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8/13/2019 ADVDMKTopic12

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Try to avoid distractions and thus aid the viewer in comprehension (i.e., avoid strangecamera angles, dissolves and use an appropriate pace for the information.Certainly feature the product on air as this aids in brand recognition.

The television production process

Agency preproduction is the stage during which the advertiser and agency work out theprecise details as to how the creative planning behind an ad can be recognized. Thestoryboard and script (that delineates locations/sets, talent and estimated budget) areapproved both internally at the agency and then by the client. Once approved, the projectis sent out for bids to not only production houses, but also to editorial houses and musicsuppliers.There are hundreds of vendors to consider and it is the producers judgment to selectDirectors whose unique talents complement the job as well as editors andcomposers/arrangers. Editors tend to be chosen based on their long-term workingrelationships with the agency, producer, creatives and account. Most producers worksteadily with two or so, again, selecting them based on their talents (i.e., story teller ormusic editor). Most facilities tend to cluster near advertising centers of Chicago, NewYork, Lost Angeles and more recently, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Richmond toname a few. Not always the lowest bid is selected because there are also creative andtechnical considerations.A production time table is created which provides a schedule to prepare the commercialand often this is done by backtracking from the promised air date. Most productions take10 to 12 weeks to complete, though special effects and computer imagery may takelonger.During the shoot, the creative team participates in decision making led by the creativevision of the selected director. With the meter running (crew, stage/location, talent)

decisions must be made quickly during the process. Often when the talent arrives at thelocation/set and is dressed in their wardrobe a certain spontaneity takes place (a magic, ifyou will) and perhaps even a dramatic performance is captured on film.

An average :30 spot costs between $300,000 and $1,000,000. Any creativeenhancements increases the cost (i.e., celebrities, special effects, special lightingrequirements such as shooting during certain day parts like dawn or dusk).

During post production editors, audio technicians, voice-over talent and musicians areutilized. The negative film is transferred to video dailies and the negative is placed into avault for safe keeping. The video dailies are screened and the editing begins. A scratchtrack is approximated and the rough cut is assembled which is now done as a video non-linear edit. Once this has been approved, the negative film is removed from the vault andcleaned and then the selected scenes are transferred to videotape and color corrected.The audio track is matched to the final edit and then the final spot is approved andtransmitted to stations.

Script specifications are as follows: cu = close up shot; ecu = extreme close up shot; ms =


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medium shot; ls = long shot. Also there may be designations for a lens to zoom in or outor perhaps a dolly shot in which the fixed camera is mounted onto a dolly and thenwheeled either in or out of the shot. A dolly shot looks entirely different than a zoom andeach have way of shooting a scene gives a feeling to the material. A pan that is when thecamera moves from right to left from a stationary position as well as a truck shot in

which the camera is moving from right to left, again each creating a very different visualangle. A tilt is when the camera is panned vertically. A cut is a change of scene to a newscene. A super is lettering that is superimposed over the visual. SFX are sound effectswhile VO stands for voice over and ANN for announcer.

AICP FormA form referred to as an AICP form (Association of Independent Commercial Producers)is filled out by all production houses that were bidding on the job. An additional form, anAICE (Association of Independent Commercial Editors) is also completed by the editorsbeing considered for the job.

The AICP is comprised of a number of sections as follows:Page one lists the general details of the job key production personnel and agencypersonnel; the number of shoot days and an indication of studio and/or location days;length of days.Also on the first page is a list of the totals from all the internal sections that are totaled.Below the sub-total are listed the directors fees, insurance, production house mark-upand contingency weather days.The production house mark-up ranges from 10% to 30% and is slightly negotiable. Theamount of mark-up indicates the amount of interest the house has in producing the job.Directors fees are not marked up. The directors receives 50% of their fee for prep and

wrap days and directors fees range from several thousand up to $75,000 a day (theScotts). Again, if the director really wants the job, the fee may be reduced.A weather contingency is a range of costs that will be required depending on when a jobmay be cancelled due to weather. All costs incurred clearly are required to be paid but asmost costs are spent during the actual shoot, canceling a shoot before a weather day doesallow for some savings. There is usually a range from the day before, the morning of,and finally during the shoot when most all costs have been spent.Insurance is required on all shoots and is a small percentage (1% to 2%) of the sub-totalcosts. Additional insurance may be required with special stunts or crowd scenes.

Page 2 is a listing of the entire crew and the pre production and post production costs,section A. Crew positions include the assistance director, the director of photographyand assistant camera, the prop master, the gaffer (head electrician) and the best boy(assistant to the head), the grips (who move and carry everything on the set), the sounddepartment, makeup, hair, wardrobe, script, home economist, craft services (food),location scout, fireman and policeman, teacher, and production assistants. Even thoughthe director will receive a reduced rate for pre production and wrap, crew membersreceive their day rate. Day rates range from approximately $700. for an AD to 360. for a


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grip and in between. On top of the day rate, pension and welfare is calculated at 21%.

Page 3 has the same crew list, section B, with calculations for the actual shoot days withover time and pension and welfare calculated.

Page 4 has several sections including pre-production and wrap materials and expenses,section C. These include auto rentals and air fares, per diems, still cameras for locationscouting, trucking, parking tolls and gas, casting and working meals.Location expenses, section D, include permits, car rentals, camper rentals for use asdressing rooms on locations, tolls and gas, air freight and air fare to travel equipment andcrew to location; hotel costs, per diems for expenses, craft services for the shoot and anygratuities.Section E covers prop and wardrobe and animal costs. Rentals and purchase are listedseparately. Working with animals is a challenge and directions are given to the animalhandler days or weeks before a shoot so that the animal can be trained.

Page 5 has 3 sections: studio rental and expenses (section F) if a studio is to be used, thencosts associated with rental include build days at a reduced price, pre-light days, strikedays, generators, power charges, meals, parking and guards.Section G lists the construction crew. Most sets are constructed off the set and puttogether on the build days as this is far more cost efficient than paying a studio rate tobuild. The crew for the construction is listed here along with their over time and pensionand welfare.Section H covers all the actual materials used in set construction from lumber and paintthrough props and plants.

Page 6 has the equipment rental (section I) and breaks down all equipment to be used onthe shoot (i.e., dolly rental, camera car, helicopter as well as cameras and lighting andsound packages).Film stock and tape costs for the shoot as well as the video dailies for editing and transferfees are included in section K. Remember, film and tape are the least expensive aspect ofthe shoot and it is not unusual to ask the client for an overage to cover more footage.Miscellaneous costs, section K, includes petty cash, phones, and external billing costs.Generally a production house will use an outside billing service to calculate the O/T (overtime) and P&W (pension and welfare) for the crew.The Directors fees are broken out in section L but as noted before, there is no productionfee included on this cost.

All of these costs are summarized on page one with the details included in the internals ofthe bid.

Radio productionClearly radio production is less complex and requires less time, the average productionperiod being 2 to 4 weeks. Bids are submitted to various audio facilities, budgets


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prepared that include talent, music and special effects. After the voice/copy is recorded,a sound mix is prepared during which proper timing between all the audio elements areachieved to ensure that all sounds are audible. The tape is then sent for transmission. Aradio spot may cost between $30,000 to $50,000 however celebrity talent would inflatethis cost.

Radio production guidelines: prepare the type of commercial that is appropriate for theschedule (i.e., morning drive time or late night talk show); fully produce the spot for fulleffectiveness; use humor with caution because humor may be difficult to execute withouta rehearsal it is a delicate tactic to rely on talent to achieve; strive to make a singlepoint; identify the sound effects to avoid audience distraction; use music to contribute tothe mood and image.

As a rule, word count is relative to airtime as follows: a 10 second spot has 20-25 words;:20 has 40-45 words; :30 has 60-65 words; :60 has 120 to 125 words; :90 has 180-190words. The inclusion of music, sfx or tag lines obviously will reduce the amount of copy.

MTVs influence is widespread. Techniques once thought unique to the music videohave filtered into mainstream production (i.e., visual speed, unexpected cuts and scenes,cropped framing, oddity etc.) Some very interesting special effects are now availablesuch as morphing, or metamorphosing one object into another (i.e., Continental Airlinesold seat into a new more comfy one)

Radio production may also be offered by a radio station to a smaller or local client. Theproduction may be done directly at the station and even use station personnel as talent.Additionally, a client may choose to send over copy and designate which radio announcer

should read it and approximately when during the day. This allows for almost last minuteadvertising announcements that cost very little. A music bed may be sent over with thecopy.

For both television and radio music adds a mood and can be very effective. Music oftencreates emotion and aids in memory. Not all music is an original score, which can bequite expensive. Music that is in the public domain or even music that requires some usefee can be re-arranged and recorded at a smaller fee than original music might cost.Additionally, there are music compilations for rent, referred to as needle drop tracks.Most sound studios have libraries of needle drop and these tracks can be edited often veryseamlessly into the spot. You pay a rental fee for the use of the music for the duration ofthe spots run. You may also use a music librarian to help search for the right needledrop choice.

Sound effects are very important in making the spot come alive. They are often preparedprior to the recording session at the producers request. More fx are ordered than can beused at the session by a sound design firm. If they dont work or others are needed, theaudio studio usually has a library of sounds as well and if all else fails, you create the


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sound you need at the session (i.e., crumpling paper for a potato chip sound).

Print productionA layout is a drawing or a proposed print ad showing where all the elements arepositioned. An art director uses a layout to work through alternatives for the visual

presentation. Computer aided design has improved the process enormously. Thumbnailsketches are the first drafts. Rough layouts use a bit more detail. A semicomp is morerefined and a comprehensive, or comp layout, is a polished, drawn version of the ad. Thelast stage is a mechanical that is a carefully prepared paste-up of the exact components ofthe ad prepared for the printer to be photographed on a printing plate. Closing dates varyfrom a day for a newspaper ad to 90 days for a magazine ad.

Printing processes include techniques:1. letterpress the oldest and most versatile method of printing where text and images

are printed from a plate or mat. This process uses type directly and is capable ofhigh quality color reproduction.

2. gravure a print production method also using a plate or mat that is excellent forreproducing pictures but the high costs associated with plate making limits its use tolarge-quantity often used for Sunday newspaper supplements and magazinesections

3. offset lithography prints from a flat, chemically treated surface that attracts ink tothe areas to be printed and repels ink from other areas versatility of the methodmakes it ideal for catalogues and direct mail promotional pieces

4. screen printing also known as silk screening, employs a stencil produced on screen limited to small quantity print runs but the introduction of rotary screen pressesallows a continuous process increasing capacity

5. electronic and inkjet printing computers and electronics produce images platelessprinting process in which images are stored in a digital form no variability betweenimpressions moreover, images can be sent directly via satellite to printing facilities

TypographyTypefaces have distinct personalities and communicate different moods and images.Designers agonize over the type choices they make for an ad. There are three broadcategories of type that are distinguished by the thickness of the strokes and the presenceor absence of serifs, the small lines that cross the ends of the main strokes. The mostpopular category is roman. Sans serif has no small lines crossing the ends of the mainstrokes and results in a black-lettered look. This is a popular choice for headlinesbecause of the boldness but it can be monotonous. A third category is miscellaneous withsome common groups such as Old English, an elaborate overlapping stroke that can bedifficult to read.

Type measurement include two elements: point refers to the size of the type in height andruns from 6 to 120 points. Pica measures the width of the lines and each pica measures1/6 th of an inch.


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