If you require specialised audiovisual production, you may need to work with a producer, director, videographer or animator.

Several roles are involved in video production, and these are often combined, especially for small projects. Main video production roles are:

  • producer – responsible for managing the production
  • director – responsible for overseeing the making of the video, including translating the script to a visual story
  • videographer – responsible for capturing the visual and sound qualities of each scene
  • animator – responsible for creating original visual displays in 2D or 3D. 

Videos require effective collaboration skills from everyone involved to result in a successful project.

Preparing a brief

Once you have identified your production person or team, you should supply them with a detailed brief of what you want. Suggested specifications to include in your brief are:

  • purpose (e.g. interview, documentary, guide, review)
  • type of production (video, 3D visualisation, animation)
  • audience
  • subject matter
  • style of video (provide examples of other work that might help with style, and ‘look and feel’)
  • preliminary sketches, diagrams or visual ideas
  • story elements or production script (if already developed)
  • anticipated length (in minutes and seconds)
  • delivery or file format (e.g. MPEG-4, MOV, WebM, GIF, WMV).

Process of a video project

Any video project needs a clear understanding of the processes involved. This means mapping out a set of agreed steps to share discoveries or problems that may occur along the way.

The process may involve a checklist or set of instructions that requires approvals at agreed intervals or milestones. The process should include the following:

  • Set up the project. Discuss the project requirements, timeframe and milestones. Agree on the roles, the scope of the project, and the visual and audio style. Consider making the video accessible to as large an audience as possible (see Video accessibility).
  • Discuss timing. Clarify the length of the video with your project team. Long videos can be expensive, and you may achieve better results with a shorter video. Make sure you think about your audience and their expectations.
  • Develop script and storyboard. Create story, visual and audio elements. Take your time at this stage to get everything right. Go through an approvals process with the producer, director, videographer or animator to make sure you do not have to redo work later. It can be expensive to reshoot a scene in production.
  • Produce concept art. This stage refines and improves on the ideas created in the storyboard. Characters, backgrounds, props and type design are explored and finalised.
  • Create an animatic (for an animation). An animatic is created by placing the images from the storyboard into a video with basic sound effects and music. The animatic acts as the blueprint for the design, animation and sound effects.
  • Undertake production. Shoot the scenes or create the animation to the highest fidelity possible within your budget.
  • Undertake postproduction. Develop visual effects, music and sound effects.
  • Deliver the video. The video may need to be delivered in different accessible formats.