Dylan Harmon
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
The Most Important Metrics to Keep an Eye on During Video Production
Most of the time, when people talk about “video metrics,” they mean views, watch time, and clicks. Those are important, but they’re not the complete tale. A lot of what makes a video successful happens before it even goes live. There are some metrics that are important to keep track of during the video production process. Keeping track of these metrics might be the difference between a project that goes well and one that gets stuck in revisions, misses deadlines, or loses quality when things go tough.
At Two Stories Media, we’ve discovered that the best productions are more than just innovative. They are in charge. This post explains what you should keep an eye on during a project so you can find problems early, keep everyone on the same page, and make a final movie that meets the standard without going over budget or schedule.
Why it is important to keep track of the video creation process
One of the hardest things about making videos is that most of the work depends on the work that came before it. The script goes off track if the brief isn’t clear. Filming moves if approvals are slow. If the edit direction changes late, everything after the rough cut has to be redone.
You can get early warnings by keeping an eye on the process. It illustrates where decisions are stalled, where the scope is getting bigger, where the quality concerns are getting higher, and where the deadline has to be reset before it becomes an issue. It also helps your team talk to each other clearly because progress is no longer up for debate. You may look at the tracker and see exactly what has been done, what is blocked, and what is next.
Start by keeping note of alignment, not output.
The first process measurements that matter don’t have anything to do with cameras. They have to do with alignment.
One of the best ways to tell if a production will go smoothly is if the artistic direction is set early on and stays the same. Keep an eye on if the project has a clear purpose, audience, main message, and call to action. The project can proceed forward even if none of those things are locked, but it will be based on assumptions, which usually leads to revision turmoil later on.
Keeping track of the roles of stakeholders is also helpful. Feedback turns into a group chat instead of a decision if the approval chain isn’t clear. A simple way to tell is if the “final approver” is known and if feedback is being put together before it goes to the editor.
Keep an eye on the health of your schedule in a way that lets you know when things will be late.
Tracking a schedule isn’t only about “are we on time?” “What will make us go off time next?” is a better question.
A useful measurement is the time it takes to get from one milestone to the next. How long did it take to get the idea approved? How long did it take to have the script approved? How long did it take to give the rough cut the green light? The timeline risk becomes even more when those approval windows start to stretch, even if the project still looks “in progress.”
Dependency preparedness is another measure. Is the talent confirmed before the week of the shoot? Is the site set in stone before the tech scout? Are the releases ready before the cameras start rolling? Tracking each of these things has a meaningful effect on the future, and it turns last-minute panic into planning that can be counted on.
Keep an eye on scope drift before it turns into scope creep.
Scope creep doesn’t usually come in the form of one major request. It comes in small pieces that don’t seem like a big deal on their own.
Follow the deliverables. The schedule and budget need to show that the project started with one major edit and then added three cutdowns, two social versions, numerous aspect ratios, and captions across platforms. One easy way to measure this is to compare the number of deliverables to the number of initial deliverables.
Keep track of revision cycles as well. If you planned for two rounds but are now on round three with big changes to the structure, the real scope has grown. The project isn’t failing just because of that. It means that everyone needs to be on the same page and the team needs to protect quality.
Keep an eye on the quality of the track so that post doesn’t turn into rescue.
Not merely “getting the shot” is the goal in production. The idea is to get footage that cuts easily.
Check the quality of the audio. If speech is important, you should keep track of whether there was clean audio on set, whether there were any interruptions, and whether a backup mic was used. One of the most expensive problems to repair later is audio issues, which can make it hard to utilize things even if the images are fine.
Check to see if the track coverage is complete. If the shot list is the plan, keep track of how many shots you have done. The cut may still be viable without important b-roll, but the pacing, clarity, and brand polish will suffer. This is also a good spot to keep an eye on “pickup risk.” If a shot is missing and it’s important, it should be marked right away while the set is still available.
Also keep an eye on continuity risks. Changes in wardrobe, prop placement, lighting direction, and noise in the surroundings can all make editing harder. You don’t have to make this a sophisticated system. You merely need a spot to write down problems while the fix is still easy.
Keep an eye on the flow of post-production, not simply the editing.
Work and feedback typically overlap in post-production, which is where projects tend to slow down. Tracking post is how you keep it going.
Keep track of how long it takes to make the initial cut. Everything else gets shorter if the initial cut is late. Keep track of how long it takes to get feedback. The editor can’t operate well if input comes back in pieces over the course of a week, and the process has to stop and start.
Keep track of what kind of changes are made with each revision. Are the modifications largely to the timing and copy, or are they structural rewrites? Structural rewrites aren’t “bad,” but they do change the amount of time they take. You can tell if the following round will be quick or if you need to revise your timetable by keeping track of the sort of change.
Keep an eye on how ready your assets are. Small things like motion graphics, music licensing, brand fonts, lower third name spelling, logo variants, and legal disclaimers can cause major delays if they don’t arrive on time. Keeping track of whether such assets are received and approved before they are needed eliminates the last-minute rush.
Keep an eye on delivery readiness so launch day goes smoothly.
The last step is when production teams can waste time on problems that could have been avoided.
Keep an eye on platform needs from the start. You should keep track of each version of the video and its state if it needs more than one aspect ratio, caption file, or cutdown of different lengths. Also keep an eye on QC checks. This means reviewing the audio levels, spelling, brand colors, end cards, URLs, and export settings.
“Delivery completeness” is a good last measure. Did the customer get the final exports, captions, thumbnails (if they were requested), and any file structure that was needed for long-term use? Part of the offering is delivering a clean package, not an extra.
How tracking can help you get better without going after vanity metrics
People don’t see the connection here. The creative gets better when the process is watched.
Stronger messaging comes from clearer alignment. Better capture quality leads to better pace. Faster feedback loops give you more time to make improvements. A clean delivery makes distribution easier. If you want to improve your performance indicators like conversions or watch time, the video production process is what makes such results more possible.
How Two Stories Media helps teams keep track of the process
Tracking your project makes it predictable, whether you’re making one brand video or setting up a regular flow of material. It makes things less surprising, less likely to need changes, and less likely to make decisions quickly.
Two Stories Media can help you set up a workflow that stays organized from pre-production to delivery if you want a production partner who can handle both the creativity and the procedure. Your crew will have a better time, and the finished video will look and feel like it was made with a purpose.