Production value 📸📹

 

At its core, production value represents the aesthetic quality and appeal that viewers perceive in a film, influenced by a myriad of elements from stunning photography to intricate sound design. It's an asset that can significantly increase the cost and price of a film, but it's an expense worth investing in

The definition of production value

While we’ll get into all of the different elements of production value below, we should at least make sure we’re giving a proper definition of production value first.

In short, “production value” is a catch-all  covers all of the technical elements of video production, especially in regards to films. These production elements include everything from set design to lighting to costumes and props. That can seem like a lot, but it’s pretty much where the term stops. 

Why is production value important?

At its core, production value represents the aesthetic quality and appeal that viewers perceive in a film, influenced by a myriad of elements from stunning photography to intricate sound design. It's an asset that can significantly increase the cost and price of a film, but it's an expense worth investing In

In short, “production value” is a catch-all term which covers all of the technical elements of video production, especially in regards to films. These production elements include everything from set design to lighting to costumes and props. That can seem like a lot, but it’s pretty much where the term stops. 

It’s important to note that production value does not cover anything outside of these technical elements like writing, acting, directing, or editing and effects. So, if you’re talking about “production value” in a film that you’re watching, you should know which elements are relevant and which ones are not.

What are production values in film?

Now that a simple definition is out of the way, we can move on to all of the actual elements which could be considered production values. And trust us, there are a lot of things that can fall into this category. Still, the general rule of thumb to keep in mind is simply that these elements are technical as opposed to creative or performing arts.

Some common production value elements include:

• Locations
• Set design
• Props and furniture
• Lighting sources
• Costumes and wardrobe
• Hair and make-up
• Practical effects used on set

There’s actually a bit of debate as to if any post-production elements should be considered part of production value. It’s worth mentioning that while basic editing decisions would be more of the creative variety, the fact that digital special effects are available (and can be discernibly lesser or greater) could mean that they are also a production value element.

Examples of high production value

This leads us to discuss the ways in which production value is usually talked about. As part of film criticism (or simply a conversation between two filmmakers deciding on their own budgets and ideas), production value is usually referred to as a “high” or “low.” 

As you can imagine, the difference between the two comes down to what you can see on screen and what we perceive to be the budget (covering everything from production costs to money spent) and intentionality behind these projects and technical decisions. 

To give you a better understanding, let’s quickly explore some examples of high production value (and higher budget) projects to see how they stand out.

 

 

These are clips from three of the most expensive movies ever made, so it’s no stretch to assume that these big budget motion picture examples include the highest production values. And you can obviously see it on the screen too, as there are a million examples of their astounding budgets at work crafting the highest quality sets, costumes, lights, and effects.

Examples of low production value

On the other end of the spectrum, we have examples of low production value (and small budget films) to explore. However, while you’d think this term might be synonymous with the budget and scope of a project, there’s actually two ways to approach using this phrase.

For one, low production value is simply a way to refer to movies with a low budget as well as obviously shoddy technical resources that are being used and that you can see on screen. These films sometimes become cult classics because of their flaws, but in general this use of low production value is meant as a slight, not a compliment.

Here’s a quick (and hilarious) example:

 

Yet, while many do think of low production value films as a joke worthy of ridicule, there is actually another way in which the term can be used. And that’s to describe projects which clearly don’t have big blockbuster budgets but still find creative ways to make use of limited resources and practical effects.

Yet, while many do think of low production value films as a joke worthy of ridicule, there is actually another way in which the term can be used. And that’s to describe projects which clearly don’t have big blockbuster budgets but still find creative ways to make use of limited resources and practical effects. 

In this sense, here are some low budget movie examples that make good use of low production value: