How To Choose A Post Production Company ...

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As important as the production budget and the actual video shoot, is the selection of the post production company who will take your raw footage and craft it into your final, finished project for delivery.

In some cases, you'll have a long-standing relationship with a tried and trusted post house, but if not or if you're shooting in a different location or country, how do you know which is the right one for you and your project?

Here we take you through the factors to consider when deciding on your next post production company.

What Do You Actually Need to Choose a Post House?

Different productions will have different requirements and there are quite distinct needs in each genre. If you're making a factual programme you'll most likely need quick access to archive footage and good sound suites to adjust audio levels in interviews and voice-overs. If reality is your focus, your concerns will be on the offline capabilities, rather than online, and having large storage availability. And if it's drama, you'll need intensive colour grading and a graphics department all these things and so much more need to be taken into consideration when choosing a post production company to suit your needs.

What Does a Post House Cost?

It's going to be one of the main factors in your decision. Sometimes it is necessary to work out a buy-out with your chosen post house to keep within budget, or negotiate some flexibility on overages.

Concerns over delivering to schedule are only deepened when worrying about spiralling costs in the post production portion of your programme. Many Production Managers have had the unpleasant task of looking down the back of the sofa to pay the extra costs a project can run up in post.

Location and Opening Times

You're going to spend a lot of time there so, if possible, you're better off picking a company that's close by and avoiding the time and expense of travel and accommodation. If the offline edit is going to begin while the shoot is still happening, bear that in mind too.

Also, consider what their opening times are. Will they fit in with your schedule or ways of working? There's no point expecting to burn the midnight oil over an edit if the post house closes the doors and boots out the tech staff at 6pm.

It's also worth investigating the catering facilities onsite. You can guarantee your team will be working through their lunches, so at least make sure they have access to nice food!

What Facilities does the Post Production Company Have?

From a purely technical point of view, it makes little aesthetic difference whether you use Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere or any other system for the offline edit. However, each has its strengths and weaknesses and it will come down to personal preference and experience as much as anything. If your editor is used to one system, that's what they will want to use so its always worth sitting down with prospective Post Houses to discuss your options.

Then you need to consider what you'll need when you reach the online edit. For some projects, this can be done on the same machine as the offline, simply conforming the high res version and adding the titles. However, in other projects you'll need to think about things like colour correction to create a particular visual style. Will you need visual effects? This is a specialist field and you need to consider whether you want this all done under one roof or are happy to work with more than one team.

Finally, think about sound. Will you need to add a voice over? Are you going to be shooting in settings that make it likely a sound-dub will be needed? If your post production company doesn't have recording facilities onsite, consider whether trips back and forth to a separate studio will add substantial cost and time delays.

Scalability and Flexibility

Can they scale up to meet the demands of your production? If it's a big one with a lot of footage that will need to be edited quickly, can they provide you with the extra facilities or time in the suite that you might need? Also consider the technical support your team may need. Can the people onsite be trusted to solve the toughest challenges video production can throw at you?

Existing Relationships

At the end of the day, the equipment is simply the tool. What matters is who is using it. If you've been around for a while, chances are you'll already have a favoured post house that you've used on projects in the past. You know how they work, they know how you work and they'll be more likely to help out when something unexpected arises. You'll have confidence in their abilities and know where their key skills lie.

An existing good relationship with a Facilities Manager, someone who already knows you and appreciates your custom is valuable and can be the key to getting that flexibility. It's them who'll be able to find the extra couple of hours' time in a suite for those sudden unexpected changes, even though they are fully booked. They may also have relationships with other houses so can organise for something they can't do in-house to be done by someone they know and trust.

Reputations

If you don't know anyone or want to change then it can just be a simple case of asking around. The reputations of the best post houses will go before them and many of your colleagues and connections will have their favourites they're happy to recommend.

How do you choose your Post Production company? Do you have tips you'd like to share?

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