Most people think the video production process starts when cameras show up. By that point, half the work is already done. By the time we're on set, the shoot is almost a formality.
Every shot has been planned, every decision has been made. The only variable left is execution.
The video production process runs across three phases:
Pre-production covers everything from the brief and script to crew hiring and location scouting.
Production is the shoot.
Post-production is editing, color grading, sound design, and delivery.
Each phase builds on the last. Skip or rush one, and the next phase pays for it.
Here's what each step actually involves.
Every production starts with a single question: what does this video need to do?
Not what it should look like. Not how long it should be. What it needs to accomplish.
These decisions shape every single choice downstream.
The client's job here is to define the goal as specifically as possible. The production company's job is to translate that goal into a creative direction. Both sides need to do their part.
The brief is where bad videos are born. Vague briefs produce vague videos. A client who can't articulate what success looks like makes it almost impossible to build toward it.
Ajax Creative's creative development process starts before a script is written or a camera is booked.
The script is the blueprint. Everything else gets built around it.
Each step gets more specific, more visual, more real. By the end of this phase, everyone should be able to picture the finished video before a single frame gets shot.
This is the cheapest phase to make changes. A line in a script costs nothing to rewrite. The same change on set costs a shoot day.
The best thing a client can do here is push back. If something doesn't feel right in the script, it won't feel right on camera either.
This is the time to say it, not after the crew is already on location.
The production company builds out everything needed to execute the shoot. The client's job is to approve, provide access, and get internal stakeholders aligned before cameras roll.
The production company handles:
The client handles:
One number worth knowing: 10% of the total budget goes into contingency. Weather delays, equipment issues, scheduling changes. Something always comes up. That 10% is what keeps a problem from becoming a crisis.
Pre-production done right makes shoot day boring. That's exactly the goal.
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Shoot day is the shortest phase and the most visible one.
The crew arrives at call time.
Setup comes first:
Then rehearsal. Then takes (multiple of them) until the director has what the edit needs.
Then B-roll, the secondary footage that gives the editor options. Then wrap.
Every department runs its own piece simultaneously. The director focuses on performance and frame. The DP owns the camera and light. The producer watches the clock and the budget. The line producer puts out fires before anyone else knows there's one.
The best clients on set are the ones who trust the work they did in pre-production. The hardest days are when someone tries to change direction mid-shoot.
If something feels wrong, say it to the producer. The producer is the right channel for client feedback on set, and that's by design.
The footage goes to the edit suite. This is where the video actually gets made.
A 60-second commercial might have six hours of footage behind it. The editor's job is to find the story inside all of it. Right take, right cut point, right pace. Hundreds of small decisions that most people watching the final product never think about.
The rough cut comes first and it's usually, well… rough. That's expected. The client reviews it, gives notes, the editor revises, and that loop continues until both sides are satisfied and the edit locks.
Picture lock is a real milestone. Once it's locked, color grading and sound design start. Revising the edit after that point is expensive because it affects work that's already underway in other departments.
Agree on revision rounds before the edit starts, not after the first cut lands in your inbox. Ajax Creative's commercial editors work within a defined revision structure on every project for exactly that reason.
Picture lock isn't the end. It's the start of the finishing phase.
The colorist goes through every shot and grades the footage. This isn't just making things look pretty. Color sets the emotional register of the entire piece.
The same footage can feel clinical or warm, tense or inviting, depending entirely on how it's graded.
Sound is next, and most clients underestimate how much it matters. The audio mix balances dialogue, ambient sound, music, and effects into something that feels seamless. Watch any great commercial with the sound off, and it loses half its impact immediately.
Music gets licensed or scored. VFX and motion graphics go in where the script called for them, bringing in elements that couldn't exist on set.
Ajax Creative's post-production team handles all of this in-house, and the animation studio covers anything that needs to be built frame by frame.
By the time this phase wraps, the video is finished. What comes next is getting it out into the world.
The video is finished. That doesn't mean it's done.
Every platform has different requirements:
A square cut performs differently from a horizontal one on the same platform. A video built for broadcast and uploaded to Instagram Stories at the wrong aspect ratio is a failure regardless of how good it looks.
Versioning happens here, too. A 60-second hero cut should generate a 30-second version, a 15-second cut, and platform-specific formats. These aren't afterthoughts. They need to be planned in pre-production because they affect how the edit gets built.
Delivery requirements locked in after the edit is done cost time and money. Locked in before production starts, they cost nothing.
How studios handle AI in video production is shifting delivery workflows faster than most clients realize.
One of the most common sources of production friction is misaligned expectations about who does what.
|
Phase |
Client's job |
|
Brief & development |
Define the goal. Be specific about the outcome you need. |
|
Script & concept |
Review, push back, approve. Changes here are free. |
|
Pre-production |
Approve creative, provide access, align internal stakeholders. |
|
Shoot |
Show up on time. Give feedback through the producer. |
|
Edit |
Review cuts on time. Consolidate feedback before sending. |
|
Color/sound/VFX |
Final approvals. Flag anything that doesn't match the brief. |
|
Delivery |
Confirm platform specs upfront. Don't change them after picture lock. |
The best client relationships are the ones where both sides know their lane.
Here's the full process, stripped down.
Ajax Creative runs every project through this process, from the first brief through final delivery.
If you're starting a project and want to understand what to expect at each step, that conversation starts here.
Video production runs through three phases and seven steps: brief and creative development, scriptwriting and concept development, pre-production planning, the shoot, editing, color and sound finishing, and delivery. Each step builds on the last.
Pre-production is the planning phase. The production company handles crew hiring, location scouting, permits, equipment, scheduling, and budget finalization. The client handles creative approvals, location access, and internal stakeholder alignment. Everything that happens on set flows from decisions made here.
Pre-production. Problems caught before the shoot cost a conversation. The same problems that occurred on set cost a shoot day. The quality of the final video is largely determined before cameras ever roll.
It depends on the scope. Social and digital content can wrap in one to three weeks. A broadcast commercial typically runs four to eight weeks. Brand films take six to ten weeks. Animation takes longer. The shoot itself is almost never the bottleneck.
Define the goal clearly at the brief stage. Push back during scripting when something feels wrong. Approve everything in writing before production starts. On set, give feedback through the producer. During the edit, consolidate notes before sending and review cuts on time. The earlier you raise concerns, the less they cost.