Avatar: The Way of Water, Avengers: Endgame, Jurassic Park, and The Lord of The Rings—what do all of these films have in common? The filmmakers expertly leveraged the innovation of post-production to create world-famous movies beloved by thousands of fans worldwide.
Post-production is a pretty mysterious process to those who are unfamiliar with the creative industry. How does a film go from a mundane project to a blockbuster hit? Most likely, the filmmakers hired a stellar post-production crew. In this article, we’re going to go behind the curtain and reveal what post-production is all about. We’ll start with describing exactly what post-production is and we’ll explain the common steps film crews follow in post-production. Here is everything you need to know about post-production in film.
What Is Post-Production in Film?
The final stage of film production is the post-production phase. The post-production phase is what makes the whole video creation come to life and take place. Post-production includes the editing of the visual and audio elements after filming is finished. Footage is cut, music, sound, and commentary are mixed, and visual effects or graphics are added to the production. This is the magic of post-production. You’ll most likely need a team of highly skilled editors, sound designers, colorists, and more to make the post-production a seamless experience.
The post-production process varies greatly depending on your budget, the size of the project, and which arena you’re in (TV, film, advertisements, or video games). Post-production is a vital step to a successful film project, and it takes a massive commitment of time, energy, and focus to get it done right.
We’re going to get into what happens in the post-production process and the five stages that are generally part of this phase.
5 Steps of Post-Production
What’s the nitty-gritty of post-production in film? We could spend hours explaining exactly what’s included in post-production. However, we’ll make it short and share the 5 simple steps that are usually included in post-production. Here are the overarching stages of post-production you’ll follow to create a killer creative production:
1. Editing the footage
After the film crew has wrapped up filming, it’s time for the editor to begin the process of picture editing. This includes taking the raw footage and putting it together to create the finished story. The editor takes time to review the script, watch the footage, and cut the shots together to create a seamless narrative. You’ll often see editors leave out a lot of raw footage, but this is a necessary step of the process—there’s no way you can use every single shot in the end production.
The editing process isn’t typically done in one sitting. First, the editor will create a rough first cut and continually come back to make any necessary additional edits until landing on the final version of the film.
2. Sound editing and adding music
Once the editing is taken care of, it’s time to add music or enhance the sound of the project. Not only does this involve adding background music or cinematic sound effects, but it also includes deleting distracting background noise and piecing together dialogue to match the story’s flow. Once in a while, dialogue or sound effects recorded on set don’t come across well in the footage. In these cases, sound editors will re-record that sound or dialogue and insert it into the film again.
Countless viewers recognize the soundtrack of a film project before even seeing the visuals, and it’s an important piece of creating a distinguished creative project. When it comes to curating a soundtrack for a film project, you may decide to use existing songs or hire an artist to write original songs for your film.
3. Adding in visual effects or motion graphics
The next step in post-production is adding in the visual effects to truly upgrade the entirety of a film piece. Depending on the size of a project, this could take an enormous amount of artists and engineers to design computer-generated visual effects for the film. This step of post-production allows designers to achieve visual effects that aren’t always possible in real life—like adding in a massive explosion or creating lifelike dinosaurs that roam our modern-day world. Practically every movie nowadays uses some level of visual effects or computer-generated imagery (CGI). Avengers, Avatar, and Jurassic World are just a few examples of how animation can be used to completely transform a film.
It’s common to start the process of adding in visual effects while filming is still taking place, especially if it’s needed for a majority of the film. This is because it will be decided during pre-production what footage can be shot on location and what shots need to be created through CGI. Visual effects are possibly the most time-consuming step of post-production, but it’s well worth it when viewers experience the finished product.
4. Sound mixing
Separate from adding sound effects or music, sound editors also need to adjust the audio levels of a film. If dialogue needs to be heard above the background music or an explosion needs to not sound so deafening to the audience, sound editors will go in and readjust the audio to balance everything out.
Think of sound mixing as some of the finishing touches on the sound elements of a film. It’s almost time to wrap up the post-production process, but the sound editors have to reassess and ensure the level of sound quality is up to par.
5. Color grading
Ever noticed how certain films feel a certain way? It could be caused by the color editor’s ability to set the mood through color grading. In the color grading stage of post-production, color editors go through a movie frame by frame to adjust the color or both vibe and consistency. Using color theory, editors can change the entire ambiance of a film just by changing the colors that overlay the footage. Think of the first Twilight’s cold blue tint or The Matrix’s unnatural green coloring throughout the film—both are examples of color grading!
With the introduction of color grading, filmmakers can impact audiences in a whole new way. Oftentimes, color editors collaborate with the director, producer, and other crew members to brainstorm how the film needs to be portrayed and use color-grading effects accordingly.
How Long Does Post-Production Take?
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into post-production—and this is only a brief overview of each stage! Have you ever been waiting for a movie to come out and it feels like it’s already been an eternity? It could be because there are major editing elements taking place in the film’s post-production process. On average, post-production can take anywhere from six to twelve months to go from raw footage to the end cut. CGI is one of the most time-consuming steps of post-production and can greatly affect the overall timeline of a film’s post-production process. The more CGI or motion graphics needed, the more time it takes to finish up post-production.
Each film is different when it comes to post-production needs, so each film’s timeline will look different. However, post-production is oftentimes the biggest step of video production that takes the most time to complete. It can be a stressful and exhausting process for filmmakers to take on post-production needs. In these situations, it’s important to consider hiring outside help for your post-production requirements.
Outsource Your Post-Production Needs With An Agency to Save Time
Are you starting to get overwhelmed at the thought of adding more time, energy, and new team members to your creative project due to the post-production process? Avalanche Studios is here to ease the stress. We have an entire team of editors, designers, and artists who are professionals in post-production. We’ve helped filmmakers design the projects they want through the power of motion graphics and animation, sound design, and more. We love working alongside creatives, and we want to make your vision become a reality through our post-production services. Save your time, money, and energy, and invest in Avalanche Studios’ services to gain the help you need.
Request a quote from us to start your film’s post-production process right now. We’ll bring our award-winning team to you, and you can rest assured knowing that your film project is in experienced hands.
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