Post-Production

We have finally reached our final step in the film making process: post-production.

Pre-production was all about laying the ground work for our film, production was about executing those plans and post-production is about taking what you have and creating your final finished film.

What is Post-Production?

“Pre-production is everything that takes place after filming stops,” say Professor Tom Campbell. “It’s about taking the footage that you have gathered and assembling it in a way that ultimately gives the best presentation.”

This stage of the film making process is where the young film maker is able to really take control and make the kind of film they have envisioned. It’s about piecing together all of the footage that they have gathered: compiling, fixing, and tweaking it to make sure that it is perfect. All of this is what guarantees a flawless final film.

Intricacies of Post-Production:

There are a lot of aspects that go into the post-production process.

In most instances, when we film we use cassette tapes to record our footage. You may be asking yourself, well how do I get my footage from the tape to the computer? This is an excellence question.

In post-production, we do something called, digitizing. What that simply means is that you are taking the footage that you shot and converting it to a format that will allow you to edit and view it on your computer. You insert your cassette tape into something called a deck. The deck is connected to your computer and allows you to choose what footage you want converted and sent to your computer.

For more information about decks and digitizing check out The Online Community for Filmmaking Forum.

How Do I Edit My Footage?

Once your footage has successfully been converted and is on your computer screen is when the real fun begins.

Generally, most student film makers choose to use Final Cut Pro as their choice editing software program. This is also what I use and speaking from firsthand experience, it is extremely user friendly and easy to operate.

Using Final Cut Pro you are able to make any adjustments you feel are necessary to your footage. You are able to cut clips, add music, adjust sound volumes and lighting as well as add text and effects.

For more information on Final Cut Pro check out their official website!

Post-Production is the last phase before your film is completed. Once you are happy with all of your edited and pieced together footage, the post production stage is completed and you have successfully created a student film!