Production values

 What is production values?

Production values refer to the overall quality of a movie as determined by its technical merits. This value is based on criteria like set design, special effects and costumes rather than the more creative and subjective criteria such as, directing, acting and writing.

Production value is often directly linked to budget, as a higher budget tends to confer higher production value. There are exceptions to the rule, but a big budget enables higher production value that a low- budget film may struggle to match.

Production value meaning,

• Overall quality
• Technical criteria
• Can be low or high

What are production values in film?

So, 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. Also, 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:

• Location
• 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 way 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 we can imagine, the difference between the tow comes down to what we can seen 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.

So, now let's quickly explore some examples of high production value ( and higher budget) projects to see how they stand out.

• Blade Runner 2049, the combination of lighting and set design ( especially the fallen statues) give the scene a very high production value.
  
  
  
• Pirates  of the Caribbean

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 film) 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 ( hilarious) example:

• A Scene From Troll 2
  
  
  

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.

So, here are some low budget movie examples that make good use of low production value.

• Evil Dead II Laughter Scene
  
  
  

• Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind - Meet Me In Montauk
  
  
  

• Birdemic
  
  
  

As we can see, in each of these examples the filmmakers found creative ways to use low production values/ technical resources in ways which can actually improve the story that they're trying to tell.

Other hand, high production value isn't everything,

The vast majority of major studio releases all have high production value, but we've seen that this is not a guarantee of overall quality. If the writing, direction and performances are weak, they can drag down the entire cinematic experience. A film like R. I. P. D. starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges is a perfect example of a film with production values as high as could be, still winding up as a failure. 

Even with a 130 - million - dollar budget, the weak writing and direction turned out a critical flop and a total box office bomb, losing more than 50 million dollars. Quality is something that should be strived for in all areas.

Overall, it is clear that these definitions and examples provide a soil understanding of what constitutes film production value. It’s important to remember that these high and low terms for describing technical aspects are good frames of reference for conversation, but in no means meant to deter filmmakers from finding creative solutions for projects of any type. And any filmmaker can make high quality videos with the right tools and skills.