How to Make TV Commercials

Making a television commercial can be a very exciting and fun process. It can also challenge you to a breaking point and become a harsh experience. It is a chance to allow the creative nature from within to flow into a piece of visual art that captivates the audience, allowing them be filled with desire to purchase what is on the television screen.
Without going into great detail of the specific functions of each individual crew member, the process of making a TV commercial cannot be fully described. This is how to make a commercial from a producer's standpoint, giving a brief overview of how TV commercials are made, what jobs need to be filled and some of the planning that is involved in making a commercial. There are three different stages to making a commercial. They are pre-production, production, and post production.

Instructions

1. Begin planning. Pre-production is the planning process that takes place before the actual commercial shooting. During this time, the budget is formed, the crew is hired, locations are scouted, permits are obtained, the talent is hired, the script is revised, the shooting schedule is established and all possible planning for the commercial is done. It is creating an essential game plan. The better prepared you are, the easier it will be to have the production and post-production go as smoothly as possible.

2. Hire people for these positions: producer, director, first assistant director, second assistant director, director of photography, art director, key grip, best boy electric, grips, sound mixer, boom operator, cable utility, camera operator, first assistant camera operator, second assistant camera operator, script supervisor, dolly grip, location scout, editor, assistant editor, sound designer, music editor/composer, craft services, production assistants and a writer.

3. Convene at the shooting site. Production is the shooting of the commercial itself. If you have hired a professional crew, then expect that everyone will know what they're doing. If this is the case, then it is within the trust of the professional hierarchy that people will know what to do and how to take and delegate orders that are required to shoot the commercial. Normally, before the actual filming begins, there will be principal photography, which is pretending to shoot the commercial, performing everything that is scheduled to happen, but without pressing the record button. This is done as practice to avoid costly mistakes and to see if there should be any last minute changes made.

4. Add finishing touches. The last process before commercial completion is the post-production process. During this process, the editors work in conjunction with the audio post-production department to edit the video, sound and music together. During this process, you will truly discover whether what was filmed is of good quality.
   Editors and sound designers are the real miracle workers in the creative process of TV commercial making. They can truly make or break a commercial, so it is always best from a managerial point-of-view to keep an eye on what they are producing. That does not mean stand over their shoulders while they edit, but check in on them occasionally to see how they are progressing to avoid having a bad edit of a commercial that you know will not meet the client's expectations.

5. Deliver the commercial. When the post-production is finished and you have your final product, you will often just hand it over to the client who paid for the commercial. The client will then work with their marketing department to have the commercial aired. If all is well and everything goes smoothly once they have completed working with the cable and satellite companies to determine the air dates. You will be notified with the date and time of when the commercial premiers on television.

Tips & Warnings

• It is nearly impossible for one person to make an entire commercial alone. So, it is always best to hire professionals who have experience and know what they are doing so you know they will work well for you. Commercial production is a team effort. It takes the combined effort and creative forces of every member of a video production crew to create a commercial that will actually succeed in the goal of selling the product. Depending on the budget of the TV commercial, you are going to either have a full crew or a bare-bones one. A bare-bones crew is usually used on a low budget and consists of only essential crew members. Essential crew members would be a director, producer, editor, camera operator and boom operator, but be advised that in a low budget situation, crew members will often have to take on multiple jobs in order to get the job done right. If you have a decent budget and you can afford to hire a full crew, it is always best to do so. When choosing crew members, it is always best to ask to see a resume and a demo of their completed past work. Always have an interview before hiring potential crew members to ensure that they display proper signs of professionalism in their attitude and how they present themselves. If you have trouble affording an experienced crew, you can often find educated students who are about to graduate to work practically for free. Contact universities that have film production programs and can put you in touch with students who will work long and hard in order to gain some experience to put on their resumes.

• Each part of the TV commercial production process is essential. The consequences for not doing each one properly are costly mistakes, poor planning, confusion and headaches later on that will hinder the completion of the commercial. Maintain the professional hierarchy and do not venture off to do tasks on your own without letting someone know. This will assure you are not stepping on someone else's toes, so to speak, and inadvertently get them into trouble. Do not hire people who do not know what they are doing. Just because someone has experience using a digital camera for family events does not necessarily mean that they have the experience necessary to shoot a professional commercial. The only crew member that can be hired who is not required to have much film production know how or experience is craft services, because their job is to keep the crew and talent well fed and hydrated.

References

• Bachelor's Degree Program for Film