Five Stages of Production

The first stage of production is Research and Development. We start by choosing a track and deciding what image we want our artist to have. It is the stage in which you develop ideas in terms of performance, narrative and other images. Your narrative can be influenced by the lyrics and sound of the song. In the Research and Development we need to identify our target audience and draw them into a key demographic such as 16-35. We need to develop the image and history of the band, so that the singer is not 2D and boring; he is complex and has interests that can influence his lyrics. Also in this stage we need to create The Basic Concept behind the video idea, the ideological values and what we are trying to say during the video.
The second stage is pre-production. This is after the “Greenlight” has been given. During this stage we need to list all major roles (Director, Camera coordinator etc.) Create a timeline that shows the structure of lyrics and shots. And follow this through by next creating a storyboard that shows all technical detail, location, special effects etc. The next decision to make is how the floor plan is being laid out. A vital organisational element is sorting out the shooting schedule, and how long it should take to complete each part of the story board. In pre-production there are three essential lists to be made; the first is equipment list, so that we are totally prepared with all technical equipment. The second is a props list, who is supplying them and how expensive the items are if they need to be bought in. Finally, we need a cast list with digital pictures so that our characters look in the same genre.
Stage three is the Production itself. We simply need a call list for our cast a few days before so they know when to come and so that they are prepared for that.
Stage four is a very important part for the lead editor as the drive the work through this section.
Distribution and Exhibition is the final stage of Production. We need to think about how we would distribute and exhibit through different forms of media, eg. CD’s, DVD’s TV outlets, etc