TV, Commercials, Etc

Nathan_Shane wrote on 6/2/2004, 7:06 AM
Okay, after spending much time watching and evaluating many of the local commercials done for area merchants, I realize that I could in many cases create and produce some of these commercial spots much better than what I'm seeing with Vegas.

So with that in mind, could some of you please suggest some specific books, websites, etc. which will explain to me the "technical" aspects and requirements that I would need to know which broadcast stations expect.

In other words, what type of media can/must commercials be submitted on, what about audio levels, etc. All the "tech-stuff" outside of the creating the commercials myself.

Comments

bStro wrote on 6/2/2004, 7:40 AM
Okay, after spending much time watching and evaluating many of the local commercials done for area merchants, I realize that I could in many cases create and produce some of these commercial spots much better than what I'm seeing with Vegas.

I'll bet most of the people producing those commercials thought the same thing. ;-)

Rob
Spot|DSE wrote on 6/2/2004, 7:51 AM
NShane,
There isn't a "right" answer to this, not really. Some stations will accept only Beta in SP or SX format. Others take Beta, DVC Pro. Still others will accept MiniDV/DV Cam. And some will actually accept DVD's for delivery.
The standard for outputting is more relevant to bars and tones. Most broadcast facilities require a minimum of 30 seconds of bars and tones. Some require 60 secs. Check with your broadcaster for their house standard. Vegas generates both when you print to tape, if you tell it to. You can also create your own bars and tones on the timeline, but you'll need to use a 1K tone set to -20 for the digital output. Set it to 0dB if you are printing to analog. Next comes the slate. This identifies the contents of the piece, identifies any copyright holders, production house, etc. It also shows the total run time of the video piece, (TRT) in SMPTE time format.
Following the slate is a visual countdown, usually of 10 seconds. Following the countdown is usually 2 seconds of black, followed by the commercial or broadcast spot.
These are some basics, but again, check with your broadcast house for THEIR specs, as it varies. If you use Beta SP, use 60 secs of bars/tones, have a 15 sec slate, and a 10 second countdown followed by 2 secs of black, you'll almost always be in spec.
Keep in mind, creativity is more important than anything, but understanding legal colors, safe areas, and other tech-spec is pretty darn important too, if you want to save a lot of time on the back end.
Randy Brown wrote on 6/2/2004, 8:01 AM
I think everyone here will agree that you should contact the station and ask. It used to be where most stations here (Eastern New Mexico and west Texas) wanted it on Beta and I had to drive a camera (up to 130 miles) to the station to dump it on their Beta deck. Then they bought a mini-DV deck and I could just send the tape in. Now I can just put in on a DVD. I submit material to 3 different local networks (CBS, NBC, and PBS) but none of them require bars and test tone. If you ask the station about the tone I would tell them it will be set at -20 db and what they would like the peaks of the material to be set at (ie -12,-6?). There probably is a real "standard" somewhere, but as I recall this forum was not able to agree on it...I'd ask the station : )
Randy

BTW, Spot has a great slate/countdown that I use on everything I submit. It takes a while to render but it makes me look like I know what I'm doing : )
thrillcat wrote on 6/2/2004, 8:02 AM
99% of those commercials you are talking about probably got them produced for free by the station or cable network airing them. There are a few companies out there that believe "if it's free and it sucks, it's not worth it," but most can't understand why they would pay $xxxx to produce a commercial, when they can get it for free here and it will look just as good as the other ones.

Nathan_Shane wrote on 6/2/2004, 9:20 AM
Great and useful info Spot, as always!

Randy (and others) are there any online example(s) of a commercial or such that has this "slate/countdown" that I could see. Since I'm very visual learner, actually looking at examples truly helps my technical comprehension.

Also, I hadn't considered that some or many of these local commercials would be freebies from the station, but that might also suggest why the creative content and production quality often looks as it does...the classic you get what you pay for scenerio.

This may be out in left field, but has anyone ever gone ahead and taken the time to create a "better" commercial spot for a company, then took it to them and they became interested in using it?

Also, do you guys/gals take the time to create your own spots to use as part of a kind of video portfolio? To show off your talents and abilities?
Dr_Z wrote on 6/2/2004, 9:41 AM
Hi where could one download this great slate/countdown (from Spot)?
Spot|DSE wrote on 6/2/2004, 10:06 AM
NShane, it's a good idea to create your own portfolio, yes. When we were pitching to a healthcare company a few years back, and to a tribal economic office, we'd already had a Top 10 BET music video and a very successful pair of docco's at Sundance Film Festival. Those didn't help much. They wanted to see something that we'd done in THEIR marketspace, so we ended up creating a look-alike commercial for both of them. We got the tribal gig, didn't get the healthcare gig. but it took a 'faked' assembly of a commercial.
as Randy mentioned, there is a great countdown on the Sundance site.
http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb
Randy Brown wrote on 6/2/2004, 10:09 AM
>>"Hi where could one download this great slate/countdown (from Spot)?<<"

I'm not sure the exact page but if you haven't been there before you'll want to take your time to browse and probably download lots of veggies and scripts. As I recall, "countdown" was the name of the .veg.
Randy

http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb
Dr_Z wrote on 6/2/2004, 10:28 AM
found a file named "countdown" submitted by Jim Woodruff not by Spot ?!
thrillcat wrote on 6/2/2004, 10:34 AM
I just uploaded a sample file for you. I don't use an actual countdown, I use specific timecode placements, and point them out in the first slate. Each spot has it's own individual slate just before it runs. Here's the link:

http://www.thrillcatproductions.com/Keysters_Spot_Sampler.wmv
Randy Brown wrote on 6/2/2004, 12:22 PM
>>"found a file named "countdown" submitted by Jim Woodruff not by Spot ?! "<<

It's called "countdown slate", it's on page 4, 2nd from bottom by DSE which stands for Douglas Spotted Eagle (AKA Spot)...sorry for the confusion.
Randy
Spot|DSE wrote on 6/2/2004, 2:20 PM
There's also one from Jeffrey P Fisher, and I think one from Dr. Dropout.
Nathan_Shane wrote on 6/2/2004, 7:42 PM
In regards to these "free" tv commercials for local merchants...are you saying that the stations simply provide their services for free in regards to producing the actual commercial itself, but that the local merchant still has to pay for the air time...correct?

Or is it a case of scratching each others' back, and the stations may give both free air time and produce a free commercial as well to some local merchants?
MUTTLEY wrote on 6/2/2004, 9:20 PM
NShange, the commercials are produced for free by the station contingent on them ( the client ) buying advertising time, that's where they make their money. Radio stations do the same thing with audio.

AZEdit, what kind of " effects " sold em ?

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com