What is post-production? Stages, roles and timeline
Film post-production step by step: editing, grading, VFX, sound, mixing, masters. Who does what, how long it takes by type of project and the mistakes to avoid.
The short answer
- Definition: post-production covers everything that happens after the shoot to turn the footage into a film ready for release: editing, colour grading, visual effects, sound, subtitles, masters and archiving.
- The stages: logging, picture editing up to picture lock, conform, then grading, VFX and sound editing in parallel, the mix, and finally masters and deliveries.
- The roles: editor and assistant editor, colourist, VFX supervisor and artists, sound editor, Foley artist, re-recording mixer, coordinated by a post-production supervisor.
- How long: from a few days for a commercial to four to nine months for a fiction feature.
Post-production, postproduction and post are the same thing. A company that provides post-production facilities is called a post house.
A film is made three times: in the writing, on set, then in post-production. That is where the story finds its final rhythm, the image gets its colour and the sound is built track by track. This guide goes through the stages in order, the people who do the work and the time to plan for.
1. The stages of post-production, in order
| Stage | What happens | What comes out |
|---|---|---|
| Backup and logging | Verified copies of camera and sound cards, picture and sound sync, organising and viewing the dailies. | Footage backed up twice, synced and sorted by scene. |
| Picture editing | Choosing takes, building the story and rhythm, successive cuts shown to the director and producers. | Picture lock: a locked edit whose length will not change. |
| Conform | The edit, often made on light files (proxies), is relinked to the full-quality original footage through an AAF or XML file. | A full-resolution timeline ready for grading and effects. |
| Colour grading | Matching colour between shots, then creating the film's look, on a calibrated monitor. | The final image, in SDR and sometimes HDR. |
| Visual effects (VFX) | Clean-ups, keying, compositing, titles and credits. | VFX shots that go back into the graded timeline. |
| Sound editing | Editing dialogue, atmospheres and effects, Foley, ADR if needed, laying in the music. | Separate sound tracks ready for the mix. |
| Mixing | Balancing dialogue, music and effects, stereo or 5.1 placement, meeting loudness standards. | The final mix and its versions (cinema, TV, international version). |
| Subtitles and accessibility | Subtitles, captions for the deaf and hard of hearing, audio description. | The files broadcasters and funders require. |
| Masters and deliveries | Making the masters (DCP for cinemas, broadcast masters for TV, IMF for streaming platforms), quality control. | The elements delivered to the distributor or broadcaster. |
| Archiving | Copying footage, projects and masters to long-lasting media, in at least two copies. | An archive that lets you make a new version ten years later. |
After picture lock, grading, VFX and sound editing move forward at the same time, because none of them changes shot length. Everything comes together at the end to make the master.
2. The roles in post-production
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Editor | Builds the film from the footage with the director. The film's first audience. |
| Assistant editor | Backs up, syncs and organises footage, prepares exports, the conform and the files for sound and grading. |
| Colourist | Matches and shapes the image with the director of photography and the director. |
| VFX supervisor and artists | Plan and create visual effects, titles and credits. |
| Sound editor | Edits dialogue, atmospheres and sound effects, and prepares the mix sessions. |
| Foley artist | Recreates footsteps, clothing and props sounds in the studio, in sync with the picture. |
| Re-recording mixer | Balances and places every track and delivers the mix to broadcast standards. |
| Post-production supervisor | Sets the schedule and budget, chooses the facilities and follows deliveries. |
On a short film or a documentary, one person often takes on several of these roles: the editor does the assisting, the mixer also edits the sound.
3. How long does post-production take?
| Project | Picture edit | Grading | Sound (edit and mix) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial, music video (30 s to 4 min) | 2 to 5 days | 1 day | 1 to 2 days | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Short film (15 to 30 min) | 2 to 4 weeks | 2 to 3 days | 1 to 2 weeks | 1 to 3 months |
| 52-min documentary | 8 to 12 weeks | 2 to 4 days | 1 to 2 weeks | 3 to 4 months |
| Fiction feature film | 10 to 20 weeks | 2 to 4 weeks | 6 to 10 weeks | 4 to 9 months |
Typical ranges seen on French projects; adjust for the amount of footage, the number of versions requested and the visual effects.
Picture editing is almost always the longest stage and the hardest to predict: a documentary is often found in the edit. The technical stages that follow (grading, mixing, masters) are easier to schedule, as long as the edit is truly locked.
4. What post-production costs
The budget depends mostly on time spent in the rooms and on the crew. An editing room is rented by the half day, day, week or month; grading and mixing happen in calibrated rooms that cost more but are booked for less time. Visual effects and original music are the items that vary most.
In France, part of the spending can qualify for the French film or TV tax credit, and for the international tax rebate (TRIP) for foreign productions, if the post-production is done in France.
5. Mistakes that stretch post-production
- Not backing up footage twice from the shoot: a lost card cannot be reshot.
- Starting the grade or the mix before picture lock: every change to the edit means redoing part of the work.
- Losing timecode or renaming files: conforming to the original footage becomes slow and risky.
- Finding out the delivery specs at the end: ask for the broadcaster's or platform's delivery spec at the start (format, loudness, subtitles).
- Grading on a computer screen: only a calibrated monitor shows the image as it will be broadcast.
Post-production in Paris
ForCut is a post house in Paris with two sites. At Studio Bastille (Paris 12), the editing suite is €80 incl. VAT per half day and the grading suite €110, with self-service access 24/7. At Studio République (Paris 10, near the Canal Saint-Martin), five editing, grading, 5.1 mixing and screening rooms share Avid Nexis storage. Read more: grading in DaVinci Resolve, making a DCP and post-production in Paris.
FAQ
What is post-production?
Post-production is every stage that follows a film shoot: editing, colour grading, visual effects, sound editing, mixing, subtitles, mastering and archiving. It turns the footage into a film ready for cinemas, TV or online release.
What are the stages of post-production?
The stages of post-production are logging, picture editing up to picture lock, conform, then grading, visual effects and sound editing in parallel, the mix, subtitles and accessibility, masters and deliveries, and archiving.
How long does post-production take for a film?
Post-production of a fiction feature usually takes four to nine months, including ten to twenty weeks of picture editing. Allow three to four months for a 52-minute documentary, one to three months for a short film and one to three weeks for a commercial.
Who works in post-production?
Post-production brings together the editor and assistant editor, the colourist, the VFX supervisor and artists, the sound editor, the Foley artist and the re-recording mixer, coordinated by a post-production supervisor. On small projects, one person often covers several roles.
Where can you do film post-production in Paris?
In Paris, ForCut runs two post-production sites: Studio Bastille (Paris 12), with editing suites from €80 incl. VAT per half day and a grading suite from €110 with self-service access 24/7, and Studio République (Paris 10), with five editing, grading, 5.1 mixing and screening rooms on Avid Nexis storage.
Post-producing in Paris?
At Studio Bastille (Paris 12), the editing suite starts at €80 and the grading suite at €110 per half-day (incl. VAT), with 24/7 self access, a Mac mini M6 in the editing suite and a Mac Studio M2 Ultra in the grading suite. Studio République (Paris 10) offers five rooms on an Avid Nexis SAN, including 5.1 sound and a screening room, on quote. Depending on the project, costs may qualify for the French film tax credit or TRIP.