Introduction to Videos

When creating a video with a team, you may find it useful to work on shareable documents and web platforms, so that multiple team members can work at once. During the post production phase, only one person can edit at a time which means pre-production is a great time to be as collaborative as possible!

Communicating clearly and efficiently with your team about script changes, shot lists, storyboards, and other important organizational steps will help keep your creative direction clear.  

Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive are all very effective tools for teamwork, and so are their counterparts, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. By creating shared drives and documents, all team members can access important work material, recordings, and organizational material right from their desktop.

These platforms make it easy to connect, edit, comment, and review older drafts of material, and help to give your entire team the opportunity to be involved with the creative process thanks to intuitive suggestion and comment modes.

These platforms are also free to use online and only require an associated email account to save, share, and edit documents and media. Having backups of earlier script drafts, storyboards, meeting notes, and spreadsheets can help keep your project moving and prevent major setbacks you could run into during the production process. 

Regular meetings, in-person or over a video calling service like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams are also integral to working closely with a crew, and thorough notes should always be taken so that everyone is clear on what work needs to be done to complete the project.  

If you’re collaborating with teammates to produce a video, it’s best to develop a structure or system for editing that allows each team member to contribute meaningfully while staying consistent with the project’s vision. Using time stamps can help assist in directing the producer to exact points in your video that need adjusting.  

Pairing these time stamps with descriptive directions and suggestions will also help you make clear editorial decisions. With a good editing structure, teammates can outline common issues, creative suggestions, and if there may be any need to re-record or revise the direction of certain elements of production. 

Here is a Sample Table Structure For Collaborative Editing that can assist in working together to develop media content.