to kick back while we execute.
After we shoot comes Post-Production, where we go sit in a dark room for a few days with just a computer, our thoughts, and all that footage we shot!
If it’s a soundbite-based video, there’s one extra step. The first version you’ll see will be a storyline draft. We tell our clients to close their eyes and just listen to the story we’ve created using the interviews we shot. It’s not gonna look pretty; but we want to make sure we’ve got the narrative foundation in place.
From there, we move through two rounds of revision, adding music and graphics, doing color grading and adding b-roll footage…bringing all the elements together to make your video come to life.
Once we’ve incorporated all input from you and your legal and brand teams, we’ll do a sound mix to make sure everything sounds as incredible as it looks and we deliver your final file.
But that’s not the end, my friend! We insist on a Wrap-Up Meeting where you provide us with honest feedback on the project and our process. Then we raise a toast to the next video you inevitably want us to produce. 🙂
So that’s the Upswing Video Process! Again, we go into much more detail on our interactive tool; but hopefully this helps make things seem a little less daunting.
Want to know more? Drop us a line on our contact page and we’d be happy to talk through your next video project.
To view all episodes from our “On The Upswing” series, click here!