How to create a Video Production Timeline from Start to Finish?

Videos are now an unavoidable part of marketing strategies for brands and businesses. Also, it does not matter how big or small the business is, and to thrive, videos are the key. 

Video production companies have also risen as video marketing is becoming inevitable, and consumers prefer to watch videos more than any other form of promotion. Producing videos requires planning, patience, creativity, and trust. It is important for businesses to know how to create a video production timeline to produce videos of superior quality in a limited time. Thus, to get help to increase conversions and ROI. 

There are many types of videos that you can create for marketing your product or service. These include explainer videos, 2D animated videos, motion graphics, etc. The videos can be short or long, depending on the business requirements. 

But how long will it take you to complete the entire project?

The nature of the video production schedule is divided into three parts — pre-production, production, and post-production. And it is based on this that the time to complete the entire project depends on. 

In this blog, I will break down the video production timeline into steps and explain each step so that you understand video production clearly. 

What goes into a Video Production Timeline?

The standard timeline of completion of the entire animation process can be broken down into a number of stages: briefing, brainstorming, scriptwriting, storyboard, animation, and sound design/voiceover. 

Let’s, for instance, take the production of an animation video. The success of your animation depends on each stage of the process. The process’s overall goal is to make your creative vision a reality.

Almost four days will be set out for briefing, brainstorming, scriptwriting, and storyboard during the early stages. To keep the project going forward, it is critical that clients supply timely input from the start.

What follows will be an animation, which will take around three days. You will have a 60-90 second long quality animation at the end of the animation process. 

Animations can also be done within a lesser time frame. However, that can raise the project’s overall costs. However, if more individuals are involved in the project, it can be completed in half the time. 

The customer and the designers must be on the same page at all times to ensure that each stage is completed on time.

Step-by-Step Breakdown of Video Production

1. Briefing

Designing a creative brief is the first step in creating an animation. A well-defined brief will aid your designers in better understanding what you want to accomplish with your project and noting the style features you want to see in your video. A proper brief will consider the target audience and aid in focusing the rest of the project on the chosen demographic.

2. Script Writing

After the briefing is done, the script will be written. It is the heart and soul of your creative storyline, and whether you’re making an emotional story or a marketing animation, the quality of your script will determine how well your animation is perceived.

The screenplay will convey your message and serve as a narrator for the entire animation. It will take almost two days to complete the scriptwriting.

3. Voice-over

After the script is complete, projects, including conversations, will now be handed to the voiceover artists. The sooner you record the voiceover, the better. It affects the length and pace of the animation, determining how the final effect will seem.

The voiceover artists can be in-house, or you can easily find the freelancers (VO artists) on various freelancing portals like Upwork, Fiverr, etc. Here you can contact the artist who best fits your requirements and ultimately hire them. 

The voiceover stage takes around two days max, but there are options that you can get them in 24 hours by paying a little extra if needed urgently. 

4. Storyboard

A storyboard is a collection of drawings based on the script that will serve as a visual guide for the rest of the animation production process.

A conventional storyboard consists of three key areas of information:

• The order in which the scenes are presented to tell the tale
• Regardless of what the spectator hears or sees on the screen
• For each scenario, technical information is supplied.

It will show you how the overall animation is put together, right down to the scene design and story flow.

Before the details are finalized, you’ll see storyboard panels – a rudimentary skeleton of the finished product. Depending on the video length/complexity, most storyboards can be completed within 1-5 days depending on the video length/complexity. 

5. Animation

This is the most important stage of the project: the animation phase. The designers will build dynamic animated scenarios using prior illustrations and storyboards in this stage. They will employ animation software to bring character designs and other models to life, scene by scene, with realistic movement and articulation.

Each scene will be thoroughly examined so that the scenes flow smoothly and the viewer finds it attractive. This phase almost takes 1-3 days to be completed. 

Once everything has been prepared and finalized, the video is sent to the client in high resolution, ready for distribution. Depending on a few crucial criteria, the timeline may vary significantly.

What are the Factors that affect the Production Timeline?

Though most videos will take a few weeks to produce, some may take a bit longer or take a little longer than you anticipate. Your manufacturing schedule is mainly determined by the three criteria that I have listed below:

1. Video Type

There are various types of videos that you can employ for your business or organization. These may include explainer videos, animated videos, live videos, and some videos may even require a green screen. 

The more special effects and post-production processing your project requires, the longer it will take. Live videos, for example, do not require any post-production and hence take only a short amount of time to complete.

However, animations necessitate substantial pre-production in the form of storyboarding and character design, and even short animations can take weeks to complete.

2. Video Length

It should go without saying that a longer video will take longer to shoot and edit than a shorter video. So, your timeline differs according to the length of the video. 

It is possible to retake and edit shorter videos. But if it is an hour-long video shoot that needs to be edited, that might not be feasible. 

3. Video Style

Your final timeline will also be influenced by the video’s style. For example, a talking-head video requires a few continuous shots, whereas a documentary will require several shots from various locations and areas. The more photos required, the longer your project will most likely take to complete.

All set to create an Effective Video Production Timeline?

Video marketing is rising on demand and can possibly bring better conversions and ROI than any other form of marketing. If you are looking to create videos, I hope this blog helped you understand the process of producing a video and how much time is invested in the same. 

Do you need a hand in making videos for your business, product, or service? Contact Us!

                                                                                                                                  Editor: Amrutha

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