Free technical help for digital creators - music, video, art, photography, graphic & web design

DV production overview by Matt Ottewill

This page contains a brief checklist of the essential video production processes.

1 Planning

  • Make a budget
  • Write a script / treatment
  • Create storyboards

2 Pre-production

  • Make props
  • Cast and rehearse actors / musicians
  • Make costumes
  • Scout and arrange locations
  • Hire technical staff
  • Hire & test equipment
  • Ensure electricity supply
  • Hire van
  • Arrange catering
  • Charge batteries
  • Blank video tapes (to ensure contiguous timecode)

3 Filming

  • Ensure camera in SP (standard Play mode)
  • Ensure camera in 2-track 16-bit 48KHz audio mode
  • Check windshield status
  • Check time/date picture burn-in option is off
  • Use a tripod wherever possible (to help improve video compression)
  • Name / identify tapes
  • Log shots
  • Remember to record foley

4 Editing

  • Ensure you have a dedicated drive or your system drive is partitioned. A 7200rpm drive or better is desirable
  • Boot computer
  • Shut down all un-necessary applications
  • Create a folder structure (click here for downloads and advice) for all your assets on video drive (scratch disk)
  • Copy foley, music, still images, 3D, voiceover etc to relevant asset folders
  • Connect DV camcorder via firewire (iLink)
  • Launch editing application
  • Create new Project
  • Select DV PAL for UK, DV NTSC for US)
  • Set scratch disk location(s)
  • Set any other preferences (such as still frame duration)
  • Import your assets
  • Name and save the project file
  • Log and capture your clips (batch capture)
  • Edit your video

SAVE YOUR PROJECT FILE OFTEN!!

5 Publishing

For DVD video

If you are creating video for a DVD video disc then either ...

  • export using the QuickTime Pro MPEG-2 option which you can import into a DVD authoring program
  • save your file as a self-contained (mixed down) DV file and import it in a dedicated conversion program such as Cleaner or Compressor.

For the web

Click here for advice. Again, you can either use the QuickTime Pro export option or covert in another program such as Compressor or Flash.

For DVD/CD-ROM

Click here for advice. Again, you can either use the QuickTime Pro export option or covert in another program such as Cleaner.