Our Process
What to expect when working with Mysterious Media.
Transparency is a key ingredient of trust, and trust is THE foundation of all business. That’s one reason why this page exists, to be transparent by giving you a step by step process of how we create content.
This process may seem overwhelming but this is what we take care of. The only thing we require of you is a few meetings in the consulting phase, a few email correspondence, and a signed check.
Media Consulting
1. Goals
It all starts with a meeting to find out what message you want your viewers to receive. What feelings and emotions should your message convey. What do you want them to do after watching the video. Is a key goal of the video to build trust, a brand image, and drive sales, or all of the above? We make 100% sure that we understand your goals from day one and its not until that is crystal clear do we move forward. This is often times done on the phone.
2. Proposal
Well bring anything from 1 to 5 media concepts to the next meeting to go over the story we’ll tell, the message it’s calculated to deliver, why the viewer will feel the way they do after and what action we design it to prompt. We’ll also go over number of production days, locations, costs and all other details critical to you understanding exactly what will be required to create the end result.
3. Agreement
Once a specific concept/story is agreed upon, our deposit is paid, and contracts signed, we move into the official pre-production phase.
1. Dates
The first step in pre-production is deciding on production dates. This is critical so we can not only set a deadline but also so we can let everyone involved know what day to block out in their calendar.
2. Reservations
We’ll make sure we get all the permits, reservations, hotels, flights for locations/travel covered.
3. People
Call everyone involved and confirm they can be where they need to on production day.
4. Equipment
We’ll bring our equipment and rent any additional required gear needed.
5. Props /Costumes
If there are any props or costumes, we’ll pull those together as well.
6. Script /Storyboard
A detailed explanation of each shot makes both production and post production go much smoother and cheaper, with less mistakes.
Production
Let the Cameras Roll!
1. Digital Assets
Gather all the digital assets like logos and maybe stock video and place it in the final timeline. This way, if we have any overlays or any other kind of trick shots, we can know what has to go where on the frame when we film it on the production day. (Some may still consider this pre-production)
2. Setup
Every set requires setup time before we can start rolling cameras. In most cases, plan on an hour of setup time.
3. Rec
This is where we actually record the message. Be it stills or motion, we capture what we need to tell the story. This is likely the most difficult and critical stage of the entire process. There are a million things that can go wrong which is why an experienced cinematographer is worth his weight in gold. Depending on the message, production may last anywhere from 1 day to a year for feature films.
4. Takedown
Take down usually requires less time than setup but still plan on anything from a half hour to an hour being typical.
5. Backups
As soon as a card is filled, we back it up as quickly as possible to two separate drives. A company that has media backups as standard policy can be the difference between a productive day and a wasted day.
6. Audio
This includes voice overs, custom music (yes we have an amazing composer who does this) and sound effects. This often rolls into post production as the need for a specific line, music with specific timing or sound effects with a specific length becomes clear.
Post Production
Pulling it all together.
1. Gather Assets
An asset is any video, audio, graphic or anything else that’s needed to contribute to the final message that we haven't received yet. Often times there's a lot more required than just what's shot on set. Logo, design, color, branding files are all good examples of this.
2. Editing
This is where the story is told. It’s been laid out in the script/storyboard but this is where the final decisions happen as to how everything is presented. Depending on the project, this is often the most time consuming process and by far the most tedious. Editing a one minute video can take as long as 5 days but it all depends on a wide variety of factors as we’ve edited video over 4 hours that has taken the same amount of time.
3. Rendering
Rendering can take as short as a few minutes or as long as 50 hours. This all depends on how much work the computer has to do. The amount of work it has to do is determined by how large the original content is (4K vs HD) how many edits we’ve done to the color, animations, visual effects, motion graphics, the length of the final video all add time to the final render. We typically don’t charge for render time unless it lasts more than a full night because at that point it starts to impede our ability to work.
Delivery
Sending it out
1. Payment
We’ll email you an invoice for the full amount less the initial deposit. Full payment is always due before delivery of the media.
2. Video
We use many different methods to deliver your content; upload it to your youtube account, ftp transfer, we’ll hand deliver it via a usb drive, or even put it on a playable DVD (for an additional fee). Just let us know how you’d like it.
3. Photography
We deliver your media via our online web gallery which includes a button to download all your full resolution images.