What’s Included in Post-Production?

A Real-World Breakdown of the Editing Process

Post-production is where everything comes together — but to many teams, it’s a black box. After the shoot wraps, what actually happens between that hard drive handoff and your final video file?

At Swng, we believe in a transparent process that keeps you looped in at every step — without overwhelming you with the technical weeds. Whether we’re working on a brand anthem, a customer story, or a campaign cutdown, here’s what post looks like behind the scenes.

1. Content Review
2. Picture Lock Revisions
3. Final Review

Step 1: Content Review

(Round 1 of 3)

The first cut is all about structure and substance. This is your chance to weigh in on the story arc, pacing, messaging, and content choices. We’re asking questions like:

• Does the narrative make sense?
• Are we hitting the key objectives?
• Is anything missing, confusing, or repetitive?

We’ll also share a few music options and start sketching out notes for motion graphics. At this point, don’t stress about polish — color correction, sound mix, and animation are still in progress.

This round is where the big, strategic changes happen. Flag anything that needs to be added, removed, or rearranged — it’s the cleanest place to do it.

Step 2: Picture Lock Revisions

(Round 2 of 3)

In round two, we’re locking the picture — that means locking in what we see and hear before final polishing begins. This is where we:

• Tighten edits
• Refine pacing
• Apply structural notes from round one
• Prepare for finishing (color, sound, motion)

At this stage, the visuals should feel close to final, but still flexible. If we’re adjusting VO timing, replacing a shot, or swapping music, now’s the time to make those calls.

Once picture is approved, we move into final finishing. At this stage, big changes become time-consuming (and expensive) to implement. So if you have changes to the visual flow, this is the round to flag them.

Step 3: Final Review

(Round 3 of 3)

With the picture locked, we apply all finishing elements:

• Final color correction
• Final sound mix
• Final motion graphics or text animations

This round should be light. You’re reviewing with a final polish in place, and your feedback should focus on fine-tuning:

• A graphic’s timing
• Subtitle spelling
• A moment of sound that feels off

Because nothing is fully finalized until we hit picture lock, this is not the round to request structural edits. But if we’ve followed the process correctly, there shouldn’t be any surprises.

Need More Than Three Rounds?

For most projects, three rounds of review is plenty. But if your content includes complex visual effects, animated sequences, or multi-version deliverables, we’ll build in additional rounds and scope that out clearly at the beginning so everyone knows what’s included, and where there’s room to expand based on the work.

Why It Matters

A clear post-production workflow makes everything smoother:

• You know exactly where we are and what kind of feedback is helpful
• We avoid endless edit loops and unnecessary costs
• You get a better, faster final product

At Swng Productions, we keep your team in the loop from the first frame to final delivery — with clear stages, collaborative review rounds, and a focus on getting it right, not just getting it done.

Want a visual of this post workflow to share with your team? Let us know — we’ve got you.