Video Production: Getting Started

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The purpose of a video production could be to entertain, to educate, or to sell a product. Videos are becoming more popular as a way to present research in an engaging way.

One way to think of a video is as an essay in visual form. Videos "use audiovisual materials to present research or explore topics. Like written essays, they may contain an introduction, argument, supporting evidence, and conclusion."

"Video essays and digital storytelling: Video essays." What is a video essay? (2018, May 24). Retrieved from https://libguides.royalroads.ca/videoessayhowto/beginning

Getting started with video production can seem intimidating. Let's start by explaining the stages of the production process.

1. Planning - Create a goal, a mission statement, or a learning outcome for your video. Think about the content of your video and the target audience. Write out a script and a storyboard, then decide what technology is necessary for your project. This stage can also be called pre-production.
    
2. Production - During this part of the process, you will capture video footage and images that you would like to have in your final video. You don't have to worry about them being perfect yet, just collect everything that will help you communicate the goal of your video project to your audience.
    
3. Editing - You will need to put your video together in a logical order which helps you achieve your goal. You may want to clean up the video clips and audio and add titles or effects to your project. This stage can also be called post-production.

Clip - A shorter piece of video footage or audio recording that may be inserted into a longer video production.

Credits - Acknowledgments given for assistance. In video productions, credits are most often listed at the end and may include actors, editors, directors, and anyone else who has contributed to the production.

Ins and Outs - A video clip starts at an in point and ends with an out point. Most video editing programs offer a tool in which the editor may mark the in and out points of a clip. The clip will start playing where the in marker is placed and stop where the out marker is placed.

Playhead - A vertical line which marks the current position in the timeline used in a video editing program.

Scrubbing - Dragging the playhead back and forth across the timeline in a video editing program to quickly rewind and fast-forward while still being able to view the footage in the preview window.

Timeline - The workspace area of a video editing program that allows the editor to assemble a collection of video and audio clips.

Voiceover - A recorded voice that describes what is happening in a video to the audience.

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