Helping people use video has been MATTINGLY PRODUCTIONS' business since 1971. We have worked with countless associations & organizations in a variety of fields to produce award winning, successful, and cost-effective programs. The key to a successful production rests in the client/producer relationship. Since not everyone is a video expert, every concept, task, and detail must be clearly communicated. Producing a video, with its technology and even its own language, can be intimidating. Clients working with MATTINGLY PRODUCTIONS, LTD. hear less about the "bells & whistles" technology, and more about creative, artistic, and effective programming.

Careful planning, thorough research, and a clear vision are critical to the success of any project, and a video-based project is no exception. The client, with the help of the producer, needs to determine:

• The budget
• Project goals and objectives
• The audience profile
• The production approach and style
• The marketing and distribution plan
• The production time-frame

Video production is a "detail oriented" medium, where the smallest factors are critical. Having a clear, step-by-step understanding of the process is important to a successful program. Only after each phase of this process has been completed can a final, polished end product be delivered.

There are six phases to the video production process:

1. PRODUCTION COMPANY SELECTION - Once the decision to develop and create a video project is made, contacting a qualified video production company is the next step. Involving the producer in the process as soon as possible saves time, trouble, and money. When selecting a company, consider its staff, resources, experience, completed projects, financial stability, and the capabilities and services offered. Selection should be predicated not on price, but on value.
   
   
2. PROJECT DEFINITION - This is the stage in which the program's objective, audience, approach, and message are established. A thorough needs analysis and a "viewer awareness" group, outlined below, are tools that can be used during this phase. Also, the budget, project time frame, and other production requirements are addressed at this time.
   
   
3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN - It is important to establish the steps, tasks, resources, and milestones for the project. It is here that the detailed schedule is finalized.
   
   
4. PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE - Every detail of the program, from the actors to the final script, is carefully addressed. All substantive content and style decisions are made during this process. This phase includes: a treatment, an outline, draft and final script, talent selection, set/location arrangements, and crew/equipment selection.
   
   
5. PRODUCTION - When all the elements of the pre-production phase are finalized, production begins. All video and audio elements are collected. This includes shooting scenes, locating stock materials, making arrangements for music, and the creation of graphics.
   
   
6. POST-PRODUCTION - All the elements of the production are now put together into a final program. A preliminary approval edit will be made, followed by the execution of the final edit complete with sound effects and music.

MATTINGLY PRODUCTIONS, LTD. has produced videotapes for a variety of uses including: membership recruitment and retention, sales and management training, product information and promotion, seminar and workshop support, video news releases (VNRs), video newsletters, lobbying, public service announcements (PSAs), fundraising, convention openers and closings, special events, presentation documentation, motivation, and skills training.

Determining the style and character of the video - the production approach - requires a close examination of the goals of the program and the intended audience. Frequently, a needs analysis is undertaken to determine if a video production is required and if video is the best medium to address the need. This needs analysis is often followed by a "viewer awareness" group session whose demographic matches the audience profile. This group, in turn, helps define the proper production approach to best reach the intended viewers. Examples of production approaches include dramatization, lecture/seminar, graphics, animation, and documentary. Well paced programs that hold viewer attention often rely on a combination of approaches.

There are many factors that have an impact on the cost of a video project. These include: scripting, program length, the number of professional talent--whether union or non-union, shooting locations, length and frequency of edit sessions, music rights, set design and construction, and special effects. Other cost factors can include marketing, packaging, duplication, and distribution. Depending on the nature of the project and overall approach, the inclusion of printed support materials, the use of subject matter specialists, researchers, and instructional technologists, and/or the purchase of stock visuals must also be considered.

All of these issues and details are vital to a successful production and an effective end product. Understanding the process, people, and resources needed for a video production helps insure the quality and value of the end product.