TV commercial Question..

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ddp

Well-known member
So lately I've been shooting a lot of web-based commercials as a side hobby to my recording studio business and they're pretty straight forward. Along with an occasional DVD production or a promo spot for a conference or two, that's my knowledge of passing off file formats to the end user.

This afternoon I was asked to shoot a TV commercial for a large car lot. The issue I have there is I know absolutely nothing about the requirements for delivering to TV stations. Before I give them answer I wanted to check with the group to see if I'm in for more then I can chew or if there's some major change from basic web/DVD deliverables.
Shooting HD and editing in Final Cut 6- Beyond that I'm not interested in investing in more gear or programs that may be required to hand off the production to a TV station.

Any useful tips or warnings?
 
Keep everything broadcast safe. Use your title and action safe markers and keep them well within the excepted lengths. For example: a 30 second spot really should be about 29 second and 15 frames. It can go a little longer but it can never go a frame over 30.
 
Thanks Paul- any input on file format or delivery methods that are standard for TV? Assuming I can't just FTP them an MOV file. I'd assume also there's some kind of leader information that has to be included but maybe not....
 
Actual requirements can differ from station to station, or network to network, or cable provider to cable provider. You need to figure out to whom this commercial will be delivered, and then get the specs from them. They'll tell you what file format they prefer, and other pertinent information.

Best program you can get: MPEG StreamClip. Best part is that it's free. It does a better job than Compressor on many things. www.squared5.com.
 
As Alex said it will vary from station to station. Most will take a .mov or some flavor of mpeg. You will still find some small stations that may still require a Beta SP.
 
Usually you can ask a post house to do coding for TV broadcast if you don't know how. I code and deliver to all Scandinavian countries all the time and it's not difficult once you've learned.
 
Excellent info everyone- Thanks, I appreciate it. Sounds like its probably something I can handle and will go for it.
 
Keep your critical dialog and v.o. out of the first and last 15 frames. It may get cut off by some goofy 16 year old assembling the various programming pods.
 
Paul Hudson said:
As Alex said it will vary from station to station. Most will take a .mov or some flavor of mpeg. You will still find some small stations that may still require a Beta SP.
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I do this stuff all the time for local and regional TV spots. ddp, if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. Each station I work with has gotten VERY good about laying out their guidelines.

I use Compressor as I am coming out of FCP, but there's more than one way to skin a cat. Oh, yeah, you are FCP6. So am I. You should be fine, no need to invest in other programs.

EDIT: Over my dead body will I ever go near Beta SP any more. :evil:

Assuming I can't just FTP them an MOV file. I'd assume also there's some kind of leader information that has to be included but maybe not....
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One station I work with does request a .mov file. H264 to be specific.
All (I think) I work with request 60i, upper field first. So if my project is 24p, I have to conform it to a 29.97 timeline. LOL, I'm probably doing it wrong, but the spots look pretty good when I see them on air.

I see some other people's stuff royally screwed up with aliasing & jitters, so make sure you QC your work once it hits the air.

As for slates/leaders, that's the good part: It's becoming less and less of a reality. The stations I work with just want the spot itself and nothing else. Works for me.
 
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Paul Hudson said:
You will still find some small stations that may still require a Beta SP.
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I was asked to deliver something like this within the past year.

jackie-chan-wtf.png


I couldn't imagine why that was the ONLY acceptable format.
 
Deepfocus88 said:
As for slates/leaders, that's the good part: It's becoming less and less of a reality. The stations I work with just want the spot itself and nothing else. Works for me.
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I like the sound of that! The closer the delivery is to a vimeo upload the better I'll feel about it:thumbsup:

Told the client I was up for it, waiting for a meeting time next week. If they want Micheal Bay stuff I'm outta there......

Thanks again everyone for the input.
 
If they want Micheal Bay stuff I'm outta there......
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Well not so fast, what if it involves blowing up some of the inventory on the lot? That could be fun from a safe distance.

Good Lord, I've spent almost the entire day rendering multiple projects. Time to step away from the screen. Best of luck.
 
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