VIDEOS

THAT SELL
Pre-Production & Post Production
For video ads with narrative stories, actors, and a production crew.
 EXAMPLE ADS

Writer’s Block Writer’s Block 2 (Hallway Horror)

Script - Storyboard - Video Script - Storyboard - Video

Writer’s Block (Car Horror) Spam Squad

Script - Storyboard - Video Script - Storyboard - Video

 PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(PLANNING BEFORE YOU FILM)

1. Scripting/Storyboarding
2. Hiring Crew
3. Auditioning Actors
4. Location Scouting
5. Gear Rentals
We will be using our short narrative ad “Spam Squad” as reference.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

To start, we need a writer for the script. Look on local filmmaking Facebook groups or Fiverr.com
for narrative/ad script writers.
 PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(PLANNING BEFORE YOU FILM)

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

Then, ask them to put together a script outline for your product.

If you approve of the outline and have given them a round of revisions and notes, have them write
the full script with dialogue and proper script writing prose. It is extremely important you do not
move further in the production process until your script is completely locked with no more changes.

Once you have your script written, you now will know what is needed for your shoot. The
script should have all the locations, props, and actors listed so that the production can move
forward with the planning.

Here is an example script of “Spam Squad”:

 PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(PLANNING BEFORE YOU FILM)

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

THE IMPORTANCE OF STORYBOARDING

Once you have a script idea that you like, you can begin working with your director (see step below
on hiring) to get a storyboard made. A storyboard is your first step to seeing the script visually.
This is where the shots and editing of the final project will be decided so on the day, there will be
no surprises and the team will know exactly what to film because the shots have already been
approved by you. This can be done through drawings or through videos. We do it through videos,
and you can find examples above.

STORYBOARD VS. FINAL AD WITH ACTORS / COSTUMES

 PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(PLANNING BEFORE YOU FILM)

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

HIRING PRODUCTION CREW

You can find local filmmakers and independent film crews on Facebook groups or Linkedin. This is
the minimum film crew we’d advise and a breakdown of the rolls.

1. Director ($500/day) - In charge of storyboarding the shots, making sure the correct tone and feel
are conveyed and directing the actors.

2. Director of Photography ($500/day) - In charge of the lighting and camera settings, the
technical artistry of knowing what will make the shots look good. Can also camera-operate on
lower budget productions.

3. Sound Operator ($350/day) - In charge of micing the actors and recording sound.

4. Makeup/Hair Artist ($350/day depending on how many actors) - In charge of making sure the
actors look fresh on camera and adjust any shine/grease on skin and hair.

5. Producer ($1200 per show) - In charge of organizing locations, auditioning actors, ordering gear
and food for the set.

6. Camera/Lighting Assistant - Even on a small set, an assistant will be necessary for setting up
the gear while the Director and Director of Photography approve of the look.

7. Production Designer ($350/day) - This is the person in charge of how the set is dressed, the
props, and character costumes.
 PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(PLANNING BEFORE YOU FILM)

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

AUDITIONING ACTORS

Depending on the length of the roll and what each actor will be doing, pricing can be adjusted.

Non-speaking acting or modelling rolls from independent workers can start at $200.

Have your producer look at your city’s Facebook groups and websites for acting communities
or talent agencies where you can post a casting call. For example in Vancouver there is the
“Vancouver’s Actors Guide” website where you can post a breakdown of each roll and the portion
of the script for them to audition.

This is what a proper character breakdown looks like.

AGENT #1
A tall and tough FBI Agent.
Male, 25+
Muscular build.
($300)
Shooting November 11th 2020

Your producer will do this with all of your characters and be sure to note any specific
characteristics the actors should be aware of when auditioning.
 PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(PLANNING BEFORE YOU FILM)

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

With your casting call, list the name of the production and a brief overview of what the project entails.

SPAM SQUAD
(Shooting November 11/12 2020, Vancouver BC)
Independent Project
Paid

When an oblivious business owner sends a

scammy email, the spam squad bust down his
door to teach him a lesson he won’t forget.

Have the actors send you a self tape that you can review and pick your favourites from. Then your
producer can hire them and be the point of contact for any costuming/dietary/makeup needs.
 PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(PLANNING BEFORE YOU FILM)

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

LOCATION SCOUTING

This can be one of the hardest parts of the process! Try to have this done as early as possible. Also
try to consider your location when you are in the scripting process. Does this need to take place in a
home if you already have an office you can easily film at?

There are websites like Air B&B and This Open Space where you can find homes and offices for rent.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Scripting/Storyboarding Hiring Crew Auditioning Actors Location Scouting Gear Rentals

GEAR RENTALS

Depending on the rate of the crew, their expense for gear may or may not be included in their price.
If you are having to rent a camera and lights, look for local camera rentals. There are a few different
levels of quality that can drastically raise or lower the price of production.

Depending on the scale of your project, your camera and lighting bill can change drastically. Giving
your Director of Photography your budget for gear rentals and a clear frame of reference for the
desired look will help them choose gear.

For example, we shot Spam Squad on an A7iii with Cinema Lenses.

PRODUCTION CHECKLIST

CREATE A BUDGET
Actors Props
Crew Gear Rentals
Locations

LOCK YOUR SCRIPT

Consult with a writer

HIRE CREW
Producer Director of Photography
Director Sound
Assistant Director Other

FIND A LOCATION
AirBnB
This Open Space

AUDITION ACTORS
Local casting agencies
Community casting boards
 FILMING ON THE DAY

The most important acronym to remember while on set is BLRS. For every scene, you will need
to BLRS.

Block, light, rehearse, shoot.

After you have met with the crew first thing in the morning, for the first scene you will begin to
film you have to block it out. This is for the entire production team to watch. The director will go
over the actions and walk through them with the actors before any gear is set up. This way the
camera team knows where to set up and the lighting team knows what is allowed to be scene
and what needs to be hidden behind camera. The actors can then go and get their make up
done while lighting takes place.

Once all of the gear is finished being set up and the actors are out of make up, you can
rehearse. This is where you go through all of the movements and dialogue with the scene at full
speed with the camera team, working out any last minute kinks.

Shoot: This is where you actually roll! With the blocking, lighting, and rehearsal underway, this
should be the simplest process of the day. Try to get multiple takes on the same angle trying
out different notes for the actors. Don’t settle for something you’re not happy with, but also be
conscious of time and what is needed and what would be nice to have. The worst thing is having
to cut shots due to time, and then you’ll have to alter your storyboard. Try to stay on time and
follow your storyboard as closely as possible.
 POST-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(EDITING AND FINISHING YOUR FILM)

1. Hiring an Editor
2. Ingesting and Organizing Footage
3. Editing and Review
4. VFX, Sound Design and Coloring
5. Delivery

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 4

STEP 3 STEP 5
Ingesting/Organizing Editing/Review VFX/Sound Design/ Delivery
Hiring an Editor Footage Coloring

Now that you have shot your ad, you will need to edit it.
Similar to hiring the rest of the crew, looking in local Facebook groups, in online job boards such as
Fiverr, or networking with your existing crew to find an editor is often the best way to find an editor.
Oftentimes a Director or Producer will have a list of their preferred editors to work with, pulling on
this resource will save you from the hassle of finding one yourself. The Editor, in turn, may have an
Assistant Editor, who helps the Editor with ingesting, organizing and processing the footage and
editing. This position will often depend on the size of the project and various technical aspects of
the project. An Assistant Editor will sometimes be on set acting as a Digital Media Technician or
Transcoder, offloading the footage from the camera cards onto hard drives or solid state drives for
backup and transport. Have a discussion with your Director, Producer and Director of Photography
about whether someone will be required to offload or transcode while on set.

Each Editor will have their preferred use of non-linear editors (NLE). Some well known NLE’s
are Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut X, Davinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer and Sony
Vegas. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing an NLE, as intercompatibility
between systems is always possible, and the choice usually comes down to features that the
NLE may or may not have. Consult with your editor about what their preferred NLE is, and while
choosing an editor that fits into your existing production ecosystem; if you have one, ensures that
you have the ability to make changes to the product in the future without having to hunt down an
editor who knows that other system.
 POST-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(EDITING AND FINISHING YOUR FILM)

STEP 1
STEP 2 STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
Hiring an Editor Ingesting/Organizing Editing/Review VFX/Sound Design/ Delivery
Footage Coloring

ORGANIZING FOOTAGE AND PROCESSING FOR THE EDITOR

Organizing footage so that it can be easily accessed down the line, either during the editing process
or while in archive for future use, is extremely important. This allows for the Director and Editor to
quickly and efficiently go through footage based on scene, take, whether the take was good or bad,
and other data that may have been recorded on the day.

If you’ve used a camera that shoots “heavy” footage, in a codec or format that is hard for a computer
to decode and render while editing, it is best practice to create proxy media; a smaller, compressed
video that can be relinked to the original footage before delivery to preserve the high quality video
that was recorded on set. This can also make the use of a remote editor easier, as the smaller file
size is easier to transfer via Google Drive, or a similar service. Consult your Editor or Assistant Editor
regarding the creation of proxies, as this is a tricky process that can lead to headaches later in
production if done improperly.

Storage and backup of the footage is of vital importance to any production. When ads can cost
multiple thousands of dollars a day to film, you don’t want a faulty hard drive to ruin the whole shoot.
Once shot, all footage should be backed up to at least 2 different drives, as a redundancy. After
production, the best practice would be to then separate those drives, likely keeping one drive as a
backup in an offsite location, and the other being used as the main drive for the Editor to work from.
This way, if some worst case scenario happens, your investment remains safe. After the production,
there are a variety of long-term storage solutions available, for all of the footage, but also any files or
projects generated during the post-production process. Using an online backup solution, such as
Google Drive, is probably best, but many online and offline storage solutions exist.
 POST-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(EDITING AND FINISHING YOUR FILM)

STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4

STEP 1 STEP 5
Hiring an Editor Ingesting/Organizing VFX/Sound Design/ Delivery
Footage Editing/Review Coloring

EDITING AND REVIEW

During the edit process, there are three widely accepted stages. A Director’s Cut, A Client’s Cut, and
the Final Cut. These may consist of various edits in and of themselves, depending on what the final
delivery calls for (ie. a 1 minute cut, a 30 second cut, and a 15 second cut). These different versions
of the edits allows you to create multiple pieces of content from a single shoot, and is often more
economical than multiple short shoots.

1. The Director’s Cut

This cut is headed completely by the director and the editor, allowing for the director to see their
vision through to completion. This should be fairly close to your vision as the producer, however some
pacing or shot choices may differ slightly. This is a normal part of the process.

2. The Client’s Cut

This is where you, the client, get to refine the director’s cut into your vision. Often there are bits
and pieces that will feel out of place or paced wrong, shots that can be replaced or removed, or
sometimes even added. This is all part of the process, and is where a good editor can really shine,
being able to make the ad come together with little effort.

3. The Final Cut

The final cut can often take some time to reach, if only because of the finality of it. Once you finish
your Final Cut, it should not be revisited anymore, as any changes from this point on can affect the
costs of the next steps.

Using a service like Frame.io is an easy way to review cuts, as any comments are linked to a timecode
on the video in the review process, making communication about where and when a note needs
to happen easier. This process can also be done by applying a timecode “burn in” to the video and
giving notes by referencing timecode, however it is often slower and does not allow for collaboration
in the same way that a program like Frame.io does.
 POST-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(EDITING AND FINISHING YOUR FILM)

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

STEP 4 STEP 5
Hiring an Editor Ingesting/Organizing Editing/Review VFX/Sound Design/ Delivery
Footage Coloring

VFX, SOUND DESIGN AND COLORING

Once the cut has been locked, the next steps are VFX, Sound Design, and Coloring (also called
Color Grading). These processes depend on the scale and requirements of a project, and can involve
hiring dedicated technicians for each of these areas, but a good editor should be able to do a mix of
all three. Consult with your editor and producer about the requirements for your individual project.
VFX in particular can be expensive, as the work can often be time intensive and require a skilled VFX
Artist. Consultation with your producer and a VFX Artist before and during your production will ease
this process in post-production, and can keep costs down.

Below are some examples of each category of work:

VFX SOUND DESIGN COLORING

Changing the footage from LOG

Screen Replacement of
Music (either found or (method of recording to preserve
phones, computers, electronic
composed) data) to Delivery color space
devices, etc.
(often REC 709)

Color Correction, matching the

Greenscreen environment Sound Effects (SFX) for various shots to each other
replacement elements in the scene to maintain a constant look
throughout the project

Sound Mixing, leveling

Info-animations, text pop-ups, dialogue, SFX, Music and Color Grading, the creative look of
charts, etc. other audio elements of a video
the scene
 POST-PRODUCTION PROCESS
(EDITING AND FINISHING YOUR FILM)

STEP 2 STEP 4 STEP 5

STEP 1 STEP 3
Hiring an Editor Ingesting/Organizing Editing/Review VFX/Sound Design/
Footage Coloring Delivery

DELIVERY
Once all of your elements have been finished, they must be re-combined for the final delivery. This
process is called “Layback”, and is often performed by the Editor, although it may be performed by the
Assistant Editor, under supervision of the Editor. This is where relinking proxies to the original footage,
combining the Sound Designer’s, Colorist’s, and VFX Artist’s works, and any other assets you have,
will all be brought together to make the final video.

After layback, it’s time to deliver the projects. Rendering out a “Master Copy” of your videos, in the
highest quality that is possible is best practice. While this might not be the version that is actually
delivered to your final use-case, it is the version that should be kept for archival purposes. After this,
your Editor should render the various versions that are required for your video. Different platforms
have different requirements for their video content, to preserve the highest quality of your video.
There are often presets for platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo built into NLE’s, but doing
your research about your specific platform’s requirements is highly suggested.

Below are some examples of different platforms accepted delivery requirements:

PLATFORM RECOMMENDED DIMENSIONS ASPECT RATIOS VIDEO FORMATS

426 x 240, 640 x 360, 854 x 480, .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI,
YouTube 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080, 2560 x 1440, 16:9 .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP,
3840 x 2160 WebM

Facebook 1280 x 720, 720 x 1280, 1080 x 1080 16:9, 1:1, 9:16 .MP4 or .MOV

Instagram 1080 x 1080, 1080 x 1920, 1080 x 1350 1:1, 4:5, 9:16 .MP4 or .MOV

Twitter 1280 x 720, 720 x 1280, 720 x 720 9:16, 16:9, 1:1 .MP4 or .MOV

640 x 360, 854 x 480, 1280 x 720, 1920 x

LinkedIn 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 .MP4
1080, 1080 x 1920, 1920 x 1920

640 x 360, 640 x 480, 1280 x 720, 1920 x

Vimeo 1080, 2560 x 1440, 3840 x 2160, 4096 x 4:3, 16:9, 17:9, 2:1 .MP4, .MOV, .WMV, .AVI, .FLV
2160, 4096 x 2048, 8192 x 4320
POST-PRODUCTION CHECKLIST

HIRE AN EDITOR
What NLE are they going to use?

DISCUSS THE PROCESS

Assistant Editor
Transcoder/DIT
Proxies
What’s your storage plan for footage? Long and short term?

EDIT
Director’s Cut
Client Cut
Final Cut

SOUND DESIGN
Do you need a Composer? Will you need to purchase music rights?
Do they have a library or access to a SFX library?

VFX
What types of VFX shots will there be?
What type of work needs to be done? What needs to be dealt with on-set?

COLORING
What is the look of the ad? Do you have a LUT or will this be done from scratch?

DELIVERY
What is your delivery spec? Are there multiple delivery specs?
Do you have multiple deliveries for the same project? ie. 16x9, 9x16, 4x5, 1x1