How a video programme is polished and delivered

“We’ll tweak it in the edit”, is a famous cry when the producer wants to push on at the shoot. The power of a modern editing suite is considerable and many things can be corrected and enhanced there, sometimes at a price. Even more important than tweaking, is what happens to the programme when it enters post production (i.e. editing, dubbing, music etc… everything that is done to your video rushes). For a start, a good editor will try out new things, often unpredicted in the script or the director’s mind. This is the beauty of a new set of expert eyes seeing what’s been done to date and trying to improve on it rather than just slavishly joining the prescribed scenes together. Swapping scenes round, cutting shots out completely, adding some breathing space to the flow, removing chunks of voiceover. Sometimes the director’s favourite shot will end up on the proverbial cutting room floor (only its virtual and digital nowadays!) because despite their cries, closer analysis will prove that it unbalances the programme around it. How a programme works on the screen is the ultimate arbiter. As a central part of the process, you, the client, will see this as self evident. The edit is where the script comes to life.

At the end, the master tape you have in your hand marks the end of the production, but not the end of the project. In fact, its the beginning of all sorts of possibilities. You can have the programme put to use on many different platforms (DVD, interactive learning, streaming, television, mobile phone, YouTube, memory stick…), it can also be re-edited for other applications and occasions. And, above all, the material generated for this Player Communications production is the beginning of an archive investment which you add to, dip into and re-use for years to come.