Video productions is one of those industries where there are so many different fun occupations that someone can find themselves involved in. However, outside of the director, actor/actress, cameraman, editors and other commonly known positions, many people outside of video productions don’t see all the possibilities within the field. In reality, there are jobs that entail work up to the last fine detail of a video or film. For example, video production companies hire individuals for things like on-set prop design, but then they are also accompanied by a lot of assisting positions that are in charge of actually finding and purchasing those props. Additionally, there are other jobs that need to be filled for costume design, lighting, make-up, architecture, animation, storyboarding, casting, microphones, sound effects, video effects, and more!
Just one video production company can provide dozens of individuals different career paths. Below is a short list of a few of the different positions based on the different departments.
*SIDENOTE: these categories may differ from one video production company to another — our list is equally subjective*
WRITING TEAM
We won’t get into this quasi-group too much partly because there’s not much more to it, and it’s difficult to really place them into any other group. Anyone with a creative mind and a knack for storytelling can be a screenwriter or scriptwriter. However, these roles are crucial to the overall success of a video production company and film.
ART TEAM
Within the art team, production designers and art directors have to come up with the storyboard and overall on-screen visual of buildings, landscapes, interiors, props and more. In order to do this, there are A LOT of positions. To list a few, you have the set decorator, costume designer, set costumers, special effects coordinator, makeup artists, hair stylists, barbers, etc. These positions are supposed to make everything on a set look exactly as the director and writers intend them to look.
PRODUCTION TEAM
The main production portion of a film or video really can be broken up into a lot of subgroups that deal with the cameras, lighting, audio and more. You don’t necessarily have to be a cameraman in order to be apart of a video production company, you can be a specialist with microphones or the dimness of the lighting. These different production positions usually consist of chief light technicians, regular lighting technicians, gaffers, boom operators, sound mixers, sound utility, camera operators, camera assistants, and camera loaders.
EDITING TEAM
Apart of the post-production stage, there are multiple editing teams that focus on piecing every shot together. There are lead editors that cut all the shots and put them together with the correct audio clips as well. For audio alone, there are music editors, re-recorders, sound effects specialists, Foley artists, Foley mixers, mix technicians, mix engineers, and more. After the audio and main editing, there are also animators and video effects supervisors, coordinators and technicians.
OTHER
Beyond all of these positions are the other jobs that still need to be filled in order to have everything run smoothly and legally. There are office coordinators and assistants, travel coordinators, financial accounts, and of course, casting associates and assistants.
A career in video productions does not necessarily mean that you have to be a producer, director, actor/actress, cameraman, or editor. If you love movies or simply the film industry, you can find a variety of different occupations within a video production company. To get a job in this industry, you simply have to build your skills, share them with others, start applying, and then get involved as much as you can!
