Clients often ask me what they are paying for when they hire Biricik Media Productions. They see the final deliverable — a 60-second commercial, a photo series, a brand film — and assume the work happened on the day of the shoot. The truth is that production day is maybe 20 percent of the total effort. The other 80 percent is invisible, and it is what separates professional work from expensive amateur hour.
Here is the complete process we follow for every project, from the first conversation to the final file delivery.
Phase One: Discovery
Every project begins with listening. Not pitching. Not presenting a portfolio. Listening. I need to understand three things before a single creative decision is made: what is the brand, who is the audience, and what does success look like?
This phase typically involves two to three conversations where I ask questions the client may never have been asked before. What emotion should the audience feel? What is the one thing they must remember? What would make this project a failure, even if the visuals are beautiful?
The most expensive mistake in production is solving the wrong problem beautifully.
Discovery is where projects succeed or fail. I have turned down work when it became clear during discovery that the client's expectations could not be met within their constraints. That honesty is part of the service.
Phase Two: Pre-Production
Pre-production is where the creative vision takes shape. This includes location scouting, talent coordination, shot lists, mood boards, equipment selection, and scheduling. For a single-day shoot, pre-production typically takes two to three weeks.
I personally scout every location. Photographs and floor plans tell you the dimensions of a space. They do not tell you how light moves through it at different times of day. They do not tell you the acoustic properties that will affect sound design. They do not tell you where the power outlets are, which is information you desperately need on shoot day.
The deliverable from pre-production is a production book: a comprehensive document that details every shot, every setup, every transition, every piece of equipment, and every minute of the shooting schedule. When we arrive on set, there are no surprises.
Phase Three: Production
This is the day (or days) on set. Because pre-production has been thorough, production day is focused and efficient. The team knows exactly what we are capturing, in what order, and with what equipment.
I direct and often operate the camera myself. Having started as a photographer, I have a relationship with the camera that translates directly into composition and movement decisions that happen in real time. When an unplanned moment presents itself — a shift in light, a spontaneous gesture from a subject — I can capture it without breaking the schedule.
We also capture dedicated audio, room tone, and B-roll that will become essential in post-production. Nothing is assumed to be unnecessary until the edit proves otherwise.
Phase Four: Post-Production
Post-production is where the raw material becomes the finished piece. This phase includes assembly editing, color grading, sound design, music selection or scoring, graphics, and review cycles.
At Biricik Media, I handle color grading personally. The visual signature that defines our work — the warmth, the depth, the cinematic texture — is not achievable through a LUT or preset. It requires the same eye that composed the shot to grade it.
Review cycles are structured. The client receives a rough cut for structural feedback, a fine cut for detail feedback, and a final version for approval. We build two rounds of revisions into every project scope. In my experience, clear communication during discovery means revisions are refinements, not overhauls.
Phase Five: Delivery
Final delivery is not simply exporting a file. Different platforms require different formats, codecs, aspect ratios, and compression settings. A video optimized for Instagram will fail on a conference room projector. A 4K master will choke on a website player that expects compressed H.264.
We deliver platform-specific versions as standard practice. Every client receives master files in their archive format of choice, plus optimized versions for every distribution channel they plan to use. This attention to platform-specific delivery is something most production companies overlook.
To learn more about how we approach specific elements of this process, read about our visual storytelling framework or how we handle the balance between equipment and creativity.