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I Got A Commercial!


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And not just the music- I get to do the WHOLE thing!

 

The production workflow i think I've pretty much got down- I just have more than a few questions about post production and delivery to the TV station.

 

My basic tools for production are all too simple.

 

Zoom H1 Digital Recorder

 

Audacity and Windows Live Movie Maker.

 

My questions:

 

MUSIC BED.

 

Should I produce this like I normally would or are there special considerations for broadcast TV?

Particularly compression-up till now I've just been using the "ratio" setting but I think I could do better by learning to use the other settings like threshold, attack, decay etc. Should I continue using "normalize" after I've set the ratio or should I leave it out?

 

The music bed is going to run in the orchestral/ classical vein and I have no plans to "squash it" with too much compression- just enough to make it pleasantly "pop". 2:1 is about standard for me.

 

POST PRODUCTION AND DELIVERY TO TV STATION.

 

This is what I'm really wondering about.

 

Should I save the commercial in the highest quality setting available?

 

What kind of disc should I save it to?

 

Who is the proper person to talk to at the TV station when it's time for delivery?

 

Not sure if I'm covering everything that I need to, but, this is a start!

 

All help appreciated!

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Based on the nature of your questions, I'm assuming that this is a local spot that is low budget?

 

Call the station and ask who you'll be delivering it to, and they'll give you some specs if you're lucky.

 

The last time I did an ad, about three years ago, I just had to FTP a file, as :45 of SD video isn't that big.

 

Just make it sound as good as you can as a mix, and then squish it with leveling... I was using waves L2. As long as it sounds normal to you and is pretty loud, you're probably okay.

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Based on the nature of your questions, I'm assuming that this is a local spot that is low budget?


Call the station and ask who you'll be delivering it to, and they'll give you some specs if you're lucky.


The last time I did an ad, about three years ago, I just had to FTP a file, as :45 of SD video isn't that big.


Just make it sound as good as you can as a mix, and then squish it with leveling... I was using waves L2. As long as it sounds normal to you and is pretty loud, you're probably okay.

 

Yep, local spot, low budget but NOT "low rent" :)

 

FTP= File Transfer Protocol. I've heard of this before. Where does one DL it and what is the best kind, if that applies?

 

I believe I compressed the audio on the following at 2:1 ratio and normalized to zero. Does this sound "squished" enough for TV?

 

 

Thanks for your input!

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Why not use one of the large file transfer systems?

Here are a couple of free ones:

http://www.largefilesasap.com/

https://sizablesend.com/

 

Up to 2 gig file size.

 

I use Send This File's free plan to allow people to send me ship's deck logs, some can be quite large, or to transfer other large files, such as audio/video. Their free plan also has a 2 gig file size. For a one time shot though it probably wouldn't be worth setting up an account. The other two listed above do not require registration.

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"FTP= File Transfer Protocol. I've heard of this before. Where does one DL it and what is the best kind, if that applies?"

 

I wouldn't worry about that until you've found out where and how you need to deliver the final.

 

Is that youtube link the commercial?

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FTP is just a protocol for moving files. It is built in to all computers ( that I know) natively, but for Windows, just go to Cnet.com and look for an FTP program. Very easy to use.

 

As far as where to move it to, don't they have a host for you to move the file to?

 

Someone else will probably chime in with the 'correct answer', but my guess is MP3 format is gonna be fine, but if it were me, I would make a CD of it, AND hand them a flash drive with all versions (mp3/wav/ogg/etc).

 

Congrats man!

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"FTP= File Transfer Protocol. I've heard of this before. Where does one DL it and what is the best kind, if that applies?"


I wouldn't worry about that until you've found out where and how you need to deliver the final.


Is that youtube link the commercial?

 

 

You're right scarecrow-one thing at a time is best.

 

No, that link is just something I did for "myself".

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FTP is just a protocol for moving files. It is built in to all computers ( that I know) natively, but for Windows, just go to Cnet.com and look for an FTP program. Very easy to use.


As far as where to move it to, don't they have a host for you to move the file to?


Someone else will probably chime in with the 'correct answer', but my guess is MP3 format is gonna be fine, but if it were me, I would make a CD of it, AND hand them a flash drive with all versions (mp3/wav/ogg/etc).


Congrats man!

 

 

Thank you!

 

Yes, I would have to find out what KIND of FTP that they were running in order to send via FTP, wouldn't I.

 

Oh heck, this is just a 30 second spot for a little ol' Anchorage, Alaska market. I might as well show up with my client at the TV station of choice, with a CD, when this gets done, so I can get educated on how stuff is done "in the now".

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  • 11 months later...
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deanmass wrote:

 

FTP is just a protocol for moving files. It is built in to all computers ( that I know) natively, but for Windows, just go to Cnet.com and look for an FTP program. Very easy to use. As far as where to move it to, don't they have a host for you to move the file to? Someone else will probably chime in with the 'correct answer', but my guess is MP3 format is gonna be fine, but if it were me, I would make a CD of it, AND hand them a flash drive with all versions (mp3/wav/ogg/etc). Congrats man!

 

If I make a CD, is CD-R ok?

And would it help if I went one step further and turned this into a DVD dub on a DVD-R? Or is that just gilding the lily?

It might be a little late, but thanks for the congrats!

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