Producing a video breaks down into three basic sections, and each of these sections has a few questions to consider. The sections are pre-production, production, and post-production.

Pre-Production is the planning and writing stage of the production process. Careful planning is essential to ensure that when you start shooting you know what you're doing and why.

What is my program about, and who is my target audience? This is probably the most important issue you have to consider. The subject matter and target audience will drive the script, which will in turn drive the shooting, editing, and distribution of the program.

Do I need a script? Extremely simple programs and programs where the talent has a lot of experience covering the material in front of an audience shouldn't require a script. For instance, an instructor of a new piece of software who has taught the class several times should do fine without a script. We produce many videos with extemporaneous speakers or simple outlines. The longer and more complicated the program, the more scripting it might require. A script may consist of anything from a few key points outlined on a cue card to a detailed script that specifies voice over, shots, graphics, etc.

Who writes the script? Of course, you may prepare the script yourself, which is a good way to save some money on your budget. If you would like us to write a script, we can meet with you to generate an outline, and write a script to your specifications. This service might cost somewhere from the low hundreds to a few thousand dollars, depending on the length of the script and the number of major revisions it requires.

What other planning should happen at this stage? Once an outline or script has been generated, we need to work together to plan the whos, whats, wheres, and whens of production and post-production.

Production is the "Lights, Camera, Action!" stage of the process. During production, the camera crew gathers the footage needed to make your video.

What type of video tape should I shoot my program on? The video industry uses many types of videotape to gather footage on, some of which you may not have heard of before. Here are several common aquisition mediums, listed from most expensive to least expensive:

• Film: This is not really a videotape at all. Traditional film, just like what is used to produce motion pictures, is by far the highest quality medium to gather footage on. The main advantage of film is that in handles light and color much better than videotape does. After you shoot on the film, it is transfered to a high quality videotape (such as Digital Betacam or Betacam SP, see below) for editing.
• Digital Betacam: This is a recent development in the production world. Digital Betacam, though more expensive that most mediums, looks incredible. The digital camera is programmable so we can achieve a wide variety of "looks" in seconds, and the format has the sharpest image with the best color of all the common production formats.
• Betacam SP: This format is the industry standard format for broadcast quality. It can be found at almost any production facility in the world. Betacam SP is a high quality tape that produces good color and can be copied several times before it starts to break down. Most of our clients shoot, edit, and master on Betacam SP.
• DV: Digital 8mm is a higher-tech version of 8mm tape used in most home camcorders. It entered common usage in 1997. It produces pictures almost as good as Betacam SP.
• Hi8: Many home camcorders use this format of videotape. It records decent pictures, and is relatively inexpensive to use.
• 8mm: Many home camcorders use this format of videotape. Although not quite as good as Hi8, it records decent pictures, and is relatively inexpensive to use.
• SVHS: Some home camcorders and VCRs use SVHS, which about as good as Hi8 and 8mm. This is also an inexpensive medium.
• VHS: This is the most common form of videotape in the world. Just about anyone has a VHS machine in their living room. It is common because it is inexpensive. Unfortunately it is inexpensive because it is pretty low quality.
• Others: Many other, often more obscure, forms of videotape exist. They are either older and less common, or they are mostly used to produce edit and duplication masters. Other forms of videotape include 3/4 Inch, 1 Inch, M1, M2, M3, D1, D2, and several others.

What kind of camera should I use? This question has been answered, as the camera will depend mostly on what format of video you choose to aquire on. Remember that higher-end formats tend to use higher quality cameras.