The shoot goes well, everyone leaves relieved. And then, nothing. Two, three weeks. Sometimes more. And finally, a WeTransfer link. What happens between those two moments is post-production: the least visible stage, the longest, and often the least understood on the client side.
Footage review: sort before you cut
Before touching the timeline, we watch everything that was shot. A shoot day can mean 3 to 8 hours of raw footage. The review means identifying usable takes, key moments, errors to set aside. It’s pure work: you often need a full day for each shoot day.
Assembly and first cut
We build a narrative structure from the selected footage. At this stage there’s no final music and no grade yet, just the skeleton of the film. This first cut is shared with the client to validate the structure before investing time in the polish.
It’s the most critical stage for the client relationship. A structural correction at this point takes 2 hours. The same correction on a finished film can take 2 days.
Color grade
Color grading is what turns “correct” images into “cinematic” ones. We adjust light levels, tones, contrast, consistency between shots. A film without grading is like an Instagram photo with no filter: it works, but it’s flat.
At Signs, Alejandro spends an average of 4 to 8 hours grading a 2–3 minute film. It’s a discipline of its own.
Sound design and mix
Sound is 50% of a film’s emotion. We clean parasitic noise, add ambient sound, choose music carefully, balance levels between voice, ambience and music. A well-mixed film is effortless to watch. You don’t notice the work, and that’s exactly what we’re after.
Subtitles and deliverables
We rarely export a single file. Web format, social version, TV version, version with burnt-in subtitles, version without subtitles for platforms that display them natively: every destination has its own format. This final stage is often underestimated in scheduling.
Post-production represents on average 60 to 70% of total production time. That’s why delivery times are what they are. And that’s why you should be wary of a vendor who promises to finish any film in 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions
How long does post-production take for a corporate film?
Post-production for a 2- to 3-minute corporate film generally takes 3 to 5 days at Signs: 1 day of footage review and rough cut, 1 day of finalized edit, 1 day of color grade and mix, 1 to 2 days for revisions and delivery. Long formats (5 minutes and up) require 7 to 10 days.
What is video color grading and why is it essential?
Color grading harmonizes the colors, contrasts and atmospheres of every shot to create visual consistency. It transforms an image that’s been “shot” into an image that’s “cinematic.” At Signs, color grading is done in DaVinci Resolve with house LUTs adapted to each brand world.
Which delivery formats does Signs provide in post-production?
Signs systematically delivers multiple formats matched to use cases: H.264 Full HD for web and social, ProRes 4K for TV or event broadcast, vertical 9:16 and square 1:1 formats for Instagram and TikTok, and a subtitled version for accessibility. Masters are archived for 2 years.