Shooting Local TV Commercials w/A1

[downsouth]

Is anyone shooting local TV commercials using the A1? I would like to solicit local businesses, but have no idea of the market. I shoot mainly weddings.


Can I shoot broadcast quality commercials using the A1? Is there a "preset" on the A1 that assures TV station acceptability?

What format will the stations accept for delivery of the commercial? Can I deliver the product on miniDV tape to the station and/or customer?

Do TV stations consider "free-lancers" competition or do they welcome them ?

Any help on how to attack this market is appreciated.

thanks,
Jeff
__________

 

[rawfa]

I did not shoot any local TV commercials with the A1 (yet), but I shot a 10 episode TV show for kids (about museums in Barcelona) that will be broadcast in like 5 different TV channels. The producing company I made this work for asked me to deliver the work on a DVD with quicktimes files (I'm sure each company has it's own format) but I really don't know what will they send the TV stations. As for the freelancer question, I see more and more companies that hire people who can do everything by themselves to take the workload off their backs. Ok, that doesn't sound like I meant it to sound. For instance, the company that hired me does film, advertising, documentaries, everything...but they have such a tremendous work load that their own staff cannot handle everything. So they NEED competent people that can carry out different tasks all by them selves. After seeing my work they just handed me 10 scripts and told me where the museums were. All I had to do is show up with my equipment, follow the script and shoot.

 

[Barry_Green]

Is anyone shooting local TV commercials using the A1?

Not with an A1, but I've done more than my share with the DVX and other cams.

I would like to solicit local businesses, but have no idea of the market.

Watch local TV, especially daytime TV like Judge Judy, and see what commercials air. That's your market -- either horrible lousy furniture store and used car dealers, or lawyers. That's about it.

Can I shoot broadcast quality commercials using the A1?

Easily.

Is there a "preset" on the A1 that assures TV station acceptability?

Nope.

What format will the stations accept for delivery of the commercial?

Call 'em and ask. Every station's different; some will want BetaSP tape (!), some will accept DV, some will accept on DVD.

Can I deliver the product on miniDV tape to the station and/or customer?

That's up to your station and your customer.

Do TV stations consider "free-lancers" competition or do they welcome them ?

TV stations are in competition, they are a monopolistic antitrust system that will be competing with you unfairly, every step of the way. They are the only outlet for your product, and they will horrifically undercut you every chance they get. They will produce television commercials for the client for free, if the client buys enough ad time. How can you compete with that? You can't.

Now, if you get yourself certified as a bonafide ad agency, you can turn the tables; you can buy advertising time at a 15% discount and sell that to your client, and basically enter the same type of business as the TV stations do: produce and sell a finished spot including airtime all as a bundled deal. But do you really want to be an ad agency?

Any help on how to attack this market is appreciated.

Run. That's my advice. It's hell.

There's two levels of client: those who understand the value of advertising (and who, invariably, are already therefore represented by an ad agency, which means you're cut out of their business) and those who don't understand the value of it, who therefore want the cheapest stupidest lamest most soul-sucking look-at-me-I'm-on-TV type of commercials imaginable, and think $100 is too much to pay for it.

The quality commercials with actual production value will be usually your lawyer commercials, and your politicians; and some of those can have actual budgets, I've worked on 'em up to about $100,000. But those come with ad agencies, you won't be competing for those. The kind of commercials you can get direct would be for the local mom & pop shop, and they're just not going to understand paying you to produce a commercial when the TV station offers to do it for free.

Commercial production companies are a dime a dozen; ad agencies can churn through them, and on the low end the TV stations have an extremely unfair competitive advantage against you (in that they can bundle their production services for free). You can't compete against free.

My advice is: skip it. Don't even bother. Become an ad agency or try your hardest to get "in" with a good ad agency if you really want to make commercials. Climbing into the pit to do battle with the local $10/hour TV stations is a meat grinder that'll sap your life very quickly.

There's money in local commercials, but not for someone wanting to be a small production company soliciting businesses. Either hook up with an established ad agency (and recognize there are a thousand other one-man-bands trying to do the same thing) and let the ad agency negotiate an actual budget and deal with all that nonsense, or become an ad agency yourself and make your money on the advertising commissions (but prepare to actually be a full-service qualified professional ad agency!) Or ingratiate yourself with a larger production company that already is "in" with the better ad agencies in town, and get hired at $400-$500/day to do grip 'n' electric, or $1000-$2500/day to shoot on their big commercials (personal injury attorneys, etc) or decent wages on their high-volume clients (like furniture stores and statewide or national politicians).

 

[SteveM]

Barry nailed it.

I ran a creative services division and we were able to under cut every production company in town and that's in a top 15 market. The smaller the market the more bundled free production there is to be had. In larger markets the free production has slowed considerable but still if a client is spending a $100k plus in air time there going to get lower production rates from a station that has a commercial production division.

Plus, dealing with clients, babysitting, is an art alone not to mention the production labor that goes into doing commercials.

Unless you personally know every car dealership in your town and they're dying for you to do commercials for them you're entering in to an arena eats up the most experienced of producers.

 

[downsouth]

Barry & Steve...

yeah...looks like that market is a "can of worms". Thanks for warning me of the problems. I will check the local TV markets to see if the same holds-true in this area. I will contact some Ad Agencies, to see if there are any opportunities locally.

Rawfa...

Looks like you stumbled onto a good deal. Im interested as to how you found this "production" company, and if I might find a similar company in my area. Having the "scripts" handed to you is a dream come true. Id like to see one of those projects. Please PM me if you could send me a DVD.

Some thoughts....

I can make money shooting wedding videos with minimal investment in equipment. I could make a decent living if I were to really go-after this market, even with the existing competition.

I read the posts on DVXuser.com, look at the professional productions from music videos to feature length films, and wonder " if most are shooting for fun or are they selling their products"? The cost of the equipment required to produce a "feature" would require a sizable return, just to break-even!

Im not looking to make the "big-time", but "would" like to earn a decent income from my investment. Ive found the wedding market pays but Im looking for other markets to tap.

Im through rambling now....

Thanks for your inputs.

Jeff

 

[rawfa]

Jeff, I finished shooting the last episode about a week and a half ago and now they're adding animation, voice over and a bunch of other stuff to it. They told me they would call me to give me the final copy once it was ready. I would have to check with them to see if it's ok to post samples around.
As for how I found them, I simply burned like 200 CDs with copies of my work and my CV and I sent it to a bunch of different companies.
I hope it helps. Good luck!

 

[icicle22]

Well gosh darnit Barry......when are you going to write a book about this subject? You pretty much nailed what a lot of us have found out first hand over the years. It seems everyone we were working with to produce a "decent" commercial bailed on us when they got the rates of the local TV station who cut them a deal for free commercial with airtime. Upon telling them they were going to get a lame commercial....they just didn't care. They do not see the value in it at all.

And the ones that do have a budget are in bed with an ad agency already.

This is a market that I left behind several years ago. But is still brings back bad memories!

Not with an A1, but I've done more than my share with the DVX and other cams.


Watch local TV, especially daytime TV like Judge Judy, and see what commercials air. That's your market -- either horrible lousy furniture store and used car dealers, or lawyers. That's about it.


Easily.


Nope.


Call 'em and ask. Every station's different; some will want BetaSP tape (!), some will accept DV, some will accept on DVD.


That's up to your station and your customer.


TV stations are in competition, they are a monopolistic antitrust system that will be competing with you unfairly, every step of the way. They are the only outlet for your product, and they will horrifically undercut you every chance they get. They will produce television commercials for the client for free, if the client buys enough ad time. How can you compete with that? You can't.

Now, if you get yourself certified as a bonafide ad agency, you can turn the tables; you can buy advertising time at a 15% discount and sell that to your client, and basically enter the same type of business as the TV stations do: produce and sell a finished spot including airtime all as a bundled deal. But do you really want to be an ad agency?


Run. That's my advice. It's hell.

There's two levels of client: those who understand the value of advertising (and who, invariably, are already therefore represented by an ad agency, which means you're cut out of their business) and those who don't understand the value of it, who therefore want the cheapest stupidest lamest most soul-sucking look-at-me-I'm-on-TV type of commercials imaginable, and think $100 is too much to pay for it.

The quality commercials with actual production value will be usually your lawyer commercials, and your politicians; and some of those can have actual budgets, I've worked on 'em up to about $100,000. But those come with ad agencies, you won't be competing for those. The kind of commercials you can get direct would be for the local mom & pop shop, and they're just not going to understand paying you to produce a commercial when the TV station offers to do it for free.

Commercial production companies are a dime a dozen; ad agencies can churn through them, and on the low end the TV stations have an extremely unfair competitive advantage against you (in that they can bundle their production services for free). You can't compete against free.

My advice is: skip it. Don't even bother. Become an ad agency or try your hardest to get "in" with a good ad agency if you really want to make commercials. Climbing into the pit to do battle with the local $10/hour TV stations is a meat grinder that'll sap your life very quickly.

There's money in local commercials, but not for someone wanting to be a small production company soliciting businesses. Either hook up with an established ad agency (and recognize there are a thousand other one-man-bands trying to do the same thing) and let the ad agency negotiate an actual budget and deal with all that nonsense, or become an ad agency yourself and make your money on the advertising commissions (but prepare to actually be a full-service qualified professional ad agency!) Or ingratiate yourself with a larger production company that already is "in" with the better ad agencies in town, and get hired at $400-$500/day to do grip 'n' electric, or $1000-$2500/day to shoot on their big commercials (personal injury attorneys, etc) or decent wages on their high-volume clients (like furniture stores and statewide or national politicians).