FAQs of Video Production

Is a TV commercial expensive to make?

While national and regional TV commercials can be very expensive to produce, local television commercials generally are not, but the quality of local TV commercials is

not sacrificed. Local production houses and television stations use the same equipment found in major markets. While national ads utilize elaborate set construction, special effects and professional actors, local production is usually shot on location at the client’s

business and actors are generally friends of the client. The bottom line: What is the cost of a commercial versus the increased business that commercial will bring?

How soon will my commercial be ready?

Even though we all want to see instantaneous results, a finished commercial takes some time to complete; graphics must be added, a soundtrack included and a voice-over artist’s audio track needs to be added. Building graphics, even simple text-based graphics, take

time to complete. Rest assured, we want to give you a product that will enhance your business and increase your customer traffic. Typically, the turn-around on a TV commercial is measured in days from videotaping to completion.

My brother-in-law owns a video camera, can’t he build my commercial for me?

With the advent of computer-based editing software and inexpensive video camcorders, video production has been revolutionized by talented individuals who have discovered

novel ways of creating interesting videos for commercial production. As long as that video meets technical standards for broadcast television it may be used in commercial production. All too often, however, consumer grade video equipment does not meet the resolution and signal quality of broadcast  equipment.

What does tape format mean to me?

There are a multitude of video formats, all of which can be lumped in two categories; analog and digital. Analog, of course, has been around since the first videotape recorders were used in the 1950’s. The most common analog media in broadcast today is Betacam SP and most TV stations have that format available. The digital media has seen an explosion in formats which now include HD formats as well. Most TV stations have begun the process of changing over to digital formats. The process is never-ending as one format increases in popularity and use, while others fade into obscurity. Because of the prohibitive cost of production equipment, TV stations do not switch formats on a frequent basis, rather a gradual transition is made as one format proves more useful and flexible than others. Clients usually have little interest in the format du jouer and are only interested in having the best quality available.

Which is better, digital or analog?

That is like comparing apples to oranges. While some digital formats have superior signal quality, black levels tend to be crushed, white levels can be clipped, and contrast ratios are unforgiving. Analog video has a wider contrast ratio and doesn’t clip higher luminance levels. However, digital signals are cleaner and because of their digital nature can be copied with little signal loss.