How Much Notice Does a Video Production Need?
Lead times and production timelines by project type, and why they exist.
Two questions come up at the start of nearly every project. For a shoot, it's "how much lead time do you need?" For a larger production, it's "how long will this take?" Both deserve a specific answer, and the answer differs by project type. This guide sets out the typical timelines for each kind of work we produce and what that time is for, so you can plan a shoot, a campaign, or a content system against a realistic calendar.
Two terms are worth defining.
Lead time is the notice we need between your approval and the shoot day.
Production timeline is the full span of a project, from agreement to final delivery.
Smaller projects are primarily a lead-time question. Larger productions are a timeline question, because the shoot date comes out of the development work rather than being set at the start.
What lead time is for
A shoot day is the visible part of a longer process. Most of the work that determines how well the day goes happens before it.
Some of that work is logistics. Locations need to be confirmed, and on larger productions they need to be scouted first and covered by a signed location agreement. Offices and larger venues often require certificates of insurance, scheduled loading access, and a contact who can get a crew and equipment through security. Crew and equipment need to be booked, and the best people are booked by others too. Some of it is creative planning: question plans for interviews, shot lists, a prep call so everyone knows what the day is for. And some of it is simply people’s calendars, because the subjects of an interview have to be available at the same time as the crew.
None of this is difficult on its own. It takes calendar days, and much of it depends on other people responding. Lead time is the room we leave for all of it to happen properly, without pressure on the people involved or compromises on the day.
Small shoots: interviews and b-roll
This covers testimonials, customer and leadership interviews, b-roll days, product footage, and similar small-crew productions.
Plan on a minimum of two weeks from approval to shoot day, and more when the calendar allows. Three weeks or a month gives everyone room, and the extra time is never wasted. The clock starts once the project is approved and the first payment has cleared, since crew and locations are committed from that point. Two weeks leaves time for building logistics, for question plans and prep, and for any changes along the way without putting pressure on the schedule.
About a week is workable when schedules allow. We can usually move things around to make it happen, but it's tight, and it depends on the locations and people involved being ready to respond quickly. Anything shorter than that isn't something we can promise.
After the shoot, expect a first cut about two weeks later. From there, the pace is set by review time. Each round of notes takes a few business days on our side, and finished films typically follow about a week after the edit is approved. Start to finish, a small shoot and its films usually run six to eight weeks.
Editing-only projects
When there's no shoot, there's no lead time in the same sense. Once scope is confirmed and we have your footage and assets, a first cut typically arrives within five to seven business days. Revisions turn around in two to three business days. Projects that involve scripting, animation, or several sequential stages follow a timeline we set out in the scope confirmation.
Larger productions: commercials, brand films, and content systems
These are different. A commercial, a documentary-style brand film, or a website and social content system isn't a shoot you book; it's a production you develop. The creative plan is built first, the budget is scoped against that plan, and the shoot date comes out of both. That's why we can talk about target windows early but don't lock a date until the plan is approved.
As a rough guide:
Website and social content systems typically run about three to four months from agreement to final library. Development runs four to eight weeks and depends on wireframe or site-plan approval. Pre-production takes three to four weeks once the budget is approved. First drafts arrive one to two weeks after the shoot, and the full library is delivered four to six weeks after.
Documentary-style brand films also run about three to four months. Development covers the treatment and production plan. Pre-production depends most on the availability of the people being interviewed. Post runs six to eight weeks, because documentary editorial takes time to find the story in the footage before finishing begins.
TV and social commercials typically run four to five months. Development covers concept, script, and budget approval. Pre-production runs four to eight weeks for casting, locations, permits, and crew. Post runs four to eight weeks through edit, color, sound mix, and broadcast masters.
Faster is sometimes possible, usually when approvals come back quickly and the subjects, locations, or casting are already settled. When we can compress a schedule, we'll say so in the proposal and tell you what it depends on.
What moves a timeline, in either direction
Every timeline above assumes approvals come back inside the review windows we set, usually five business days for a first draft and a few days for later rounds. Approvals are the gates the schedule hangs on; when they close quickly, everything downstream moves up, and when they sit, everything waits.
The other big variable is what's ready when we start. Brand assets, a single point of contact with authority to approve, any legal or compliance requirements, and access to locations all shorten the path when they're in place early. We cover this in What We Need Before Production Begins.
At a glance
All timelines assume approvals come back inside the review windows and, where a payment is due, that it has cleared.
Project type | Lead time to shoot day | Full timeline to delivery |
Minimum two weeks from approval; more when the calendar allows | Six to eight weeks | |
Editing-only projects | None; starts when scope is confirmed and assets are received | First cut in five to seven business days; revisions in two to three |
Set during development; pre-production three to four weeks from budget approval | About three to four months | |
Set during development; pre-production depends on subject availability | About three to four months | |
Set during development; pre-production four to eight weeks from budget approval | About four to five months |
How to plan with this
If you have a shoot date in mind, work backward from it using the timelines above and have the approval in place before that window opens. If you have a launch date for a larger production, the earlier the conversation starts, the more of that calendar we can use well. And if you're not sure which category your project falls into, that's the first thing we'll settle on a call.