Tips For Successful Television Video Production

As you transform your ideas into lights, camera, action, consider the industry best practices from our team of video production and multimedia professionals. Bring your television projects to life seamlessly, avoiding common production pitfalls. Explore our comprehensive roadmap for successful television video production, packed with insightful tips and innovative ideas.

Pre-Production Planning Tips

Every successful television video production starts with rock-solid pre-production planning. And since we’ve been a part of projects spanning three decades, we know a thing or two about what to include in your pre-production planning checklists.

Project Vision

Don’t fail to plan, or you’ll plan to fail. This couldn’t be truer than in television. Take the time you need to carve out your project vision. Understand what you hope to accomplish or achieve with your video. Whether you’re putting together a company training series, a 30-second television commercial, or an entertaining motion picture without initial vision objectives, it’s a doomed project.

Project vision tips:

• Identify the definition of success for this project.
• Talk with your teams to bounce ideas off each other.
• Study competitors or similar projects already in existence.
• Write everything down as you brainstorm.
• Identify potential blockers up front.

Research

During the research phase of any television video production, you’ll identify and assemble the operational must-haves. These will include the people, places, and things needed to execute your plan.

Research tips:

• Think about the products and props you might need for the shoot.
• Identify places and locations, creating a Plan A and Plan B list.
• Consider permits and leases that may be required.
• Create personas of the ideal talent you’re looking for to complement your vision.
• Be mindful of teams and vendors, including a video production partner, camera operators, directors, prop managers, etc.

Script Development

You can produce the most beautiful television video. But if the message falls flat, the video won’t be successful. Craft a compelling script that conveys your message clearly and engages the audience. If you’re storytelling, focus on the story arc, characters, and dialogue.

Script development tips:

• If you’re not a writer, hire one.
• You might have to receive feedback from network stations before you proceed.
• The most effective scripts are conversational and authentic.
• Toss polished grammar out the window in favor of more realistic dialogues.
• Don’t script what you can demonstrate with visuals – less is more.

Storyboarding

With your how, where, what, and who outlined, you can get to the fun part – bringing the vision to life with storyboards. Create a storyboard to visualize each scene or visual concept. This helps in planning camera angles, shots, and transitions.

Storyboarding tips:

• Think about what stories or messages you can convey with the visuals.
• Use your storyboard as your mind map and visual representation of your vision.
• Make key decisions about what your video “has to have” versus the “nice to haves.”
• Identify the precise order of your television video scenes.
• Be flexible, as your video production team might make compositional recommendations to improve the shots.

Budgeting

This may be the most important pre-production planning step. Set a realistic video budget that includes all aspects of production, like talent fees, equipment rental, location permits, post-production, and marketing.

Budgeting tips:

• Don’t forget to budget for rainy day reschedules.
• Plan ahead for unforeseen expenses that may arise.
• Your production crew and talent will need lunch and refreshments on set.
• Time is money, too. Renting equipment can overshoot budgets if the production time exceeds original planning.
• Prioritize your expenses, so if you have to make production cuts, you don’t do so on essential elements.

Scouting and Booking

Before signing any talent or leased locations, meet them and visit sites. An actor’s headshot and resume might be appealing for your video. But an in-person meet and greet reveals the actor has since aged or drastically changed their appearance. A location might be perfect in mind until you get there and realize it’s a noisy tourist attraction that won’t be conducive to shooting. Meet your talent. Scout your locations. Then, start booking.

Scouting and booking tips:

• Assemble a team to help you evaluate talent in person.
• If you can’t meet your talent, have them submit videos of script readings.
• Be mindful of locations with high traffic times or poor lighting times.
• Location construction and nearby noisy trains and planes can derail your shoot.
• Take photos on your scouting trips and document notes about talent evaluations.

Scheduling

Develop a detailed production schedule to follow with itemized tasks and allocated timeframes. Consider factors like location availability, talent schedules, and equipment rental periods.

Scheduling tips:

• Schedule people, not scenes.
• Consider scheduling the most difficult or complicated shots first.
• Plan for re-takes and post-take run-throughs for review.
• Don’t forget to schedule breaks for your crew and talent.
• Be mindful of holidays and other potential scheduling conflicts.

Television Video Production Tips

When it’s time to start production, these are the insights and best practices to keep in mind. The cameras start rolling, and you have a strict timeline for capturing all the shots and bringing your dialogues to life.

Camera Work

Use high-quality cameras and ensure proper framing, focus, and exposure. Employ different camera angles to add depth and interest to your shots. Be mindful, too, of camera movement when capturing larger scenes, with tilting, zooming, and tracking.

Camera tips:

• Time your shots with a schedule, but be flexible since great shot opportunities arise suddenly in the moment.
• Make all of your shots usable, even if you don’t use them all.
• Get the B-roll for use later in post-production.
• Camera angles and placement can make or break your video’s message.
• If you’re not sure which camera shot is going to be better, shoot them both.

Lighting

Proper lighting is crucial for any high-quality television video production. Use natural light where possible and supplement with artificial lighting to eliminate dark shadows and highlight key elements.

Lighting tips:

• Know your lighting types, including hard light, soft light, backlight, and fill light.
• The most recommended lighting setup is three-point lighting.
• Avoid overhead lighting or mixing different color temperatures.
• Use a diffuse light source.
• Bounced light produces more even lighting, while filled light highlights contrast.

Sound

Don’t cut corners on audio quality. Invest in good microphones to capture clear audio. Background noise can be distracting, so quiet on set commands, boom mics, and lavalier microphones are must-haves.

• Be mindful of copyrighted music.
• Take test recordings before you shoot.
• Digital effects can detract from the realism of the shot.
• Keep your sound design elements in mind as you shoot.
• Use professional voiceover artists and transcribe your audio dialogue.

Directing

Because this television video production is your vision, it only makes sense that you assume the position in the director’s chair. But there’s more to effective directing than you might think. Guide your actors and set crew members effectively. Communicate clearly and provide constructive feedback so your vision is executed as planned. And consider these insights.

Directing tips:

• Collaborate with your writers ongoing, so you know the script inside and out.
• Inspire compelling performances from your talent by working with them, not dictating to them.
• Make decisions quickly using your previously outlined storyboard and plan.
• Be a leader by setting the pace and tone on set. If you’re having a bad day, everyone else will, too.
• Communicate direction with each crew member, answering questions along the way.

Post-Production Video Insights

Your television video production isn’t done with the last take. The final phase of production happens in post. Here, you’ll want feedback from others on your team. These are the insights and post-production tips to ensure the polishing steps are executed flawlessly.

Editing tips:

• Incorporate sound effects, music, and voiceovers to enrich the audio experience. Ensure the sound levels are balanced and clear.
• Adjust color balancing for consistency throughout your video and in setting the right mood.
• Make cuts and design effects that bring each scene together in one brilliant, seamless story.
• Explore special effects, but don’t overdo them. You can over-filter a shot if you’re not careful.
• Details matter. Background noise and a misplaced soda can have to be caught in post-production.

Partner with the Right Video Production Company

Keep these television video production tips handy, however, the soundest advice we can offer is to partner with the right video production company. With a professional team to guide your efforts from pre-production to post-production, you can expect high-quality results.

The Michael Group Productions is an award-winning team with all the expertise you need, from media production planning to execution and everything in between.

When you’re ready to elevate your company’s brand or bring your television ideas to life, trust The Michael Group Productions!

Call (312) 498-4440 or connect with our production experts online to kickstart your winning video project or campaign.