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Advice for outputting for tv?
I’m hoping to create some spots for tv but I’m unsure how I would go about getting my final footage into the hands of the tv station?
AFAIK the TV station requires footage to be on digibeta tapes. If this is the case how would I get my ae footage on to the tape in the best quality possible?
I’m guessing I would need to get my footage transfered to digibeta via a third party who has the necessary equipment to do this. But what I’m unsure about is the process of copying my footage from one to the other?
Another question I’m unsure of is are the any guidelines for when you submit such things to a tv station? Such as should the spot have a counter/countdown (sorry I don’t know the technical term!) graphic placed at its beginning?
Sorry if this all sounds very dumb but if someone could give me any advice in this area it would be much appreciated. I’d rather find out from you guys here then look even dumber asking someone who thinks I should know this already!
Alternatively if someone could point me in the direction of a website that could help me out that would be great too.
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7 Replies
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Going to a TV news affiliate for regional broadcast or to a dubbing house to be distributed around? If it’s just to a local TV station, just give them the uncompressed file. I gaurantee you they have a way of outputting the file through their systems.
If you HAVE to do it all yourself ready for broadcast:
Your working resolution should be 720 x 486. .9 pix asp. You can rent digidecks for a few hundred a day. (that’s what we do). Get a cheap uncompressed card like a Decklink. Generally you output SDI to the Digideck.
But there are many other factors like the VITC and LTC TC should match, Spots should always start on exactly 01:00:00:00. Then each spot exactly one minute after. So the second spot would be 01:01:00:00, etc.
Need bars and tone at -20. at the head. then slates. Usually there are ISCI codes involved as well.
But as a general rule, just ask those that need your stuff what specs they want. Then there’s your answer. But honestly, unless you feel like becoming a “Post House”. Don’t bother. Just put your spots in an uncompressed Quicktime file at D1 settings and have someone else do all the broadcast standards stuff.
Chris Smith
https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com -
Note that Chris’ response assumes you are in the US.
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Chris’ answer is very concise, but I have seen tapes come in that have bars and tone and that is it.
It is nice if your levels match your bars and tone, but hey, that rarely happens, even with very high-end stuff. (I know this from experience)
The most important question to be asked is what type of media they want stuff to be delivered on. Everything else most places will work around.
But, if you want your stuff to look the way you originally intended then match the bars and tone, that is what they are there for.
Ryan
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Thanks for all your replies guys, especially Chris.
I guess I’m looking at getting my footage copied to digibeta via a copying facility or the TV Station themselves. I’d love to be able to rent a digideck and do these things for myself but my funds can’t stretch to that currently.
I’m in the UK but I guess most of what you’re saying is similar (except resolution and frame rate of course), if not I’ll ask the station themselves but I just didn’t want to sound like an idiot beforehand.
Chris, you mention I need bars and tone? By -20 do you mean -20 frames? Also is there anywhere I can find out about the actual creation and setting up of bars and tones? I don’t think AE has this facility, though I’ve used it in Premiere in the past. Is there a webiste that explains the principal and proceedures involved in this??
Thanks again for your continuing advice.
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If I may …
… I recommend that you just create the After Effects animation to disc or hard drive, with no bars, no tone, no countdown. Before you render though, call up a post house to do the bars/tone/count/digibeta, tell them what you want, and ask them what kind of digital file they want from you.
-Frame size? (just to make sure)
-Quicktime movie in Avid Meridien codec, targa sequence, or something else?
-If you’re rendering interlaced (an aesthetic choice) do they want upper or lower field first?
-Can they accept a Firewire drive or a data-DVD from you? If hard drive, Mac or Windows?This way, you can give the digital file to the pros, then let them create the broadcast stuff and make sure levels are legal and so on, while you take notes. Don’t do it yourself first time out.
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-20 dB. Meaning the sine wave tone at -20 db. But like Andrew said, every spec I gave you was US.
As a side note don’t be expecting to go from AE to a deck. Drop your files into an NLE like Premeire or FCP. Make sure that you do your RGB to YUV conversion properly though when you do or the levels may shift.
Chris Smith
https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com -
For the record, in the UK:
Clapper/Ident starts at 09:59:30:00
10 sec countdown starts at 09:59:50:00
Programme starts at 10:00:00:00Standard def output should be 720×576, 25 fps. Use the AE preset comps for Widescreen or standard pixel aspect ratios.
Standard PAL bars are recorded at 75%.
Audio tone on Digi Beta at -20dB.
But as mentioned above, just render the programme, then take it to a post house who will add the board & countdown for you on the way to tape.
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