Chances are you’re already aware that video is one of the most powerful ways to grow your audience and brand online (…we’d say THE most powerful, but we may be a little biased 😉).
BUT without the right process, creating great videos can also be incredibly time & labour intensive prompting many people to give up before they realize there’s a better way.
A simple, effective video content creation process can help you dramatically increase the efficiency of your video creation, eliminate a ton of errors, and easily keep you on track releasing top quality video content for your viewers.
In this post, we’re going to share the exact process we use at Primal Video to produce high quality videos for our YouTube channel so you can see exactly what an efficient process looks like and how it can work for you.
And it gets even better.
We’re also going to show you how we use free software to make this process work for us.
So if you want to see how you too can use this software to manage your video content creation, keep reading!
Important: When available, we use affiliate links and may earn a commission!
What Is A Video Content Creation Process?
When we talk about a video content creation process, we don’t just mean you coming up with an idea, recording a video and then editing – even though these steps should certainly be part of your process.
A video content creation process refers to the series of steps taken before, during and after the production of a video.
We’re talking about everything that is done from start to finish: from an initial topic idea for a video till the point where the video is released.
Broadly, a video content creation process can be divided into 3 stages.
These stages are :
- Pre-production is where the groundwork for a successful video is laid out.
- Production is where the actual recording of the video occurs.
- Post production is where the editors go to work in preparation for the delivery of the video.
A solid video content creation process should have elements of each stage present in it.
Why A Video Content Creation Process Is Important
Below are some of the advantages of having a video content creation process set in place.
Increased Efficiency : A solid process will help you eliminate any guesswork relating to the production of your videos. You will be able to make accurate predictions and plan ahead of time resulting in better use of your resources.
Improved Results : It also forces you to think through the content your audience actually needs and wants upfront, so you can bake this in throughout the entire process and maximize the end results for you and your viewers.
Fewer Errors : Nobody really loves making countless revisions. A video content creation process helps you plan out every detail and aids you in the execution of your plan, making sure that the chances for error are minimized. However, a lack of a definite process is likely to result in problems you didn’t even know you had until the very end.
Boosts Consistency : Consistency is very important to the success of your YouTube channel. Sticking to a particular timeline can be difficult if there is no clear path set in front of you. A video content creation process helps you to:
- Be consistent in terms of your video release date.
- Maintain your branding and tone of voice across your channel.
Our Recommended Tool For Managing Video Content Creation Process
At Primal Video, we use Trello to manage our content creation process.
Trello is a free project management tool that allows you to collaborate effectively with your team on every step in the video creation process.
It doesn’t matter if you run a remote team, your employees sit right next to you or you work alone, you can eliminate confusion and track your progress with Trello.
“But how does this help my video content creation process? ” you might ask.
Well, posting consistently is one thing that will help you grow your YouTube channel. And if you’ve been scaling your team like we’ve done with our editing team, you might realize that keeping track of who’s supposed to do what and what is supposed to be done when can quickly turn out to be a serious problem.
Trello takes care of this problem by helping you visualize your process from idea to finish.
It’s like having post-it notes powered by tech!
A typical video content creation process from start to finish will look like this:
Topic Pool >>> Shortlisted Topics >>> Keyword Research And Notes >>> Ready To Shoot >>> Preparing For Edit >>> Editing >>> Preparing For Release >>> Released
But how do you create this in Trello?
That’s simple.
After you sign-up for a free account, you can create a new board by clicking on the big plus on the top right hand corner of your screen.
The expanse of space on your screen is called a board and you can give this board (or project) any name of your choice.
The board is where all the action happens. You can share information, organize projects and get work done here. Boards are made up of lists and cards and they are both easy to create.
Let’s break them down.
Creating Lists In Trello
Lists are the actual steps that you have to go through in order to complete a project. They are represented in the form of columns on the board.
Remember our typical content creation process?
Each step included in the process – topic pool, ready to shoot, editing etc – will be represented by a list on your Trello board.
Adding a list is as simple as clicking the add list button, naming your list and pressing enter.
And there’s no limit to the number of lists you can add. It all depends on what you need your workflow to look like.
See the image below for what it should look like when you’re done.
Creating Cards In Trello
Cards are the basic units of a list. They are used to represent tasks or ideas.
Cards are added to lists to show what stage they’re at in the process and you can move them from one list to another to track their progress.
We’re going to refer back to our content creation process again.
The first list is named Topic Pool. Naturally, this list will contain topics that you could possibly shoot videos for.
For example, if you manage a digital marketing channel, possible topics can include Best Instagram Marketing Tips For Your Ecommerce store, How To Outrank Your Competitors On Google, How To Increase Your Conversion Rate and so on.
These topics will be inputted as cards. And just like the lists, you can have an infinite number of cards.
But it doesn’t just stop here.
You can customize your cards by adding topic descriptions, attachments and team members.
All this information can be updated at any stage which means that you and your team members can have a seamless workflow; from the beginning till each video is released.
That is the general overview of Trello as a tool for content creation. You can use this to get started.
But how does Primal Video actually use Trello?
Without fail, we release 1 new video every week on our YouTube channel, so there must be some sort of plan, right?
In the next section, we’re going to go through the Primal Video process for video content creation using Trello.
Our Exact Process For YouTube Video Content Creation Using Trello
Well, this used to be top secret, but it won’t be anymore.
Our own process for video content creation is slightly different from the steps outlined earlier.
Instead of this :
Topic Pool >>> Shortlisted Topics >>> Keyword Research And Notes >>> Ready To Shoot >>> Preparing For Edit >>> Editing >>> Preparing For Release >>> Released
Here’s what ours look like :
Ice Box >>> Topic Pool >>> Shortlist >>> JB To Note The Key Points >>> Research And Script >>> Ready To Shoot >>> Broll In Progress >>> Preparing For Editors >>> With Editors >>> Review #1>>> Review #2 >>> Final Changes In Progress >>> JB Adding Cards + Links And Updating Documents >>> Ready To Release >>> Released
As you can see, we’ve added a few more steps in order to optimize our entire process which we’ll explain so you have an idea of what each one is about.
Let’s begin.
- Ice Box : This is where we keep cards for topics that we don’t plan to shoot videos for in the foreseeable future. Sure, they might be relevant YouTube video topics but they are just not on our horizon for now. This list is like our long-term storage facility.
- Topic Pool : Here is where we keep a list of potential topic ideas that we may create videos for.
- Shortlist : After reviewing the ideas in the Topic Pool, we select ones that we’d like to start work on and move them into this list to get the ball rolling.
- JB To Note The Key Points : At this stage, Justin makes notes about the key points he wants to cover in the video. For instance, if the video is for a software review, we’ll generally be looking to cover points like pricing, compatibility with devices, general performance etc.
- Research And Script : The cards that are moved into this list are ready for keyword research and scripting. This is a critical step in our planning, allowing us to optimize every element of the video – from titles, tags & description, to the content itself – maximizing the value for viewers & the likelihood YouTube will recommend our video over others! You can learn more about how we optimize our videos through keyword research in this full tutorial. And if you’re wondering how to create a simple but effective script for your video, check out our step by step training in this tutorial.
- Ready To Shoot : Here, we confirm that we have everything we need for the video production.
- B-roll In Progress : After shooting the video, we move the card to this list. This is where we shoot any required b-roll, like product shots, that are specific to the video. The editors also have access to stock footage sites that provide other b-roll options for use in the video. If you’re looking for quality stock footage, check out this review of the top sites for royalty-free footage.
- Preparing For Editors : We gather everything needed including the footage and then back it all up on Google Drive in preparation for editing.
- With Editors : The cards in this list are undergoing work with our editors.
- Review #1 : Once the editors are done with a video, Justin goes through it to see if there are any changes to be made. If there are, we move the card to the previous list and have the video sent back to the editors. If there aren’t, then we move on to the next stage.
- Review #2 : The video has to pass a second assessment by another team member as a final check to make sure everything is ready for release.
- Final Changes In Progress : We make any final changes and tweaks after the review process to ensure that the video is 100% perfect.
- Adding Cards + Links And Updating Documents : This step is where we finalize the description with any links/references mentioned in the video links, and get it ready to go on YouTube.
- Ready To Release : This stage is like a waiting room. Cards here are awaiting their release date.
- Released : End of the process. Here, the video is finally released on our YouTube channel!
Again, you should remember that each card is moved from list to list in order to signify where it is at in the process and to track its progress.
We normally leave our cards on the board even after the video has been released because Trello has a search feature and we can use it to look it up at a later date.
It’s Time to Streamline Your Video Creation Process!
Having an optimized process for video content creation is imperative because it eliminates guesswork, creates efficiencies and reduces the amount of rework required. This helps you to ensure that your video is ready for release on time, every time!
Trello is an amazing tool that we use to help us manage our content creation process for our YouTube videos. In Trello, you can tag individual team members, engage in productive conversations, link documents to third-party apps like Google Drive; and so much more.
If you’d like to check out other tools and resources we use to produce our YouTube videos, just visit the Primal Video Resources page.
Want more video editing tips and tricks?
Click here to check out our step-by-step process to cutting your video editing time in HALF.
Links
When available, we use affiliate links and may earn a commission!
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Recommended Gear & Resources
Check out an up-to-date list of all the gear, software & tools we use and recommend right now at Primal Video on our resources page here!
