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Fisheye's 15 stages of video postproduction

03 November 2020

In an industry filled with multitalented professionals and different approaches, keeping track of your workflow can be a challenging task. Below is a detailed overview of Fisheye’s elaborate postproduction process from the moment the video was filmed to the final delivery, a process we’ve been finetuning for over 15 years. Obviously not all steps are necessary for every production; depending on the complexity of your video, more or fewer steps will be required.

Feel free to contact us if you’re looking for assistance in finishing your video project: a day of image editing, a weekly video episode, a title animation or a complete package with color grading, visuals effects and audiomixing, anything is possible. No matter how your video was shot, we make sure all the best of your rushes end up in one great video edit, serving the internet, broadcast, social media, projection, a custom setup in an exhibition or a combination of all of the latter.

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"I got 15 problems but my postprod ain't one."

Over the course of these 15 steps, multiple correction and review rounds are included. Previews of the current state of the project are transferred to guarantee our client’s approval. If necessary, our doors are open for you to attend the image editing, color grading, 3D modeling or any of the steps below.

1. Rushes

All recordings can be delivered to us in different ways: original memory cards, an external hard drive, online (e.g. WeTransfer) or through any other cloud based service (e.g. Frame.io). Optionally, all of these files can be provided with a checklist, marking interesting or selected takes. We’ll make sure to ask you all about recording formats, color profiles and aspect ratios before getting started.

2. Back Up Rushes

For safety reasons we always create a double backup of all the video, photo and sound recordings we receive. These files are copied on external hard drives and archived for future reference. If anything surprisingly goes wrong or you need the complete footage again a few months or years later, you can always come back and get it. Our ever-expanding archive will not be deleted.

3. Loading & Logging:

One of the most underrated processes of the assembly. Every second you invest here, saves time in future phases of the project. And the more extensive your video edit is, the bigger your time savings.

All camera images, drone recordings, action cam images, sound recordings and photos are loaded into our video editing software. First, everything gets correctly labeled and divided into categories. After that notes from during the recordings are added, image and sound get synchronized, and multicam clips are created. All of this with the aim of having a clear overview of all the source materials available to start our video edit.

4. Video Edit

A first draft of the entire story is edited. We create a basic and clear structure, and add a certain rhythm to the video edit. Usually, the length of this image is twice as long as the intended result, selecting only the best images so we can decide what is essential or what is unnecessary.

If necessary a client can join our video editor in our offices, for an immediate overview of the different takes and a preview of the video edit. This optional approach facilitates the process with instant decision making.

5. Customer preview

A preview of the video can be sent through many platforms such as WeTransfer or MyAirBridge.

Another valid option is Frame.io, an online video communication tool where multiple viewers can post comments and remarks at any exact moment in the video. Obviously this is a very convenient and fast way of communicating.

The aim of the first preview is mainly taking decisions in terms of content. Which images should be preserved? What can be removed? What about the structure of the video? Do we need to change certain sequences? Do certain elements get too much or too little focus?

6. Video Edit Finetuning

All comments get collected, or listed in Frame.io, after which we process all of them and refine our video length and pace accordingly.

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7. Audio Editing

In this phase, all audio is finalized. The sound level of interviews is set evenly for the entire video. Voice-over recordings and sound effects get added, while appropriate music is chosen. All voice-overs and dubbings are recorded in a professional studio by one of our regular partners. They have a wide range of voices and years of experience providing perfectly finished recordings, which can even be attended in studio and online.

As far as music is concerned, we have a gigantic catalogue of royalty free music and sound effects. Creating your own soundtrack to accompany your video is also an option with one of the composers we regularly work with. A license to use an existing song can be purchased through one of the leading authorship protection organisations.

8. Motion Graphics & Animations

A title animation? A lower third for all speakers in your video? Playful animations on top of your video? Or a fully animated video from A to Z? Anything is possible.

We make sure everything is created according to your corporate identity and brandbook, defining colors, styles, typography and shapes. If you haven’t figured all of this out just yet, our designers will provide a set of proposals to find your right style.

9. Visual Effects

When talking about visual effects people generally tend to think it’s a very special, expensive or even unnecessary process. Nevertheless VFX are a very common part of current day postproductions. It’s a collective name for possible image manipulations, large and small, which are necessary to make up for limitations during the original camera shooting. Examples can be green key recordings, object tracking, rotoscoping, deleting unwanted image elements, image stabilization or even adding new elements.

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10. 3D

Looking to add a 3D object or title to your video? Or a 3D visualization or simulation of your product? 3D videomapping? Or rather a full blown 3D animation video? Our team’s skills vary from storyboarding to 3D modelling, UV mapping, texturing, rigging, animation, lightning, rendering and final compositing.

11. Color Grading

Before grading we make sure all colors are corrected. Due to different lighting conditions in specific locations camera settings might not be optimal for every shot. We alter all images to a neutral state by changing white balance and exposures.

Subsequently we apply color grading to give your video a certain visual flair. By manipulating contrasts, saturation and color proportions of each shot, we add a distinct look to your video. We always try to link this look to the content of your video: warm, clinical, high contrast, summer vibes, desatured, nostalgic, ...

Over the past few years postproduction has gotten more complex due to the fact that each camera manufacturer developed its own ‘color space’. S-log, C-log, Arri Log-C, Redcode Raw, Blackmagic raw, …all have their own characteristics and are filmed with a specific camera LUT or ownlook LUT. Our team ensures a uniform color pipeline to make sure your shots look exactly like they were intended to.

12. Audiomixing

In this final step, all audio gets finished. We compress all interviews, to make sure they have a full sound, and blend audio levels of all files nicely together. Any unnecessary background noises, like breathing or clicks, are eliminated to create a consistent and coherent soundtrack.

13. Transcription & Subtitling

There are no language limits on distributing your video, therefor translating, transcribing and subtitling have become regular parts of video production.

We provide your subtitles as open or closed captions. Closed captions are subtitles that are burned in the video, so always visible. Open captions are an optional feature viewers can choose to activate or not.

There are plenty of channels where you can show your video. Each of those channels (website, TV, specific social media channels, projections, etc.) have their own specific rules for subtitles. We provide the desired format for subtitles for each of these channels.

14. Encoding

We always create a master video of the final edit. This file then gets encoded so it is playable on all possible platforms or video players. However, any type of hardware or distribution channel has its own specific demands for the format of the video and audio file: online use, TV, Netflix, YouTube, certain media player…? We’ve got you covered with the correct aspect ratio, codec, framerate, metadata, audio channels, and so on…

15. Archiving Project

The completed project will be added to the Fisheye archive so it will remain available for as long as necessary. Each file gets backed up twice and ends up in our filing cabinets. Whenever the project needs to be altered or reopened we simply reactivate these files and nothing will have been lost.

VR & Interactive Video

Next to (post-)producing traditional video in all its forms, the Fisheye team is also very experienced in the creation of both Virtual Reality videos and Interactive Video.

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Virtual Reality

We make videos intended for VR headsets (Oculus, Vive, cardboard, …), online use (YouTube, 360 tours, ..) as well as VR video for submersive projection installations.

Should your video be monoscopic or stereoscopic? Do you want spatial audio? Does it have to be video or a fully animated world? A combination of both?

Even if you already have the answers to the questions above our team can assist in high quality video stitching, color degrees or simply removing unwanted elements in your 360 video. We master every step in the finishing touches of virtual reality.

Interactive Video

Recently interactive videos have gained popularity, in which viewers participate directly by choosing the direction of the story in the video. Interactive video is a type of digital video that supports user interaction through clickable areas, allowing viewers to dictate the pace and order of the video.

Interested? Ask us anything here.