Thanks to social media, creating good video content has become one of the best ways to market your brand and product. But, creating video content is not as simple as pressing the record button on your camera. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. If you’re new to video content and do not know where or how to start, here are some video production services offered by video-creating companies.

What are video production services?
Video production is more than simply pressing a button on a camera. A lot goes into making video content, including planning, contribution, capturing, editing, cutting, and combining. Typically, video production services are divided into three phases. The first phase is preproduction, the second phase is production, and the last one is postproduction.

Preproduction
Preproduction is the very first step to creating any form of video content. It involves lots of preparation, organization, and planning to make a good video. Typically, preproduction includes video strategy, project timeline, script creation, finding talent, selecting your story, finding the production team, scouting locations, and even holding meetings with stakeholders. Here are some video preproduction services that most video creator companies offer.

• Setting goals
  Setting goals involves getting all your stakeholders on the same page. You discuss strategy, the purpose, and the kind of video you want. This stage is essential, as it allows you to decide on your target audience, what type of branding you seek, and even determine the tone and piece of the video you will create.
• Shoot preparation
  Shoot preparation involves setting up everything before your shoot begins. This step usually includes reviewing video scripts, discussing interview questions, and finalizing locations.
• Site visit
  Site visits can be an optional service provided by video production service companies. Site visits can help understand what kinds of shots you seek and help the videographer and producer understand what is expected of the video.

While the points discussed above are planning-related services, video creators can also opt for creative preproduction services, such as writing a script and storyboarding. Deciding on these creative aspects of your video can help you determine what kind of tone you are looking for. It can also make the production process a whole lot simpler.

Production
Once you’ve decided on all the creative and logistical aspects of your video, you need to get down to actually shooting a video. There is a lot of staff involved in the production stage, in which you gather all the raw materials required to create your desired video. This phase includes setting up lighting, sound, and video equipment; recording voiceovers; capturing actual and extra footage; and conducting interviews. You may also need to purchase or rent special equipment, such as high-definition cameras, lighting, and sound equipment, provided by most video production companies.

Postproduction
Once you are done shooting the film, you need to make your final video file, involving file management, video editing, adding motion graphics or animations, adding extra voiceovers and narrations, and mastering your audio. The postproduction part of any video is a lengthy process, as it requires precision to correctly put the final products together and add the finishing touches. Different video production companies have different postproduction timelines. Most companies take six to eight weeks to complete postproduction, but these timelines may vary based on what kind of final product you want.

Postproduction also includes getting the final drafts approved by stakeholders. Once the initial draft is made, the copy is sent for review. If any changes are to be made, the draft will be sent back for revision. Usually, companies have a predefined number of modifications that are allowed to be made on the final product. Some companies also allocate a certain amount of time for revisions only. The last step of postproduction is exporting the video to its final format. This final format will be as per the requirements of the platform you have chosen to share your video on, as different platforms have different video specifications to ensure smooth video playback.

Note that the entire production process stays the same irrespective of the kind of video you are creating. Common video types include event videos, commercial videos, promotional videos, documentary videos, music videos, social media videos, and educational videos.