Producing a film from scratch requires hard work and immense patience. Unluckily, shooting every perspective and scene on your script is the first step.
As you congratulate your team on producing a brilliant film — you are reminded that another hustle is waiting for you. The post-production process.
If you are confused about post-production and how you perform it, this blog will help you. We will guide you from A to Z regarding the post-production process.
1- Image Editing
The first step in a movie’s post-production process is image editing. You piece together the raw footage to narrate the complete tale. The editor goes through the script, re-watch the footage, and then works together the shots to produce the story.
It usually leaves many footage pieces on the cutting area’s floor. However, it isn’t possible to utilize each piece of footage you filmed.
And you don’t finish this process in one go. Usually, the creative editor produces the first cut. Then, they keep making more edits until they get the final version.
This process takes at least a couple of weeks and a maximum of a few months, based on the intricacy and time duration of the movie. You can use Adobe Premiere Pro for the editing process.
2- Choosing an Editing Software
It is the most significant step to starting your post-production for your film. Therefore, you should not pick one arbitrarily or per someone’s recommendation.
Your editing software should aid you in maintaining workflow more efficiently. But an unsuitable one will take up much of your time and money.
You should consider these two things to select an editing software for your film:
- The creative editor’s requirements
- The original format in which you shot the film
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3- Choosing a Creative Film Editor
Film editors’ skills can make or break your post-production process. The editor creates the EDL or Edit Decision List. They analyze all scenes and scripts of the film and then use their creativity to sequence shots in a way that makes the story flow interactively.
4- Creating Sound
After picture editing, you will start creating and enhancing the sound.
Like the creative movie editor, selecting a diligent sound editor is crucial.
Sound editing takes a sizable amount of time and energy, so the person should be willing to do that until everything is perfect.
The sound editor put together the soundtracks by removing unwanted sounds, trimming dialogue tracks, and uplifting the movie with impressive sound effects.
The sound editor should also know their way around Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR).
Sometimes the sound recorder doesn’t record the sound on the set correctly. You only get to know this error when you see the original footage.
Then, Automated dialogue replacement comes in. It refers to re-recording an actor’s lines over a scene in a quiet place and reinserting them into the movie.
Reputable media production houses have pro sound editors on their teams. You can consult them if you can’t find a good sound editor.
Regarding the soundtrack, you can license existing soundtracks or have a songwriter write new songs for your project.
5- Adding Visual Effects (VFX)
The next step is adding visual effects to the movie. This step is needed because it’s impossible (or too costly) to shoot some visuals in real life. For example, scenes of murder, creating an enormous explosion, aging an actor, cruel acts of a battle, etc.
Also, sometimes scenes are shot in front of a green background during the production stage. And then, this green screen is replaced by other effects or backgrounds during post-production.
Your post-production company in Dubai will have a team of creative artists and engineers working under a VFX Supervisor. This crew designs unbelievable visuals using CGI (computer-generated imagery).
For example, if a filmmaker needs to show a helicopter in the movie, they get its animation created and add this animated helicopter during post-production.
6- Sound Mixing
After including music and sound effects, sound editors also listen to the movie to adjust the audio levels.
Sometimes, they find that background music is so loud that one can’t hear the dialogue properly. Or the sound of an explosion isn’t suitably rattling and loud enough compared to other sound effects in the movie.
The purpose is to ensure that each sound element is heard appropriately, with the best sound quality in every scene.
7- Color Grading
In this step, a color editor watches the film frame by frame to adjust and fluctuate the light’s color with digital filters for consistency and mood.
The color adjustments involve solving exposure issues, white balance problems, and adjusting light in each scene. The color editor brushes up on the final version of the film.
You may want to show a dark and dull mood in your movie. So, the colorist would adjust the color when refining the footage.
Post-production service providers usually only start color grading once the editing process ends, a phase known as “picture lock.”
Bottom Line
You should go about the post-production process calmly, taking one step at a time. If you are getting a film produced to promote your business, you may have no previous experience in filmmaking.
Then, you need to get as much knowledge as possible and hire only the best experts as you don’t want a messed-up movie to advertise your brand/products.