Production Schedule: the stages of production

Throughout the year I will be creating posts in the blog about the five stages of production. This is an outline of why each individual stage is crucial in ensure success for the band and how we will ensure each stage is completed correctly. This blog is not directly related to my five stages of production, but will give an outline to the way in which professionals work.

Stage 1: Research and development
The research and development is needed to mould your idea to fit your target audience. We need to give our audience of 15 to 30 year olds what they would want to see for success of the band. The ways in which you can research the audience, is largely by questioning the target audience and observing similar bands and video techniques. Once the research stage of the project is complete the production team will probably have to mould their ideas into a more sellable product. It’s very likely that the team making the video are not the target audience, especially for younger targeting bands like Mcfly and Busted so this stage is very important.

Stage 2: Pre-Production
Pre-production stages include the storyboarding, organising, getting props and costumes, casting and other things like giving the band a lyrics sheet. Organising the day to ensure it runs very smoothly is perhaps one of the most crucial task to get right. Without organisation, the problems could be endless; ensuring all of the factors of pre-production can make your whole video look more polished and better. It could even give you extra time to try out new kinds of shots and new layouts to see what absolutely looks best.

Stage 3: Production (the shoot)
The time spent shooting and locations vary depending on how much the production company has to spend ion the video. Usually the bigger the star, the more extravagant the video will be. However some alternative bands attempt to make low budget videos that perhaps have a higher raw meaning. The shooting of the video entirely depends on the bands This stage is very relevant to the end result as because without it there is no product and the bands image will not be successfully constructed.

Stage 4: Post – Production (editing)
Without editing, the video can take no form. Especially with having different strands and elements for example performance, dance break and narrative. The videos have been edited since early 80s, late 70s; first coming about as a new cheaper and easier way to produce videos. Editing is essentially the cutting down of the rough cut into an actual music video using sharp cuts or fades. Many things like colour schemes and special effects can be changed during this stage, making the video look more professional.

Stage 5: Distribution and Exhibition
This stage envolves getting the music video and also band out into the public. Many factors must be considered before deciding where the music video should be shown and why. For example, an indie bands video would not be featured on a hip hop/ rnb music show. The reaon fo this is that the target audience would not have been reached. Other ways to get your band intot he public eye include guest apperances, live shows ans interviews. This stage useually occurs up to two weeks before and around a month after the product is released to ensure that is will reach every possible target audience.