What Does A Post-Production Company Do?

A post-production company’s main goal is to deliver a finished product that is fully edited and ready for viewing. That’s it. This may seem a bit simplistic, and that’s post-production in a nutshell; you shoot and then we put everything together. To do this, we employ a team with various skill sets that range from receiving and organizing media, all the way to prepping the video for its final audience. By passing through as many hands as it does, each team member uses their expertise to put their creative stamp on each video, making it as good as it can possibly be. 

• Creative Editing
  • This is the primary task of any post-production company. Putting together a piece of work using elements from multiple sources and weaving them into one impactful story. Our editors do this by using footage, music, sound effects, dialogue, and more to create a compelling story that grabs the viewer and never lets go.
• Color Grading
  • You can look at color grading in two different lights. This step could be correcting footage, maybe fixing something unpredictable that happened during the shoot. Or, this could be using color to set a mood, bringing visual depth and excitement to the images on screen.
• Audio Mixing
  • We treat this step with the same respect and intensity as the visual side of the medium, letting the audio speak to us to create mood, meaning, and texture. Through specialized tools, our audio engineer will balance, enhance, and sweeten the different audio elements to enhance your project.
• Visual Effects
  • An imagination can be a wonderful thing. Too bad that a lot of times imagination and staying on budget don’t go hand in hand. Using a visual effect artist can bring scale and polish at a fraction of the cost. No matter if there are elements that need to be removed or created, our skilled artists can move mountains. 
• Motion Graphics
  • We’ve come a long way from powerpoint and star wipes. Using graphical elements throughout your video can further drive home content and inform your target audience. Through the addition of text, logos, icons, charts, and diagrams, you can both inform your viewer by catching their attention, or further push the quality of the message you’re trying to convey with a more upscale look.
• Consultation
  • Creating a video is a collaborative process, and we don’t mean strictly internally. Bringing in every party to collaborate early on can be a game changer. From pre-production to the final delivery, including different voices with different specialties can help projects stay on budget, be completed within the desired timeline, and help set expectations for everyone involved. 

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With every one of these steps being so important to the creative process, why leave it to one person? Consider working with a team of experts who know how to intimately work in each of these steps.

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The Differences Between Freelancers, In-House, and Post-Production Companies

In post-production, there are three common avenues that you can venture down. The first being a freelancer who’s usually hired through various sites such as Fiverr or Upwork. Another is by hiring an in-house team within your own agency as an employee(s). Or, you can partner with a post-production company. 

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Now, let’s break down the pros and cons of these options a little more:

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A freelancer can be a good fit for one-off projects. Maybe you just need something simple put together, or maybe you’re looking to cut costs and have someone do it for the right price. While this may sound appealing, because these editors aren’t tethered down, you might wonder where you sit with them. You might always be stuck competing for their time, which can be stressful if you’re looking to push out a new video series quickly. Larger projects might be overwhelming for one person, and they may only be able to take on one part of the project. Working with a lone wolf can definitely have its advantages, but those advantages might come at the cost of your brand's reputation — if and when they decide to join another pack.

Alternatively, completing projects with an in-house team can be great if it's important to you to have the highest control and hands-on guidance. This team may just be a few steps away and it could be appealing to talk about what still needs to be done over a cup of coffee in the break room. Now, say you don’t have any need for video work for a month. You’re waiting for new projects to come in, or a few contracts to be signed. This same team could be sitting on their hands on your dime, not to mention the taxes, benefits, and other investments that come with hiring more staff. You might be doing more management internally than working with clients externally.

At a glance, a post-production company can be a little daunting, we get it. The staff, the structure, there's a little more to it than posting an ad on a job site. There may be new voices in your inbox, maybe you wonder if you even need a team that big. We may be biased — and probably very biased if we’re being honest — but we believe this option could be the best of both worlds. Maybe you’d like more of an as-needed team that could scale based on your needs. Maybe you don’t want to worry about managing someone between projects, or if they’ll be there when you call. While working with a post-production company might come at a higher cost than a freelancer, or a little less micro-manageable than an in-house employee, it comes with that freelance flexibility and in-house reliability without all the added strings.

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*Tip* Look out for a reliable post-production company that has consistent client partnerships. We pride ourselves on having an all US-based employee company. This brings accountability and reliability that standards are met and all workflows are being followed as none of our staff is contracted, only employed.

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Partnering With A Post-Production Company and How It Can Benefit Your Business

Looking down these different options, we can’t say that there’s one choice that fits all circumstances. And we wouldn’t be true to our values if we said that a post-house is always the best choice. Each option has its pros and cons and it’s up to you to determine the best fit for your current role and workflow, or maybe your desired role and workflow in the future. We do believe that the reliability and consistency of partnering with a post-production company delivers the best bang for your buck. A good post-production company will have the systems in place to guide you toward the best end product through different workflows, resources, and reliable communication. They’ll help alleviate bottlenecks and allow you to take on and produce more work. This allows you to concentrate on making your end-client happy and growing your own business in the process. 

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Sometimes it justcomes down to the fact that you need to outsource work and that can be difficult. Especially starting out, you wonder if they’ll understand you, maybe you want to make sure that they care as much as you do. It’s a leap of faith, and even if all the pros outweigh the cons, it’s a tough decision to let your feet push off. Again, call us biased, but that’s because of the way we look at doing business. We stress collaboration because we want our clients to be happy and we want our team to be happy. We want you to feel relieved that you’ve got someone in your corner at all times, but not so stressed that you worry we’re draining resources. We want to offer flexibility with the promise of future reliability. We want to make sure you know that the team pushing the buttons wants to push them with you, and in this industry, especially in the Archaius Creative environment, those buttons could make all the difference in the world. 

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