What does it take to make a video production happen? What resources do you need on site at a shoot?

Your production may look something like this:

At a base level (for a single-camera shoot), you'll need:

• A director of photography (or DP): This person is responsible for the look of the video, making decisions about such things as cameras, lenses, lighting, color scheme, and the composition of shots.
• A videographer (camera operator): This person operates the camera, capturing the desired video content.
• A high-definition camera: No longer is there much reason to capture standard-definition content.
• Lighting
• An audio engineer: This person records, edits, manipulates, mixes, and masters sound to create the video’s audio track.
• Microphones of some sort: a boom mic, lavaliere microphones to wear on one's lapel, etc.
• Releases: You should have everyone who recognizably appears in your video sign a release to give you permission to use footage of them in your finished project and to protect you from liability.

You may also need:

• Additional videographers with cameras
• Interview subjects
• A producer: This person oversees the whole process of making the video, including financial, staffing, and administrative matters
• A director: This person manages all of the creative direction of the video.
• A production assistant: This person performs various odd jobs or errands to make the production run smoothly.
• Makeup
• A stage or other raised platform
• Some form of set design/direction
• Other specific considerations for your vision: a helicopter for aerial shooting, a vehicle for shooting while in motion, etc.

Next week we look at post-production: what happens once the footage is captured?