Golden Pepper Production’s crew is excited to work one-on-one with you during every step of the production process, finding the best way to tell your story. We are experienced in helping develop the idea, capture and edit the video, create any additional graphics or animation, and help share the video on your website, social media…wherever.
Process
How We Conceptualize and Bring Into Reality
Develop an Idea
The first step in the production process is to develop an idea. What message are you trying to convey? What is your video’s purpose? Who will “star” in your video? These are the kinds of questions we will ask during our first meeting…perhaps over coffee somewhere – or maybe a hot chocolate. We want to get to know you. We want to understand who you are. When you first contact Golden Pepper Productions, our producer will set-up a time to meet and begin the conversation. There is nothing for you to fear, there won’t be any cameras or microphones at this meeting…just two or three people sitting around the table talking.
After we have enough information, we’ll begin the creating and conversing on our end. How can we best visually tell this story? What types of images should be included? What will it sound like? (Don’t forget, the other half of a “video” is sound.) Once we have a few ideas we’ll all meet again around the same table – or a different one if you would prefer – and discuss the ideas. Since we usually come back with two or three, there are plenty from which to choose. The best part is you don’t have to pick just one; we can take a little of one idea and mix it with another. Some of the ideas involve a script…which leads to the next step.
Screenplay
Once the concept has been fully developed and we all decide together that a script would be necessary, we can begin writing. We will take all of the important information you shared – whether it’s your organization’s mission statement, favorite anecdotes, or history – and combine them to tell one complete story. The script can be written as a narration to be read by a professional actor or just talking points to be shared by one of your team members. Either way, we will make sure your message is clear and inclusive.
After the first draft is completed you will have an opportunity to review the script and make any necessary revisions. We will work with you to incorporate those suggestions and provide another version for final approval.
Production
The production phase is really when the project begins to take shape because we start to capture the visual elements. We will come to your location – or any pre-determined location – to capture any interviews and background footage. You will start hearing us use terms like “B-roll” and “headroom”…we’ll explain all of those at that time but promise neither are painful! As a matter of fact, nothing about the production phase is painful. Unfortunately, people are always afraid of being on-camera or interviewed. Our goal is to make sure everyone who is working with us on shooting days is comfortable and having fun! Shoot after shoot we achieve that goal. So many people have finished an interview or video session and said to us, “That wasn’t bad at all…thank you for making me feel so relaxed and comfortable! It just felt like we were having a conversation.”
While we are capturing video, we work to make sure everything fits with the style and theme discussed during the development phase. At the same time, we don’t intrude on whatever is going on at the location; if the location is your office, your team will be able to continue working as normal, we are there “observing” – we just happen to be “observing” with a camera.
Post-Production
During post-production, editors and designers take the video/audio recorded during the production phase and transform it into a “visual story”. Following the concept and/or script developed earlier in the process, we start to create a first draft of the video. We sift through interviews to pull out the “soundbites” (probably another new word we will teach you!) and footage that best tell your story. The editor and graphic designer work closely to make sure any themes and styles developed are carried through the entire project. If your organization has a “Brand Guide” this is when we start to read it every day and have it nearly memorized a week later.
Once the first edit is complete, we all meet up again at one of the two tables where we met previously to watch the video together – maybe we’ll just drink water this time instead of coffee to change things up. Since we have been working side-by-side the entire time there aren’t any
surprises and should be very few things that need to be changed. If there are any necessary revisions, we will go back to our editing desk, make the changes, and send you a revised version for final approval.
Distribution
The world of video is changing every day, so the way we all share and distribute videos is changing, too. Back in 2008 our first videos were put on DVD’s and played before a live audience. Now, the videos we create are usually uploaded to a website or social media page – accessible to thousands in a matter of minutes. No matter the method in which you choose to share your video, once it is completed and approved we will help you do just that. During our first meeting we would have talked a little about what would happen once we got to this point, so again there shouldn’t be any surprises. There was already a conversation about the campaign in which the video would be a part or the redesigned webpage where the video would sit. Either way, we make sure you have a high-resolution file of the video to post in the best place possible.
We know that some of you have quite a few team members that can help you set-up the specific page and upload the video, but if you don’t we are here to help! At the same time, if you plan on showing your new prized-possession to a live audience, we can certainly still provide you with a few DVD copies.