Planning a video

What do you need to consider when you’re planning a video?

Traditionally the process of creating a video is divided into “pre-production” (planning), “production” (filming) and “post-production” (editing).

The more organised you are in pre-production, the smoother production, and post-production will go – and the better the final video. While the questions below are aimed primarily at those producing their video themselves, they are still valid for those working with a production company.

Key questions to ask while planning a video:

What elements do you need to include? Will there be interviews, who will they be with, will you be filming an event, do you need to include graphics as well and if so, will that change how you film?
How much time will you have? Always allow more than you anticipated – to take into account that contributors might be late, it might be hard to park, they make take longer to record their section than you thought.
Do you have a deadline? You need to make sure that you have time to get everything filmed in the time you have allocated, and there is time to edit everything together – and make any changes – before your deadline.
Where will you film? You need to consider whether to film inside or outside, or you need to be in more than one location? Wherever you film, you need to ensure you have permission to do so, and that you have allowed time to travel between locations. If you are filming inside, what is the lighting like, is how noisy is the room? Does it have lots of furniture that you’ll need to move to create space for the cameras. If you’re filming outside, how long will it be light, if you’re filming in winter – do you have time to get everything done? And is it a noisy environment with traffic or planes or building works nearby?
What is the event you’re filming? If so, what time is the key action happening, and is there somewhere safe that you can position your crew to capture this? What sequences do you need to include to showcase the event?
If you are including interviews, can they be filmed on location, at home or in an office? Wherever you film, it’s helpful to know what they interviewees going to say so you can plan your script, and to know they’re talkative – you don’t want someone who is camera shy.
If you’re filming someone walking and talking, or participating in an activity, rather than sitting down, you need to think how you’ll record this. You may need a radio microphone for this.
Who is writing your script/creating your storyboard? Having a script or plan for how the video will look will ensure that you film everything you need, and don’t miss out a crucial element.
Create a schedule for the filming day, which includes all the details of who/what/where: who you’re filming when, what is in your shot-list that you need to film, what props do you need, what are the contact details of all the people involved
And finally, have you dealt with the legal small-print?
- You need to ask everyone you film to sign a consent form which says they’re happy to be included in the video and for the video to be used for whichever means you choose– on your website, on social media, on TV, in fundraising or marketing campaigns.
- If you are filming anyone under 18, you have to have the written permission of the parents to film them.
- Under GDPR, if a person changes their mind later and no longer wishes to feature in the film you must remove them – either by editing them out of a video or taking the whole video down if necessary.
- Copyright – any music or images you use (newspaper headlines, stock shots from the internet) may be subject to copyright. It is vital to make sure you own the copyright of any images; if you’re using music, it’s better to use free music (eg from iMovie has jingles that last over a minute), or buy it from a music library.