TV COMERCIAL PRODUCTION STRUCTURE FOR LIMITED BUDGET

Abstract

Making a great television commercial is an art in itself. Twenty years ago, there was no official available information about the steps to follow to prepare a TV commercial throughout all phases. The main reason for that knowledge gap is that the old method used was based on multiple agencies and vendors working on the same campaign, so the single groups do not have to know everything; they just needed to understand their own role and responsibility. In the last years, video production and post-production industries are changing very fast. Digital retooling is taking place, causing dramatic industry restructuring. The old player’s large post-production facilities using dedicated, proprietary equipment are being replaced by new players, small production companies, using personal computers to produce a different type of production media with the same professional result, at a lower cost. Nowadays, the significant reduction of video production costs, the more and more disappearing barriers to access video, as well as brands looking to spend less and get more has forced many advertisers to renounce to big agencies. Actually, with the new technology decreasing the cost of cameras and computers is possible to produce a TV commercial in all its phases (starting from concept, writing, production, and post-production (including animation and compositing) to final video), with a small group of professionals. The one-stop-shop is becoming a growing business model. Many creative artist and directors from big agencies have resigned to establish their own production companies, and groups of talented young people are constantly gathering from all over the world. This study will help to understand the structure and workflow of producing a TV commercial, starting from the copywriting stage until the final product, and passing through the classical production steps of cinematography and motion pictures, such as pre-production, production and post-production, understanding and analyzing every significant step of structure until the initial written concept will become a motion image. In order to reach the objective of this study, I read and reviewed several books and web materials on different topics about stages of the production, planning, budgeting, shooting and editing, equipment and techniques, communication and documentation.