Technical and editorial errors can be made in any setting, especially within creative companies like video production services. This is why we recommend having a great quality control system, and Quality Control Officer, to help you maintain high standards and reduce any faults that may affect the professional image of your company.
Check out our six tips below to help you achieve flawless quality control:
1. Remove all distractions
The key to spotting all potential errors is to make sure that you’re fully focused on the task at hand. Ensure that those around you are aware of what you are doing, and clear time in your schedule to watch the full video.
Noise-cancelling headphones are a great way to block out any noise in your work environment, allowing you to give all your attention to the video, whilst the world goes on around you.
2. Have checking tools nearby
This point may vary depending on what needs Quality Control. If you’re checking a document on your computer then a handy spelling and grammar tool can help flag up any potential errors.
However, conducting your own check is still vital – as no computer or machine is perfect! You’ll find that a lot of spelling checkers can easily default to American grammar and spellings, which have several key differences compared to their British counterparts.
We also personally recommend that you check that the name straps on the video correctly match both the spelling of a contributor’s name, and their job title.
If you are unsure of the spellings, you can visit a site like LinkedIn, or check the release form your contributor should have filled in.
3. Raise your concerns
Many errors in video production occur because the person doing the check either a) does not want to offend the Editor by raising what they think is a potential problem, or b) does not have enough confidence in themselves to bring up a mistake.
Both of these attitudes can be dangerous as there is no harm in raising a potential problem and a reasonable Editor will welcome any feedback, if phrased in a respectful way.
Often, to reduce doubt, noting any problems as you go through and only raising them once the whole piece has been watched will allow you to make a solid judgement as to whether there is a problem.
Overall the Quality Control Officer needs to stand up and take responsibility, if they don’t mention a mistake, which later is raised by someone else, their own ability will be called into question.
4. A fresh pair of eyes
Editors can spend hours looking through a video and therefore could easily miss a mistake. However, if you check it over, you’ll bring a fresh pair of eyes and so are likely (especially on the first watch through) to spot things, which they haven’t.
Key things to look out for are big colour shifts in the image, out of focus shots or anything that just doesn’t seem to work. If you can’t follow the structure of the video – it is likely that others won’t either!
5. Always double check
You should always watch the video a couple of times to double check that any changes that have been made do not affect its overall flow, and to ensure that any mistakes made have been corrected.
6. Have a system…and follow it!
When you’re checking on multiple videos, which are all at various stages, it’s very easy to get confused on what you’ve already checked. The best way to prevent this is to make sure you have a system in place.
Your system could be as simple as a checklist or even a flowchart that outlines what needs to be looked at, that way you’ll always know where you are in the process.
To make it even easier, you could even use your initials to mark where you’re up to, to reassure yourself that the video has been proven to be the highest standard it can be, and that no steps have been missed.
Follow our tips and create a solid QC system and use it to make sure that you’re outputting the highest level of video!