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Video ad production turns a brief into finished ads that are ready for every placement they will run in. For a performance campaign, that means more than one film. Google's marketing team tells advertisers to give their media team landscape, vertical, and square cuts in 6-, 15-, and 30-second lengths so AI-powered campaigns can match each spot to each screen. That list of versions decides what gets shot. It is also where many campaigns fall short: half of all media budgets go to ads poorly suited to their platforms.
The stages of video ad production
A video ad moves through six stages:
- Brief: purpose, goals, messaging, audience, the deliverables needed, and any localization needs.
- Concept: one idea with a clear intent, approved before the script starts.
- Script and storyboard: lines or voice-over, direction, talent, products, props, and settings. A detailed shot list can stand in for a storyboard.
- Production: planning ends and the footage is made.
- Post-production: the edit, graphics, music, voice-over, language versions, and talent and music licensing.
- Delivery: final files in every specification, size, and aspect ratio, by the agreed date.
An effective ad focuses on no more than two points about the brand or product. Fix the delivery scope before production, because deliverables added later affect timing and budget. Starti's TV commercial production guide makes the same case for scoping deliverables at the bid.
Plan the video ad versions before the shoot
Google maps landscape to connected TV and in-stream, vertical to Shorts, and square to Discover and feeds. On Meta, the Ads Guide recommends 9:16 for Instagram Reels and Instagram Feed, 4:5 for Facebook Feed, and 16:9 or 1:1 for Facebook in-stream video.
In Google Ads, non-skippable in-stream videos come in three tiers: bumpers up to 6 seconds, standard ads of 7 to 15 seconds, and connected TV spots of 16 to 30 seconds that must be horizontal. Demand Gen accepts videos from 5 seconds, but anything under 10 seconds can't serve in YouTube in-stream, and videos over 15 seconds help maximize reach.
Three ratios in three lengths add up to as many as nine files per concept in each language. The media plan decides which of the nine to make. A campaign with no connected TV buy can drop the 30-second widescreen spot, while one that runs mainly on Shorts and Reels starts from the vertical cut.
Vertical is the hardest crop. A 9:16 frame cut from 16:9 footage keeps less than a third of its width, so a widescreen shot with the product at one edge and the presenter at the other loses one of them in the vertical version. Keeping the action near the center, or giving the vertical version its own camera, protects both, and either choice has to be made before the shoot.
Cut each length for its own job
A six-second version works best as its own edit, built around a single joke, product feature, or price rather than cut down from a longer spot, as Google's 2021 bumper ad guide recommends.
Longer cuts have limits too. In dentsu's April 2026 Brand Reset study with Kantar and Lumen, which drew on 40,000 respondents in the US and UK, attention added little impact after 20 seconds. With consumers watching half of an ad's length most of the time, the study also questions the value of ads longer than 30 seconds. So the main point of a 30-second cut belongs in its first 20 seconds.
Openings and sound by placement
On YouTube, where a slow reveal invites the skip, open on a human face, say and show the brand in the first five seconds, and use title cards that work with the sound off. Demand Gen ads play muted by default in Discover, YouTube Home feed, Gmail, and the Display Network, and with sound on in Shorts. Meta's Ads Guide strongly recommends sound for Reels ads. A cut that runs in muted feeds as well as in Shorts or Reels has to work both ways, with captions and title cards for silent viewing and sound that carries the story when it is on.
Localize inside the production plan
Languages belong in the brief. Knowing the target regions early shapes casting, locations, wardrobe, and props during the shoot, and post-production then adds translated scripts, dubbed voices, or subtitles. Early planning also settles how each scene carries its words: a presenter speaking to camera needs dubbing or subtitles in every market, while a scene told through voice-over takes a new voice track per language. For when to translate, dub, or transcreate, see Starti's guide to video localization.
Translated on-screen text needs the same room as the original. For Reels ads, including each language version, Meta's Ads Guide suggests a margin of at least 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom, and 6% on each side, free of text and logos.
In AppsFlyer's data, each language version counts as a separate creative: its 2026 creative optimization report gives any change, including localization, its own creative ID. That makes it possible to compare the same ad market by market.
Iterate after launch
When results trend steadily down, TikTok's creative best practices call for fresh creatives added to the same ad group rather than a new one, which extends the ad group's life. In Demand Gen, Google's Creative Excellence Guide points to asset reports for finding top performers and replacing weaker ones with new variations, and to format reporting for Shorts, in-stream, and in-feed. Revisions can be small, too: a new opening or caption alone can improve performance when engagement or CTR drops.
Variations teach more when each one changes a single element. Two versions that differ only in the opening show whether the opening mattered, while versions that change the opening, the music, and the offer at once leave a winner that is hard to explain. Shooting alternate openings and recording extra lines during production makes those swaps possible without a reshoot.
Video ad production with Starti Creative Studio
For teams that want production handled, Starti Creative Studio is a managed service in which Starti's team handles concepts, production, and revisions. Share the product, audience, goal, and assets, and the team helps shape the brief and agrees on the ad types, aspect ratios, durations, and localized versions with you, based on the campaign goal and planned placements.
Formats, cut lengths, and languages are prepared as part of production: vertical, square, and widescreen versions, localized voice and on-screen text, and 6s, 15s, and 30s cuts with the story and call to action adapted to each length. Direction and finished videos are reviewed in the project workspace, where feedback guides each revision. After launch, the same team tracks how each ad performs and updates the creative from campaign results, and both are included free on every ad it produces.
Book a demo and scope a video ad project with the Creative Studio team.
Frequently asked questions
What is video ad production?
Video ad production is the process of turning a brief into finished video ads: concept, script, storyboard, filming or generation, editing, and delivery in every format, length, and language the campaign needs.
What are the steps in the video production process?
Six stages: brief, concept, script and storyboard, production, post-production, and delivery. Pre-production planning, music and talent licensing, and localization happen inside those stages.
What lengths should a video ad come in?
Google's marketing team recommends 6-, 15-, and 30-second versions. Google Ads caps bumpers at 6 seconds, runs standard non-skippable ads at 7 to 15 seconds, and places a 30 second commercial on connected TV in the 16 to 30 second tier, where it must be horizontal.
What aspect ratios do video ads need?
Plan 16:9 for connected TV and in-stream, 9:16 for Shorts, Reels, Stories, and Instagram Feed, 4:5 for Facebook Feed, and 1:1 for Discover and other Google feeds.
What are cutdowns in video advertising?
Cutdowns are shorter versions edited from a longer ad. For six-second ads, Google's bumper guidance recommends building for the format instead, around one idea such as a single product feature or price.
How long does video ad production take?
At Creative Studio, the delivery timeline is agreed with the client when the project is defined, based on the campaign deadline, the required ads and versions, and review needs.
Should localization be planned before production?
Yes. Localization needs belong in the creative brief, because target regions shape casting, locations, and wardrobe during the shoot.
