Corporate Video Production Process: Brief to Delivery

Most corporate videos follow the same seven stages. Knowing them helps you plan your own team's time, spot delays early and understand what a production company is asking for at each step.

1. Brief

You describe what the video is for, who will watch it, what must be in it and when you need it. A one-page brief is enough. If you have never written one, use our video brief template.

Your job: decide the goal and the audience, and name one person who will run the project on your side.

2. Quote and approach

The production company replies with an approach — how they would tell the story — and a quote. A useful quote is itemised: shoot days, crew, equipment, locations, edit, music, graphics, versions. Read our guide on what affects the cost of a corporate video.

Your job: check that the approach answers the brief and that the quote includes every version you need.

3. Pre-production

This is the planning stage, and it decides how smooth the shoot will be. It usually includes:

• Concept or script. For interview-led films, a list of questions and the story the answers should build. For scripted films, a written script and voice-over text.
• Shot list. Every shot the crew needs, grouped by location.
• Schedule. Who is filmed where and when, down to the hour.
• Locations and access. Security passes, parking, approvals, power, quiet rooms.
• People. Confirming who will appear, briefing them and collecting consent where needed.

Our article on storyboards and shot lists explains why this stage saves money.

Your job: approve the script or questions, book your people and arrange access.

4. Shoot

On the day, the crew arrives early to set up light and sound, then works through the schedule. A typical interview setup takes time to build, so the schedule groups interviews together and fits B-roll — the footage of people working, products and spaces — around them.

Practical tips for the day:

• Have one decision-maker available to answer questions quickly.
• Prepare the spaces: tidy desks, remove confidential documents, switch screens to neutral content.
• Brief everyone who will appear on what to wear — see what to wear on camera.
• Expect interviews to take longer than the answer itself; relaxed people give better answers.

Your job: keep people and rooms available as scheduled.

5. Edit

The editor reviews all the footage, selects the best moments and builds the story. The first edit shows structure and content; it is not yet the polished film. Music, colour grading, sound mixing, titles and graphics are refined in later stages. More on this in what happens in post-production.

Your job: wait for the first cut before judging the tone — rough edits often look unfinished on purpose.

6. Feedback rounds

You review each version and send comments. The clearer the comments, the faster the next version. Collect feedback from everyone who needs to approve the video in one document, with timecodes, rather than sending separate emails. Our guide on giving feedback on a video edit has a simple format.

Your job: consolidate comments and make sure the final approver sees the edit before the last round, not after it.

7. Delivery

You receive the final files in the agreed formats: the master film, cut-downs, vertical versions, subtitle files and, if agreed, selected raw footage. Check that each file plays correctly on the platforms where it will be published.

Your job: store the files somewhere your team can find them, and plan how the video will be used — a video nobody sees has not done its job. Read how to measure the results of a corporate video.

Where projects usually slow down

• The script is approved late, so the shoot moves.
• A senior person who must appear is not available on the shoot day.
• A new stakeholder sees the film for the first time at the final edit and asks for big changes.
• Versions and formats were not agreed upfront.

Each of these is avoidable with a clear brief and one owner on your side.

How we run it

At Fat Cat Media, working in the UAE since 2012, one producer stays with your project from brief to delivery, so you always know who to ask. Our crew films in 6K across Dubai, the UAE and the GCC, and we plan every shoot so the footage also works for vertical and square versions. Send us your brief on WhatsApp and we will come back with an approach and an itemised quote — see our corporate video service.