Corporate Video Production Guide
What video production involves, what moves the cost and the schedule, and how to choose a partner. Written for the people who commission the work.
Production Guides
A plain-language guide for marketing, communications and HR teams who need to commission a video and want to know what they are buying.
Eight chapters. No production experience required.
What is video production?
Video production is the full process of turning a message into a finished film: planning it, filming or animating it, editing it and delivering files ready for the channels where people will watch. In everyday use, the term also names the filming day alone, which is usually the shortest part of the work.
Corporate video production applies that process to a business objective. The film has an audience inside or outside the company, a message it must carry, people who must approve it and a date it has to meet. That is why most of the decisions that determine quality and cost are made before a camera is switched on.
For a buyer, three things are worth knowing from the start: which kind of video fits the objective, what each phase needs from your team, and which choices move the budget and the schedule. This guide covers each one.
Eight chapters, one decision at a time
Read the guide in order or go straight to the question you have today. Each chapter explains what happens, what it asks of your team and what to check before you approve.
01.
Types of corporate video
Nine common formats and the business question each one answers. Go to types of video
02.
The phases of production
What happens in pre-production, production and post-production, and what your team does in each. Go to the phases
03.
What drives the cost
The six choices that move a budget, and how to compare proposals on equal terms. Go to cost
04.
How long it takes
Why the filming is rarely what sets the delivery date, and what does. Go to timelines
05.
How to write a brief
What a production company needs to know, in one or two pages. Go to the brief
06.
How to choose a partner
Six questions to ask every company on your shortlist, and when a production company is the right choice. Go to choosing a partner
07.
Glossary
Twelve terms you are likely to meet in a proposal, a schedule or a review. Go to the glossary
08.
Rights, music and usage
What to confirm about licenses, releases and source files before you sign. Go to rights and usage
Types of corporate video
Each format answers a different business question. Start from the question, then choose the format.
How a video gets made
The phases of video production
Every video, filmed or animated, moves through pre-production, production and post-production. Most of the quality is decided in the first one.
Plan first.
Film once.
Pre-production, production
and post-production
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Brief and concept
The objective, audience and message are agreed, and a creative idea is chosen.
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Script and storyboard
The script fixes what is said. The storyboard or references fix what is seen.
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Pre-production
Crew, cast, locations, permits and schedule are booked. Your team confirms people and sites.
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Production
The filming days, or the animation of approved designs. Usually the shortest phase.
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Post-production
Editing, graphics, color, sound and captions, with review rounds for your comments.
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Delivery
Final files in the lengths, aspect ratios and languages each channel needs.
What drives video production cost
Video production cost follows the resources a project uses, not the length of the final film. A thirty-second commercial with actors, several locations and a large crew can cost more than a ten-minute interview filmed in one room.
Six choices move a budget the most: the number of filming days; the number of locations and the travel between them; the size of the crew and the equipment; the cast, whether hired actors or your own employees; the amount of animation or motion graphics; and the number of versions, languages and aspect ratios to deliver. Hired actors and licensed music also carry usage terms, so the same film can cost more when it runs for longer or in more countries.
To compare proposals fairly, ask each company to price the same list of deliverables and to state what is included: revision rounds, music, captions, raw footage and usage rights. A lower price often reflects a narrower scope. Our own minimum budget and standard terms are in the FAQ.
How long video production takes
A single film with one filming day can move from an approved brief to delivery in a few weeks. A series, a shoot in several countries or a long animation program takes months. The filming itself is rarely what sets the date. These six factors are.
01.
Approvals
The number of people who review the script and the edit, and how quickly they respond, is the largest variable in most corporate schedules. Name one person who consolidates the comments.
02.
Availability of people
Executives, customers and experts who appear on camera have calendars of their own. Filming dates are often set by them, not by the crew.
03.
Locations and permits
Factories, hospitals, public streets and airports need authorization, safety briefings or permits. Some take days to obtain, others take weeks.
04.
Animation and graphics
Animated films are approved in steps: style, storyboard, then motion. Each step needs a decision before the next one begins.
05.
Versions and languages
Every cutdown, aspect ratio, subtitle file and voice-over adds finishing time after the main film is approved.
06.
A date that cannot move
If the launch or event date is fixed, say so in the first conversation. A schedule built backwards from that date shows what must be approved, and by when.
How to write a video production brief
A video production brief is a short document that tells a production company what the video has to achieve, for whom, by when and within what limits. One or two pages are enough. The same content works as the core of a video production RFP when procurement needs to compare several companies on equal terms.
A useful brief describes the problem and leaves the solution open. Say what the audience should understand, feel or do after watching, and let the proposals show how to get there. State a budget range even when it is approximate: it tells the company which kind of production to design, and it avoids a proposal that cannot be approved. If you do not have a finished brief, a clear description of the situation is enough to start a conversation on our contact page.
The business objective
The audience
The key message
Deliverables and channels
Budget range and deadline
Reviewers and final approver
The business objective
The audience
The key message
Deliverables and channels
Budget range and deadline
Reviewers and final approver
Choosing a partner
How to choose a video production company
A showreel shows what a company can make at its best. It does not show how your project will run. These six questions cover both, and the answers are easy to compare across a shortlist.
01
Have they made this before?
Ask for work in your format and your industry, not only the best film on the reel.
02
Who runs the project?
One named person responsible for scope, schedule and communication.
03
What is in the price?
Deliverables, revision rounds, music, captions and usage rights, in writing.
04
How do approvals work?
When you review, how many rounds are included and what a late change costs.
05
Who owns what?
Usage period, raw footage, project files and releases from the people on screen.
06
Can they deliver at scale?
Languages, versions and several countries, with clients who can confirm it.
In-house team, freelancer or production company?
All three are valid, and many companies use more than one. An in-house team is the right choice for frequent, fast content, where knowing the company matters more than scale. A freelancer suits a contained task with a clear owner on your side: one filming day, one edit, one animation.
A production company makes sense when the project needs several disciplines at once, such as direction, crew, animation, color and sound; when the film represents the brand in front of customers, investors or the whole workforce; when it must be delivered in several versions, languages or countries; or when nobody on your team has the time to manage it. In those cases you are paying for coordination and accountability as much as for cameras.
Glossary: video production terms
Twelve terms you are likely to meet in a proposal, a schedule or a review, in the order of the alphabet.
01.
Animatic
A rough, timed version of an animation or storyboard with temporary sound, used to approve pacing before the final images are produced.
02.
Aspect ratio
The shape of the frame: 16:9 is horizontal, 9:16 is vertical and 1:1 is square. Each channel favors one, so it is decided before filming.
03.
B-roll
Supporting footage shown while someone speaks: the factory, the product, the team at work. It lets the editor cover cuts and illustrate what is being said.
04.
Call sheet
The document sent before each filming day with the schedule, addresses, contacts and who needs to be where, and when.
05.
Color grading
The adjustment of color and contrast in the finished edit, so that every shot matches and the film has a consistent look.
06.
Cutdown
A shorter version of the main film, such as a 15-second cut for social media, made from the same footage.
07.
Deliverables
The list of final files you receive, each defined by its duration, aspect ratio, language and caption format.
08.
Motion graphics
Animated text, charts, icons and interface elements, added over footage or used on their own.
09.
Picture lock
The point at which the edit is approved and no more changes to the images are expected. Color, sound and captions are finished after it.
10.
Rough cut
The first assembled version of the film, shown to check message, structure and pacing. Color, sound and graphics are still temporary.
11.
Shot list
The planned list of every shot to be filmed, used to schedule the day and to check that nothing is missing.
12.
Voice-over
A narration recorded separately and placed over the images. It can be recorded again in other languages without filming again.
Rights, music and usage
A finished film contains other people’s work and image: actors, voice talent, music, sometimes stock footage or fonts. Each one is licensed for a use, a territory and a period. Before you sign, confirm that the licenses cover where and for how long you plan to show the film. Paid media, broadcast and international use are the cases most often left out.
Four points belong in every agreement. Usage: for how long, in which countries and on which channels the film may run. Releases: signed permission from every person and every private location on screen, employees included. Music: whether the track is royalty-free, licensed or composed for the film, and what that license allows. Source material: whether raw footage and editable project files are delivered, and for how long the production company stores them.
Captions deserve the same attention. Many people watch without sound, and captions are part of making a video accessible. Ask for them in the list of deliverables from the start.
Questions buyers ask before a first video
Short answers to the terms and choices that come up in a first project.
What is the difference between video production and videography?
Videography usually means one person filming and editing an event or a simple piece. Video production involves a team and a full process: concept, script, direction, crew, editing, graphics, color and sound. The choice depends on how much planning, coordination and finishing the film needs.
What is the difference between pre-production and post-production?
Pre-production is everything planned before filming: script, storyboard, schedule, crew, cast, locations and permits. Post-production is everything done after filming: editing, graphics, color, sound, captions and export. Production, the filming itself, sits between the two.
What is a video production RFP?
A request for proposal is the document a company sends to several production companies so that they bid on the same project. It contains the brief and the rules of the bid: the deadline for questions, the proposal format, the evaluation criteria and the decision date. For a single video, a clear brief sent to two or three companies usually achieves the same result.
What does our team need to prepare before a filming day?
Confirm the people who will appear and their availability, authorize access to the locations, collect signed releases, share brand guidelines and logos, and name one person who can answer questions on the day. Your production partner should send this list in advance.
Should a corporate video be horizontal or vertical?
Decide by channel. Websites, presentations, events and YouTube use horizontal 16:9. Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts use vertical 9:16. If the film will run in both, say so before filming, because framing for two shapes has to be planned on set.
Is animation cheaper than live-action video?
Not necessarily. Animation removes crew, locations and cast, and adds design and animation time that grows with the length of the film and the level of detail. It is usually the better choice when the subject cannot be filmed: software, data, a process inside a machine or a product that does not exist yet.
What is the difference between captions and subtitles?
Subtitles transcribe or translate the dialogue for viewers who can hear the audio. Captions also describe relevant sounds, such as music or laughter, for viewers who cannot hear it. Closed captions can be switched on and off. Open captions are part of the image and always visible.
