The Gift of Gab: Understanding "Post Production"

Welcome to Post. The place where we magically fix anything wrong, ever.

Have you heard someone say, "we'll fix it in post"? Yeah, well, what even is that?

Welcome to Post. -2:33

The Gift of Gab: Understanding "Post Production"

Hey there! Welcome to another edition of The Gift of Gab. Today, we're continuing my "What Is" series for beginners, and we're going to dive into a phrase you've probably heard but might not fully understand—post production.

Now, don't worry. By the end of this post, you'll know exactly what it is and why it’s such a crucial part of the media world.

What Is Post Production?

In the industry, we love abbreviations, and "post production" is often shortened to just "post." So, what does that mean exactly? To explain, let’s break it down into three stages: pre, during, and post. These terms refer to the different phases of a project, whether it’s a recording, a video shoot, or any media production.

• Pre-production is everything that happens before the project begins—planning, scripting, casting, etc.

• Production is the actual recording or filming process.

• And then we have Post-production, the phase we’re focusing on today.

Post is almost like a magical world where everything comes together. It sounds a bit like a place, right? Like, "Welcome to Post!" But in reality, it's where a whole team of professionals works behind the scenes to polish the project.

The Magic of Post

In post-production, you have a wide range of people involved. There are editors who cut and piece together the footage, sound designers who work on the audio, writers who tweak scripts, producers who oversee it all, and even people who log footage to keep track of everything. It’s a lot!

When you’re inside a recording session—whether it’s for voiceover work or another type of media production—it's not considered “done” until it’s been through post. This is the phase where the magic happens. It's where everything—sound, visuals, dialogue—comes together to create the final product.

Fixing It in Post

You may have heard the phrase "we’ll fix it in post" or "that'll happen in post." This is a bit of industry slang that can sound cheeky. It’s a shorthand way of saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll handle that in the editing process.” It’s like a way of saying, "The Wizards will take care of it," meaning the post-production team will work their magic to clean up, adjust, and make everything look and sound perfect.

It’s a term that can definitely be confusing for someone who's new to the industry and not familiar with all the lingo yet, but once you’re in the world of media production, you'll hear it all the time.

The Bigger Picture

Post-production has loads of applications across the industry, and voice actors are just one small part of the bigger picture. There are many people working to make sure everything fits together seamlessly to create the final project, and without post, nothing would come to life.

So there you have it—post production, or simply post, is where all the magic happens. From editing to sound design, post is the final touch that turns raw material into the polished media we consume every day.

Thanks so much for tuning in, and I’ll see you in the next edition of The Gift of Gab. Take care!

704-674-8294 / GabrielleNistico.com / gabby@voiceovervixen.com

Gabrielle Nistico, Gabby Nistico, The Voiceover Vixen, The Business First VO Coach, #VoiceoverVixen #VoiceOnFire #BusinessFirstVOCoach Voiceover, Charlotte, North Carolina, post production, editor, post-production, fix it in post, producers, sound designers, writers, pre-production, pre production, voice over