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So, you're looking to hire a video production company or maybe you're working with one, but you just don't understand the video production terms! Well, we're here to help.
Let us introduce ourselves. We're Trendy Grandad, a London-based social-first & YouTube specialist video production company. We've been creating videos with brands & creators for over a decade now, filming with National Geographic, Quickbooks and Blakely - so we're pretty confident with the terminology used by video production companies & videographers.
So, lets get into it shall we?
In simple terms, pre-production refers to everything that happens before filming. Such as the script writing, storyboard artistry, location scouting, shot list creation, filming logistics, casting, booking crew & so much more! Don't be scared when a company talks about pre-production, all this is the planning of the shoot.
Production means filming or shooting. I.E - The actual shoot. This can be spread over a few hours or a few weeks, depending on the size of your production. If the shoot is longer, it doesn't necessarily mean there is more pre-production or post-production, as sometimes short shoots can be just as complex.
Post-Production refers to anything that happens after the production. Such as editing, animation, distribution, broadcast, graphics, thumbnail design and so much more!
A storyboard is a on-paper visual representation of how a video will look. Storyboards can either be drawn by hand or can be done digitally. A storyboard is great because it helps everyone understand what the video will look like - from the camera crew, to the client.
A call sheet is a document that is sent out to all production & crew before filming. It contains logistical information needed for crew & cast to be in the right place at the right time. Such as filming addresses, parking information, contact numbers of crew, contributor/model information, weather information, timings of the shoot & any more details needed.
B-Roll is the footage which isn't the main footage. Some people call it cutaways. For example & in very simple terms, say you're filming an interview of a woman in her office, the interview shots of her talking will be your main footage. Shots of her working on a laptop, in a meeting or chatting with her client would be the B-Roll footage. It's a way of segmenting what's the main footage in the scene and what's secondary.
Frame rate is the number of frames captured per second (e.g., 24fps, 30fps, 60fps). Camera crews film in different frame rates for multiple reasons. One of the most commonly used is 24fps. However, this might be doubled if the footage needs to be slowed down in post-production. It's not normally necessary for a client to know what frame rate the camera crew is filming in but it does help to understand.
Aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between a video's width and height. For example, 1:1 or 16:9. Sometimes people refer to this as landscape, vertical or square. It's common for a when a video is edited that is exported in multiple aspect ratios for different purposes. Such as a square aspect ratio (1:1) for social media grids or landscape (16:9) for YouTube video production. Here is an example of some different aspect ratios.
A DOP is the Director or Photography role on set. In simple terms, this role is in charge of how everything looks on camera, they are the director of the photography - get it? Lighting is usually their main bag!
A shot list is a list that instructs the camera crew & director what they need to be filming. Almost like a shopping list, but for camera crew! Each shot will contain information needed for the camera person to understand what type of shot it is and how it should be filmed. I.E - Shot 1 - Establishing Shot - Super Wide - 16mm Lens - Drone - Outdoors - No audio - Models A, C & D
A green screen is literally what is says on the tin, a screen that is green! Why do we film in front of a green screen though? Well, it's because in post-production, video production companies can do some pretty wizardry stuff and can turn that green screen into any scene or set you want!
When a video company talks about 'the budget' they are referring to the cost of the production. This includeds the price to hire their services and the cost of the all the expenses; locations, crew, models, food, travel etc.
Rushes is the un-edited & un-colour graded footage straight out of the camera. To ensure safety of the rushes, these should be backed up 3 times, in 3 different places, before the editing process begins.
Colour grading is exactly what is says on the tin, grading the colour of the rushes/footage. In simple terms, when camera crews film, they film with low amounts of colour on the footage, this is usually called 'log' footage - this is because in post-production they can then manipulate the colours easily, creating the right grade for the project. You'll notice that horror films are graded very differently to John Lewis adverts, for example.
A director's job is to direct everyone on set, they call the shots. They call action, cut & speed. They are the sole point of ensuring a set is controlled and following a schedule.
A producers' job is the chief organiser - their job is to bring the entire production together. They are in control of managing the entire production off-screen - from crew, to contributors & props. Of course, in most cases, they will have help in most cases!
A DIT - otherwise known as a digital imaging technician. It is a role on set that ensures the rushes/footage gets backed up onto hard drives safely and securely. They are sometimes called data wrangles.
A dolly is a camera rig that rolls along the floor on wheels to ensure a smooth camera movement. Imagine walking along holding a camera in your hands - it would be pretty shaky, right? Now imagine having that camera at the same height but on a rig with wheels that stablise the camera - that's a dolly!
A gaffer is head of the lighting team on set. Their role & work is to ensure all the lights are rigged up properly & safely.
Render is exactly the same as export. An video editor would render out a video from the editing software.
A slate, is a clapper board. It used to sync audio from different microphones on set and tells the video editor information about each shot and what's about to happen. Such as the scene or shot from the shot list.
Timecode is essential to ensure that all cameras are running at the same time. This ensures that when editing, you know what shots were filmed at what time & if you're on a multi camera studio shoot for example, then you'll want all cameras to be in sync with each other.
A timeline is what a video editor edits. It's essentially the blank canvas that an edit is built upon. On a timeline, you will add clipped footage, audio, subtitles, sound effects and visual effects.
A script is created in the pre-production. It is the foundation to any video production shoot. A script will contact script lines by actors or talent, directions on how they should speak & what their movements should be. A script is usually created first when an idea is thought of. Without a good script - you'll most likely have a terrible video!
A key light is the main light product within the lighting equipment list. It's main purpose is to light the majority of the scene or studio. Sometimes more than one key light is used depending on the size of the space or the size of the light.
Overexposure is when an image is too bright, causing loss of detail in the highlights. Underexposure is when an image is too dark, losing detail in the shadows. A histogram on a camera display will help you understand if a shot is one of the other, or sometimes it's fairly obvious just by looking at the shot.
Foley is the sounds that happen in a scene that is captured in post-production and then added onto the edit timeline in the editing phrase. For example when filming video content you might just want the capture the voice from the actors to get clean audio. However, if they are on a boat you might want to add in seagulls and waves afterwards to create a more realistic scene of the actors being on water.
Trendy Grandad are London-based social first & Youtube video production specialists. They hold over a decade of experience filming & editing videos for brands such as Quickbooks, National Geographic & Blakely Clothing. Looking for a video production company? Chat with us here!
Id sit donec fermentum quis facilisis sagittis velit pulvinar sollicitudinat dolor aliquam risus ultricies cras tortor est lacus vitae scelerisque ac aliquam rutrum mattis mauris commodo invitaeleo odio amet mi pulvinar in sagittis quis auctor vestibulum quisque tristique sagittis non ullamcorper donec.
Vitae congue eu consequat ac felis placerat vestibulum lectus mauris ultrices cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim diam porttitor lacus luctus accumsan tortor posuere praesent tristique magna sit amet purus gravida quis blandit turpis dolor sit amet consectur.
At risus viverra adipiscing at in tellus integer feugiat nisl pretium fusce id velit ut tortor sagittis orci a scelerisque purus semper eget at lectus urna duis convallis. porta nibh venenatis cras sed felis eget neque laoreet suspendisse interdum consectetur libero id faucibus nisl donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus purus in.
At risus viverra adipiscing at in tellus integer feugiat nisl pretium fusce id velit ut tortor sagittis orci a scelerisque purus semper eget at lectus urna duis convallis. Porta nibh venenatis cras sed felis eget neque laoreet suspendisse interdum consectetur libero id faucibus nisl donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus purus in.
Nisi quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae aliquet bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque. Velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur gravida odio aenean sed adipiscing diam donec adipiscing tristique risus. amet est placerat in egestas erat imperdiet sed euismod nisi.
Varius duis at consectetur lorem donec massa sapien faucibus etivamus arcu felis bibendum ut tristique et egestas quis ccumsan sit amet nulla facilisi morbi orci a scelerisque purus
Eget lorem dolor sed viverra ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum felis donec et odio pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas aliquam sem fringilla ut morbi tincidunt augue interdum velit euismod eu tincidunt tortor aliquam nulla facilisi aenean sed adipiscing diam donec
A wideshot (WS) is exactly what it says on the tin, a shot that is wide! Used filmed with a camera length of anything below 16mm - this size will help you capture as much in the shot as possible. A wide shot will be used in many scenarios - the most obvious being an establishing shot or a shot of the entire studio.
A prime lens is a lens that doesn't have any zoom functionality. There is a common argument that prime lens 'look better' than zoom lens and most film productions would use them. However, it really depends on the scenes you're filming and the quality of the production you're working on. For example, we at Trendy Grandad film a lot of Youtube videos, normally contributors are moving around a fair amount - to ensure we can capture this, we need a variety of zoom lens to give us the flexibility needed for the changes.
Rolling shutter is a camera sensor effect that can cause distortion during fast motion. It's usually part of the shot list!
A fill light is a light that is positioned to fill in spaces of shadow caused by the other lights on set. If a production teams requirements is to fill the entire scene with light, then a fill light will be needed if they key light/s can't reach all the areas needed.
An establishing shot is exactly what it says on the tin, a shot that establishes a scene, subject or landscape. For example, if you're filming a property tour for an estate agent, the establishing shot might be a drone shot of the neighbourhood to help the viewer understand what is going on.