• what is a TV promo? A reintroduction
• the TV promo production process << YOU ARE HERE
• how to make TV promos & movie trailers – part 1 – the paper cut
• how to make TV promos & movie trailers – part 2 – scene selection
• how to make TV promos & movie trailers – part 3 – script writing
• how to make TV promos & movie trailers – part 4 – editing
Process
There are all kinds of copywriter/producer/editors who work in all kinds of places:
• TV promo departments making TV promos;
• Ad agencies making TV commercials;
• Production houses making movie trailers;
• Social media farms engaged in “content marketing”;
• In-house media departments for big companies making all of the above;
• Self employed freelancers doing the same.
Whatever kind of work you’re engaged in, at whatever place, and whatever your personal production style; the creative process you engage in will, more or less, be the same. This video is most about TV promo production; but as you’ll see, the information applies to any creative agency.
There’s a myth that creative people are flappy, flamboyant, and disorganised. In fact, the very best creative people I have worked with actually have the production process down to a fine art. They either do this consciously and deliberately (like me), or they just intuitively have the process nailed.
If you want to have the word ‘producer’ anywhere in your job title, you simply must get on top of the process. It’s really that important.
Contents
This video outlines the basic, best practice ad, trailer and TV promo production process from allocation to final on-air.
• introduction to process
• best-practice generic process outline:
–– allocation, briefs, personal organisation
–– pre-production
–– the pitch
–– production
–– post production
• the importance of process
A process anecdote:
I once presented this information to a increasingly agitated group of experienced producers. I enquired if they felt the material was too basic for them. The consensus was a very definite: yes! So, I asked for their patience and we continued.
Then, a funny thing happened. I got to the part where I suggested that versioning come after approvals. The group suddenly became confused.
“But shouldn’t approvals come at the very end?” they asked.
“Why would you waste vast amounts of time, trouble and money versioning spots that hadn’t been approved yet?” was my reply.
A change in the department’s production process ensued. And the client reported that this was one of the best things that had happened to the morale (and the budget) of their team in quite a while.
I helped save their department thousands of bucks every month.
And yet they still wanted to haggle with me over my very modest fee. Eh, sorry for whinging there. I just had to get that off my chest.
