Making TV Commercials

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DoubleIt

Well-known member
Does anyone here shoot TV commercials on their DVX? I was thinking about suplimenting my income doing some local comercial spots. All the local spots here (Probably done by TimeWarner) are just horrible. I figure I can charge a little bit more and devliver a much better product. Does anyone here do this? Anyone have tips/sugestions? What are the major barriers to entry? I'm doing some google searches but I'm not really coming up with the info i need.

Sorry if this is the wrong forum...
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

Local commercials can be a hellish business.  If you can get established with an ad agency, or if you're a selling-refrigerators-to-eskimos caliber salesman, then you could probably do okay.  But usually you'll end up with cheapo clients who don't want to pay a dime (and don't think they have to, because the cable company does it for free if the client buys an airtime package).

... and, think about that... the client HAS to buy airtime, so... why not just go with the free commercial?

And your response to them is, because that free local commercial is HORRIBLE.  Well, here's the wake-up call: the clients don't think so!  They think it's just the most exciting thing in the world, seeing their store advertised on TV... and they think seeing THEMSELVES on TV is such a hoot.  They won't hear you when you say the commercial is bad, and they won't understand how a little money could fix it.

You can try, of course.  And you will occasionally find clients who "get it".  But almost every one of those clients who understands the value of advertising will already be under contract with an advertising agency, which means they *cannot* hire you... they will have contracted all advertising business to the agency.  And unless you're a long-established company, breaking into ad agencies is nearly impossible.

So...

good luck, and if you find a way "in" that works for you, share it with the rest of us! :)
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

So, in short, it might be worth spending 100 bucks on a news paper ad, but dont expect much. I mostly want to do it to buy some camera toys :) If I get anywhere with this Ill be sure to report back.
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

ya Double_IT... definately try it!
got nothign to lose really... only a little $$$ which could potentially turn into getting some $$$
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

I doubt an ad would do you much good. I'd think about the kind of ads you would want to shoot, maybe come up with some good ideas for local independents, and then just stop in to see them. You would be surprised at how many of them may be receptive to the idea. The personal touch is a lost art. Explain your situation and try to get to know the receptive ones. Although I would have some figures worked out before hand, including broadcast and cable rates.
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

Thats a good idea, i think Ill do some yellow page searching and call Time Warner and ask them for their rates. Maybe ill offer to do one for free so I have somethign to show people. It would be sweet to see a comercial I did no the air :)
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

Oh, whats a resonable rate to charge people for a 30 second spot from concept to final edit? 1,000 bucks?
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

Depends on the spot and the client.

The average national car commercial for Nissan/GMC/Toyota/Chevy etc. costs about $330,000 to produce.

The average cable TV car commercial, for a local dealer, is more like $1500.

Lawyer commercials range from $500 to $100,000+.

Your typical cable commercial, where they take the camera down to the store and wave it around while the store owner does a voiceover, and they slap a graphic of the phone number on the end, probably goes for around $300.
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Directing;num=1106680524;start=0#9 date=01/27/05 at 19:21:09]Depends on the spot and the client.

The average national car commercial for Nissan/GMC/Toyota/Chevy etc. costs about $330,000 to produce.

The average cable TV car commercial, for a local dealer, is more like $1500.

Lawyer commercials range from $500 to $100,000+.
[/quote]

Barry is pretty accurate with his numbers. The fact of the matter is that unless you in the business of media buying, you just can't make much money off producing local cable and broadcast spots. At this level of the business, the real money is not in the production of the spots its in the media placement of these spots.

Also, I think the DVX100 puts you in bad position in the production of commercials. Given the price point of the camera and its capabilities, the production value of commercials that the DVX is capable of are in the range of what can be done for free or super cheap by a cable company or network affliate.

If a client has $20k+ chances are they are not going to want to see a DVX100 on the shoot (size DOES matter!). If a client has $5 - $10k, which seems to be a budget appropriate for this camera, they probably will seriously consider getting their spot for free from a cable company.

I think the DVX is great for spec work to build a reel but not so great for making money in commercials.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, for a client like Dell or Chevy or Nike the client has no problem on dropping $30k on JUST the color correct. Having clients who value production value this much, well this is where it gets fun.
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Directing;num=1106680524;start=0#3 date=01/25/05 at 21:12:35]And your response to them is, because that free local commercial is HORRIBLE.  Well, here's the wake-up call: the clients don't think so!  They think it's just the most exciting thing in the world, seeing their store advertised on TV... and they think seeing THEMSELVES on TV is such a hoot.[/quote]
At the risk of being redundant and slightly off-topic: Same goes for internet. I did a shoot for a dance school. Part of the package was a CD with web-quality pics for their own promotion. When I say web-quality, I mean sharp, with discernible facial features, good color palette, etc. These geniuses had them further reduced in resolution and the pics are HORRIBLE! Well - they had the website done for free. It looks that way. But they think it's great! See how nice it looks in a flash slide show!

AAAARGH! No more shoots for this client, I am afraid...
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

The dvx is great for commercials. I just produced two more, got the right money. I was called because the client had "done" the route with local cable, and then with a shooter that was recommended to them. They had paid for 17 commercials up the point that they called me. They got better quality, I got good money, and they are already talking about coming back for more.
Generally speaking tho, local spots are a PAIN IN THE YOU KNOW WHAT!
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=Directing;num=1106680524;start=0#3 date=01/25/05 at 21:12:35]But usually you'll end up with cheapo clients who don't want to pay a dime (and don't think they have to, because the cable company does it for free if the client buys an airtime package).[/quote]

Whoa. I've thought about trying to do local spots, and I know some guys that shoot commercials for local cable, but I wasn't aware the commercial prod. was part of the media buy. :-[

What about making a "Do It Yourself" DVD for a local business to sell (eg, how to arrange flowers for a florist shop)?
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

If you can find a paying client, that could be a good business, because nowadays you can reach a worldwide market through the internet. I've sold "how to use your DVX" DVD's to probably 30 or 40 different countries around the world.

Make something that's very beneficial to your potential client, and then market the daylights out of it, and it could be much more rewarding and profitable than doing local commercials.
 
Re: Making TV Commercials

I film commercials in my town and get around $3000-$6000 for 30 second spots. I usually approach them with a demo of something that directly relates to them along with other ideas on how we could give them a unique image so they wont look so "local." With some good persuasion and a good demo, they bite. Dont be afraid to approach places about it. I think "local" commercials help to sustain poor business in any town. Something unique always helps bring the "high priced" clients!!!!
 
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