Prepare My Video to be Broadcasted.

[Andrew Johnston]

Thank you so much for your response Dave I really appreciate your Help.

[Dave LaRonde]Okay, so where IS this spot going to air: a TV station or some place like the Discovery Channel?

A TV STATION. The discovery channel is much bigger than this place. This station is on satellite but I would compare them more to a Local station. Like Public Access.

[Dave LaRonde]Don’t have hardware scopes? You open BOTH the Vectorscope and Waveform monitors in FCP, you LEAVE them open, and you watch ’em like a hawk!

Thanks Dave. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know what “hardware scopes” is. Maybe I have it and just don’t know I have it? Anyway, I will look into what “vectorscope” is and “Waveform Monitor’ (i think i know what you mean by this one though)- But when you say “watch them like a hawk” what Am i watching for?

Thanks so much for you time Dave. You’re really helping me out.

Here is some information I just found out about the station. I don’t know if it helps but here it is:

Frequency: 12115
Polarity: vertical
Symbol Rate: 22425
FEC: 3/4

[Tom Mathews]

I’m not sure if this thread is serious or not. Assuming it is serious, and not some left field humour I’m not getting, please follow this advice.

Hire an online editor to prepare your spot/film/show for broadcast, as you obviously do not have the knowledge or experience to do this yourself. There is no point in you looking at scopes that will mean nothing to you.

Please.

[Andrew Johnston]

There really isn’t any need to be condescending. I was asking a question I do not know the answer to. What is so crazy about this thread that you find it hard to believe is serious?

This is a forum right? Where you can go to for help?

[Alan Lloyd]

Andrew – people have told you what you need to do. Learn how to use scopes to verify your signal quality, contact the TV station, find a good online editor to handle the release reel – all these are good, solid, worthwhile suggestions.

Tom’s comment that you are in over your head may seem harsh, but it is the truth. You don’t have the experience to get from here to there, and you won’t get it until you realize you need it. Find someone who knows how to get you what you want and pay them what they’re worth. Ask questions, but let them do their work.

Your alternatives really are learn, hire, or fail. Television is a pretty unforgiving business. May not be pleasant, but that’s the reality of it. How you feel about that reality is a concern only to you, not to the TV business.

[Tom Mathews]

Andrew,

If you found my post condescending, apologies, it wasn’t meant to be. If you found my post harsh, however, it was meant to be.

As I said, what you need to to is hire someone who knows how to finish for broadcast. I applaud your willingness to learn, and will be more than happy to answer any questions and help you along the way, but this isn’t something you pick up by having a couple of questions answered in a forum. It takes years.

Kind regards,

Tom

[Andrew Johnston]

Sorry if I was a little quick to take offense, honestly I think it was mostly Dave’s long winded analogy that struck a cord.

So here is the thing…

The station is NOT super professional in any way. Think Public Access. And I’m not going to hire a professional right now, this project isn’t worth it, maybe in the future but not now.

What do you suggest? What’s the best thing I can do? Even if it might not work whats the best thing I can do to prepare the video without hiring a professional?

FCP has a “broadcast safe” filter that supposedly you slap it on and it makes it broadcast safe. Though I could imagine that this filter does a mediocre job at best will it at least cover my butt and get my video to look half decent over the air?

[Grinner Hester]

You’ll fly by your external scopes for levels and lay off according to the networks’ specs. It’s usually a minute of bars and tone, 8 seconds of slate, 2 seconds of black with the show starting at 1 hour even drop frame.
But again, you’ll want their guidlines before mastering.

[Tom Mathews]

Right Andrew, here goes.

By the way I’m a UK editor so there might be a few discrepancies along the way.

09:58:00:00 – 09:59:30:00
Either 75% or 100& colour bars (usually 75%, but check with station) and -18db tone (we use -18db in the UK, but again check with station).

09:59:30:00 – 09:59:57:00
Clock (this needs to include all programme information required by the station)

09:59:57:00 – 10:00:00:00
Black/Silence

10:00:00:00
Programme

That’s the lineup sorted. In terms of keeping your programme legal (to stop it blowing out a satellite) you need to look at both the sound and vision. Audio shouldn’t peak over 5 on your calibrated PPM’s. In terms of video and the Broadcast Safe filter you should look at this thread:

https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/970685

As advised earlier you need to do a search online about understanding the waveform monitor/vectorscope. This is really important, because if you don’t understand it then you will not recognise when it’s telling you that your levels are illegal.

Lastly, please don’t make the mistake of thinking that because the station you are delivering to is small, it doesn’t matter if your deliverables are out of wack. That is not the case and is a poor work ethic.

Good luck, you have a lot of reading ahead.

Tom