Everything that goes into making video.
A first-principles guide to the craft of video production, written in plain prose. It walks the whole pipeline and explains the reasoning behind the work, so you understand why each decision gets made the way it does.
15 chapters · ~12,000 words · reads online or as a PDF
We wrote down everything you'd hire us to do.
A finished video looks like a single smooth thing. It's really the result of a few thousand small decisions, each one made at a particular moment by someone who knew why it mattered. There's no trick to it. It comes down to knowing what you're doing at every step.
So we wrote it down. Making Video covers the whole pipeline in the order you meet it on a real project: what video physically is, how to plan it, how to capture a good image and good sound, and how to edit all of it into something people will actually watch. When we give a rule, we explain why it works, because understanding the reason is what lets you adapt when your situation doesn't match the example.
Read it and you can make video yourself, whether you've got a phone and daylight or a full crew. Or read it to understand what you're paying for when you hire someone who does this every day. Either way, you'll know how the pieces fit together. We'd rather share that than keep it to ourselves.
Fifteen chapters, in the order the work happens.
Clear prose, with each chapter building on the one before it.
- 01The Illusion of Motion
- 02The Production Pipeline
- 03The Idea and the Brief
- 04Writing and Structure
- 05Planning the Shoot
- 06Exposure
- 07Lenses and Composition
- 08Resolution, Color, and the File
- 09Lighting
- 10Sound
- 11Directing and Running the Day
- 12Editing
- 13Color
- 14Sound Post and Music
- 15Delivery
For anyone who wants to understand the craft.
People who want to make it themselves
You have a camera, maybe just a phone, and you want to make something good. The guide gives you the full picture and the reasoning to make your own calls on set.
People who hire it out
You commission video and want to stop guessing. Learn enough of the craft to write a clear brief, ask better questions, and recognize good work when you see it.
People learning the trade
You're early in your career and tired of tutorials that show you which button to press but never why. This ties the pieces together into one way of thinking about the whole process.
Get Making Video
The complete guide, all fifteen chapters. Read it online or download the PDF and keep it.
Ask us anything.
Not sure the guide's right for you, or need a hand after buying? Send a note and we'll get back to you.