This day has come and you are ready to take a very important step forward into unknown and uncertainty. Are you ready to create a video for yourself or your business?
In order you can take this important step consciously and confidently, we have prepared all the necessary information for you on this page. After reading this you will understand what exactly you need and whether we are suitable for you in achieving your goals. And if so, you will find out what stages of video creation we will go through together. And we guarantee you our professional approach and comprehensive support.
There is a wide variety of video formats each serving a specific purpose. Someone needs 10-second product commercial for YouTube and someone wants to get a 20-minute film about their company. Below you may find the list of video formats which we create for our clients and their audience.
From TV commercials broadcasting nationwide to ad videos for Internet only or even for one specific social network. Whatever you choose, we will create a video that not only meets your expectations but also reckons with features and requirements of a particular distribution channel.
Your business may have just entered the market and you need to position it properly. Or your brand wants to convey some opinion to the audience, create a certain image. Anyway, what you need is longer and more complicated format than a simple ad video. You need a mini-film.
We have experience of working both with music producers who know exactly what they need and also with performers who have only an idea and are at the beginning of their creative path.
Creating videos is not all about money. At Luminance we believe that our work should benefit the environment and be socially significant. That is why we are constantly involved in shooting for social projects such as blood donation or video courses for hospitals for example.
Shooting is a complicated multistage process that requires coordinated efforts of many professionals. Below you may find the description of the basic stages which we at Luminance go through to turn an idea into a ready-made video.
PRE-PRODACTION PERIOD
Preparatory Stage
Briefing & Terms of Reference
This is the first stage where we receive all the necessary information from our clients and discuss their preferences regarding the future video. It can be a ready-made script with a clear frame-by-frame description of the entire video or just a general concept or a description of an idea.
Concept Development & Approval (optional)
If you don't have an explicit script for your future video or you don't quite understand what exactly you need – no problem. We can provide several variants of creative concept for you to choose the most suitable one. We will also give a detailed explanation to each particular option – what audience interaction mechanisms we embedded in it, etc.
Budgeting
Once the concept and the approximate story are agreed with the client, we may proceed to project estimation. We provide the client with a detailed budget in which all the cost-based items are clearly specified. This allows the client to easily understand the distribution of finances within the project.
Timing
Taking into account client's expectations about the release date or possible shooting date, we make a project timing. This schedule shows how many days each stage of the project will take.
Contract Signing
The contract contains all the important details of the future video, i.e. budget, duration of the video, target formats, distribution channels, etc.
Script Development
At this stage our future video is transformed from a concept into a detailed scenario listing locations, characters and their actions.
Director's Script & Storyboard Development
If the script is a narrative description of how the story will unfold, then the director's script is a detailed frame-by-frame story created by the director of the project. Director's script contains every single detail of the video such as time of the day or every specific camera move in each frame.
Departments Briefing
On this stage the number of specialist working on the project increases sharply. A number of different professionals become involved in the project (director of photography, production designer, costume designer, lighting technicians, etc.) Each department is briefed and has clear tasks for future work.
Casting
According to the tasks of the video and client's preferences, we form a pool of candidates for each part. The director conducts a casting where he/she sets tasks for the actors and chooses the best ones. The client receives a shortlist of candidates and chooses the actors for each part, taking into account director's recommendations.
Location Scouting
The locations where shooting will take place have to be suitable for realization of our creative ideas and also meet some technical requirements. So the director and director of photography pick several options and visit them to find the most favorable one. After the scouting and approving locations with the client we choose the exact location (or a number of locations) for shooting.
Technical Exploration of the Location
Technical exploration of the location is necessary for almost all the members of the shooting team. Here specialists discuss many technical aspects, possible difficulties that may occur during the shooting, resolve logistics issues, etc.
Shooting Schedule
After technical exploration of the location producer or 1AD (first assistant director) develops a shooting schedule. This schedule indicates the order of frame shooting, how much time will be spent on shooting each particular frame and overall duration of the shooting day.
Based on this schedule we form a call sheet – the time of arrival of each department for the shooting set. Shooting schedule is the main action plan for the shooting day.
PRODUCTION PERIOD
The shooting process itself.
Shooting Day
On this very day after long hours of planning and preparation we finally turn our creative idea into reality. Standard shooting time lasts 10 hours but very often it can last 14-16 hours or more. During all this time the client is on the shooting set and has the opportunity to follow the whole process, give comments and make certain situational changes, working closely with the director.
Being the most important one, this stage still remains just one component. However, many people mistakenly believe that the whole process of creating a video is equivalent to a day of shooting.
Shooting Period (optional)
If video creation requires several shooting days, then this entire period can be referred to production stage. The shooting period may last from a few days up to a few weeks or even more.
POST-PRODACTION PERIOD
All the stages that take place after the shooting and end with the submission of the final version of the video.
Draft Editing
The editor assembles the video frame by frame. It is important to understand that at this stage there won't be any graphic elements in the video. The picture can seem grayish, almost colorless. But don't worry, this is a feature of the source material. There also won't be any background music or the overall design. This draft version is only the foundation for further work.
Client's Revisions and Editing Approval
The client reviews the draft editing and gives revisions. Once the revisions are incorporated and if the client does not have any more questions about the structure or the sequence of frames, the editing is approved.
IMPORTANT. Once the editing is approved, any revisions or changes won't be accepted. The specificity of further work on the video (graphic design, coloring, etc.) requires the editing to remain unchanged.
Creation of Graphic Elements
Graphic elements may contain titles, infographic elements (motion design) or 3D elements. The work on them usually starts before the shooting. Very often we need to create sketches of future graphics and approve them with the client.
Depending on the tasks, this stage can easily become the longest of all. The work on graphic elements may proceed in parallel with most of the following stages.
Coloring
Once graphic elements are added each frame is "painted" so that it relays with the vision of the client and the director. During coloring the following issues are taken into consideration: overall color tone, brightness, saturation of certain colors, etc.
Music Selection or Music Composing
At this stage we select music for the video from specialized audio stocks. There we can choose from thousands of different music pieces. We make a shortlist from 3-5 most suitable tracks, according to client's preferences. And then the client chooses one of them. If several tracks need to be used in the video, the above process occurs for each of them.
If the client wants to get a unique musical accompaniment, our composer writes music for the video from scratch. This composition will in the smallest detail correspond to client's wishes.
Voice Over
We select 3-5 candidates among voice actors to record the voice over. From this shortlist the client chooses one to do the job. The recording takes place in sound-recording studio. The client can observe the whole process and interact with the recording director and the voice actor to get the desired result.
Sound Design, Sound Cleaning & Audio Mixing
At this stage all the sound effects are applied (if necessary). Then all the sounds are mixed together and added to the video: recorded sound from the shooting set, voice over, sound effects, music, etc.
Mastering
Final consolidation of all video components. The client receives the ready-made video in the highest quality and in accordance with the requirements of a particular distribution channel (format type, codec, resolution, aspect ratio, etc.)
FAQ
In this section we will answer the most common questions we are asked about our work. If you want to contact us and discuss your idea in detail, please use the feedback form or write us to info@luminance.video
How much does it cost to shoot a video?
This is the most frequently asked question we do not have a universal answer for. Each project is unique and requires completely different amount of resources. The budget of the video depends on its duration, the number of people in the shooting team, number of actors, locations, amount of props, visual effects, etc. That is why when discussing price issues, we always ask our clients to provide us with as much information as possible about the future video. This may be a ready-made script or just a rough idea (in this case we write the script ourselves and include this into the budget). After getting all the information we need, we can provide our client with a ballpark price or a detailed cost estimate (CE).
How long does it take to create a video?
From 1 to 4 weeks approximately. Sometimes it may be more. The overall time and the scope of work depends on the difficulty of the project.
How much time does the shooting last?
Of course! If the clients are on the set observing the shooting process, they are able to give instructions and make decisions right there on the spot. When the clients see how the video is created, they get better understanding of what it will look like in the end.
May I be present on the shooting set?
Of course! If the clients are on the set observing the shooting process, they are able to give instructions and make decisions right there on the spot. When the clients see how the video is created, they get better understanding of what it will look like in the end.
What are the guarantees that I will not be deceived and will get the desired result?
After agreeing on the main points and the budget of the project we sign a contract which clearly spells out all the features of the video, work completion time, etc.
In addition, the whole process of our interaction is based on the step-by-step coordination of all important details with the client, starting from script development and up to the selection of actors' wardrobe. During pre-production period there are several key-point meetings with the client. So, before the shooting the client as well as all the members of the project team clearly understand what the final video will look like in the smallest detail. Thus, the situation when after the shooting the client sees in video some inconsistent element he/she does not like – is simply impossible.
