Understanding how long it takes for a video production service to produce a video for your business allows you to be productive and efficient with your time. When you allow plenty of time for marketing video production, you can be sure you’ll end up with the best quality films possible – and your time (and money) isn’t wasted.
Assuming you’ve taken the time up front to set goals, you’ve planned out your video, and chosen your video production service with the the right equipment and trained professionals on board, how much time should you allow for video production?
Don’t Rush, Plan …
We’d recommend starting pre-production planning four weeks or so ahead of when you want to launch the video. This allows the video production service enough time to settle on locations, schedule staff, locate equipment, understanding vision, and start the pre-production process. However, the more time you give the producers the better, and this extra time will show in the finished films.
If you are pushed for time, or on a tight deadline, it is possible to produce a video relatively quickly. A really quick turnaround is not ideal. It opens itself up to possible errors and rushed creative. However – it is absolutely possible to plan, shoot, and edit a video within just a day or two.
Producing a video in a short time frame most likely means the price will go up. Hiring a company and giving them a quick turnaround requires them to put aside other projects, scramble to get your project done.
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Pre-Production and Shooting Days
Business video shoots generally take no more than a day or two in terms of shoot time. Normally, they don’t involve complex planning or the production of complex scenes, but you can expect long days of filming. A skilled production company should ensure they make the best use of time and resources they have on filming days.
Based on the complexity of your project, batch recording might suit your needs. Batch recording is an effective way to produce multiple video clips in one session, for example, for social media video. Using this method, in just three to four days of filming, it is quite possible to capture video content for several months of social media posts, for example.
Post-Production
Post-production requires a lot of work from a video production service. The raw footage from the cameras is cut into usable chunks which editors can then rearrange into a narrative flow that works for the project. Shots are laid out on a timeline along with images, graphics, music, and whatever else is required for your particular project. It’s here the real “magic” happens, and where most of the time on your project is invested.
Factors that affect the length of time in Post-Production
The volume of material that you create on your shoot days determines how long post-production takes. For business videos you can expect every day of filming equals a minimum of two to three days of edit time.
Video with a running time of two to three minutes, most likely will take two to three days of editing to provide a quality finished video.
Because of the time it takes, it’s important to start the video making process with enough lead time before the videos’ scheduled release.
As mentioned earlier, rapid editing is feasible. But compromises are likely to be made along the way to speed the project through post-production.
On-site editing is an option in some circumstances, so post-production occurs while the scenes are being filmed.
However, a video after a week in post will be different to a quick turnaround edit completed in a day. Keep this in mind when planning what you want your video to accomplish.
Another major factor that affects the length of time required in post-production is number of versions of videos you want.
For example, if you are going to be using the videos across social media, one format, style or and aspect ratio that works great for Facebook might not work as well for Instagram.
Thus, you’ll have slightly different versions of your final video. With phones being an increasingly common way to view video, you might want to consider exporting in a mobile-friendly portrait orientation. These different versions lengthen the post-production time.
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Conclusion
Plan ahead for your video. Give yourself and the production company plenty of time to create a finished product that you can be proud of, and that stands out. Good video takes time to produce, but certainly it’s worth it when it translates into increased traffic to your website, a growth in sales, or increased brand awareness.
Are you looking for a video production company that is collaborative, that can easily integrate into existing in house teams and expertise you have and build on it? Or do you need more guidance throughout the video production process? At Motion Picture Video Production the bottom line for us, is that we deliver you video content that will help power your business growth.
