Research - Post Production

The post production process takes place after the main production of a video, film or photography production and is essentially a term that encompasses all of the production work that takes place after the main shooting. Before the digital age analogue editing existed much more commonly where techniques such as colour grading were used. Nowadays however video editing software is used much more frequently in order to edit video, it is also a much more efficient method of working in post production.

Due to the direction I have been taking in some of the briefs we have been recently given, I have a much richer understanding about the importance good post production can do to a piece. It has also allowed me to realise the number of processes and individual aspects of something that can be edited or altered. Furthmore, because of the kind of work I was doing, I now understand the subtle changes that editing various aspects of something can have on the piece as a whole. Some of the elements I have been adjusting in my post production work has been the sound, lighting, colour correction, transitions and titles. These are just a few things that can be done during the post production process and when done right, they can work together to create a much better final outcome.

When looking at a successful post-production process in the context of a film, a film that comes to mind for me personally is Interstellar. A lot of work for the visual effects on Interstellar was the use of practical effects, so post production to adjust the footage from this would have been needed to give the film the desired final look. However, like I mentioned previously, post-production isn't just about the visuals and sound design is equally as important for the final release of a film or production. A lot of work on Interstellar in particular went into designing and mixing the sound. Something that was really emphasised in the film was the attention to small details. An example of this is replicating sounds that you wouldn’t normally notice, but are there in the background adding to the on screen experience. The director of Interstellar, Christopher Nolan made sure to make sure the sound was as accurate as possible, making sure things like the sounds of the buttons being pressed by an astronauts glove were correct. I really admire the amount of effort that goes into the design and production of films such as this and I think it's an incredibly interesting and important process for films and other video productions.