Time to cut, slice, and dice. Venturing into the post-production phase marks the transition from capturing raw footage to crafting a polished and cohesive visual story. Post-production is the stage where the magic truly happens, with skilled editors, sound designers, and visual effects artists working diligently to refine and enhance the content. As a client, gaining insights into the intricacies of post-production ensures a comprehensive understanding of the process and contributes to the collaborative journey toward a refined final product.
Editing:
The post-production process kicks off with editing, a meticulous craft where raw footage is transformed into a cohesive and engaging story. Editors select the best takes, arrange sequences, and fine-tune transitions to ensure a seamless flow. This phase involves weaving together visuals to provide a glimpse of the final product. At SplyceHouse, our standard process includes three rounds of revisions. An over-simplified explanation of how this goes (in an ideal world) looks something like this:
V1: Focus on the story. This is often referred to as a “content-cut,” and is possibly the most important step in the editing process because, at the end of the day, a good story trumps all other factors. Storytelling is at the core of almost every video, and without it, the content will likely fall flat. As with other phases, moving backwards in the process becomes increasingly difficult once we move past this stage. So, locking in the content and pacing is the main objective of “V1” (version One). Secondarily, but almost as important, is music. We want to lock in the music selection(s) in V1 because music will influence a lot of creative decisions moving forward.
V2: Every project is different, but oftentimes V2 is where you will see B-roll and a lot more fine-tuning within the cut. B-roll is the complementary footage that helps visualize the spoken content. Spoken content can come in many forms; most frequently by way of interviews or a voiceover recording. It’s hard to break down every possible variable that needs to be addressed in V2 since each project is so unique. However, this is prime time to address anything you don’t like because the next version is all about finalizing color and audio. Once V2 notes are addressed, V3 will be considered “final for approval,” where any major revisions will likely impact scope.
V3: This version should be solid. V3 is the final stage of post-production where the cut becomes "picture-locked," and no further content changes occur. In this stage, the video will go through final audio mix and color, or the “look” of the piece. Speaking of sound and color, let’s talk about that some more…
Sound + Color:
Sound design is integral to elevating the overall experience of the video. This stage requires meticulously crafting the audio landscape, adding depth through ambient sounds, music, and dialogue. Color grading is also a crucial step in defining the visual tone and mood of the video. Creating the final look and feel of the video through color tones will enhance the overall aesthetic and convey specific emotions. This phase brings a consistent and polished look to the footage, ensuring visual coherence across different scenes. It is vital to know that these two steps cannot happen until V2 is fully approved, AKA “picture-locked,” because even the smallest revision at this stage will likely impact the final color and audio work that is to be done in V3.
Final Delivery
Upon completion of the post-production process and client approval, the final product is prepared for delivery. This involves rendering the video in the appropriate formats, ensuring compatibility with various platforms and devices, such as social media, streaming, and broadcast, etc. We can deliver in a variety of ways, based on your recommendation, but most often, the easiest and quickest method is by simply using our preferred means of digital transfer: Dropbox.
The post-production phase represents the culmination of creative expertise, technical finesse, and collaborative refinement. Understanding the intricacies of this stage empowers you to actively participate in shaping the final piece. If you’ve read this far, we hope we’ve provided some value. Now, let’s go make something together!!
