TV Show Specs

[Steve Cohen]

Most of what I do now is paid programming, but when I used to cut for air I would make the breaks the correct length with black in there.

IE: If it was a 2 min commercial break I would leave 2 min and 2 sec of black.

The best thing to do is to contact the station/network that it is going to air on and ask for their Qulaity Assurance specs.

This will give you everything that they require so there are no surprises later.

Steve Cohen
Editor
O2 Media Inc.

[Dylan Reeve]

It will depend on the broadcaster, but most require simply a break hole (normally 2 or 10 seconds). Some (Network Ten in Australia springs to mind) want each part to start on an even 15 second time, at least 30 seconds from the end of the last part, with a 10 second countdown/part ID.

For international sales, often breaks are removed entirely to create a single program running an unbroken 22 seconds. Broadcasters can then insert their own breaks.

If it’s for a specific broadcaster, check with them. I recently delivered to ‘Extreme Sports Channel’ and they had some quite unusual specs that I wouldn’t have met had I just guessed.

If you just want best practice, then I’d put 10 second black holes – make sure all parts are clearly labeled on an attached cue sheet – and if possible (some broadcasters require this – BBC and Discovery at least) list each part’s start time and duration on the program ID board.

I’ve delivered show to at least 10 networks worldwide, and they are all a little different, but also they will generally accept things that have been prepared to other common specifications.

Another issue is program start time – I’ve had to start programs at 01:00:00:00, 10:00:00:00 and even 00:01:30:00 – UK broadcasters and some Australian ones like 10 hour code, most others like 1 hour code, and some oddballs like to start just after 00.

[Walter Biscardi]

[Liam El Terrible] “Was just wondering if anyone could point me in the direction or knew the specs for delivering a TV show.”

Each network and broadcaster has a “Producer’s Handbook” or a “Technical Specifications Handbook.” You must get a copy of that for the particular network or station you plan to deliver to.

We deliver to four different networks and each has a different requirement. It’s all very similar, but Timecode Start time is different, Break time is different, Running time is different, audio levels are different, 4 channel audio mix is different, all kinds of little things are different.

Without that document you’re basically wasting your time. If you’re shopping a series, don’t do any sort of adjustments to it until you know who will broadcast it and then you’ll know exactly what you need.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Liam Stephens]

Yeah we will be shopping domestically and internationally so i am thinking it would be prudent to atleast get started on getting all 38 eps ready for output. So when the call comes i’m not pulling all nighters.
🙂
thx for all your help
L

[Dylan Reeve]

Well at least add black for commercial breaks. Most broadcasters will accept any break length if it’s well documented on cue sheets. 10 seconds is probably a good bet, or starting on the next clear minute/30sec (with at least 10 seconds black).

Make sure ID board contain all the info that people might need – this includes program aspect ratio, full run duration, audio track details, contact email/phone.

For international sales, textless elements will be required also. This should be a clean cut-to-cut version of any shot that includes program graphics over video without the graphic. Typically this is on the end of the tape, although can be supplied on a separate tape sometimes (some series I’ve worked on have a ‘textless tape’ of the textless elements for the whole series).

[Walter Biscardi]

[Sycophant] “Well at least add black for commercial breaks. Most broadcasters will accept any break length if it’s well documented on cue sheets. 10 seconds is probably a good bet, or starting on the next clear minute/30sec (with at least 10 seconds black).”

Again, this differs from network to network, station to station. I used to make these generalities too based on my work at CNN, but now that we deal with all manner of broadcasters, each one has a different requirement for everything on the tape. Black Start, Bars Start, Bars Length, Tone level, Slate Start, Slate Length, Show Start TC, Break Length, Show Running Time, Segment Running time, Channel 1 and 2 audio, Channel 3 and 4 audio, Bug / Graphic placement, Promo Graphic placement, Format for delivery and the list goes on and on.

One network has a 30 page Technical specifications document of which 8 pages are dedicated to the HD and SD Masters received. Another network has a 120 page Producer Handbook with 20 pages dedicated to everything regarding capture to final mastering.

I have learned that no two networks are alike. The PBS Red Book is a great place to start, but even all the PBS Stations don’t follow that to the letter and there are some variations there.

Going by a “general rule of thumb” without knowing the specifics of the station or network you’re delivering to is just going to increase the work you’re doing to do. You can go ahead and set everything up for generalized delivery now and then you’ll just have to go back into the timeline and tweak everything again for the specific delivery. For my time, I only want to do this once.

We’re going through this right now with a series that was originally broadcast overseas. It’s being re-purposed for regional PBS stations and all I know for certain is the new running time will add approx. 4:30 to each episode. But we have not started tweaking any of the shows yet because I do not have any other particulars yet for the Masters. Once we know that, we’ll move forward but we have plenty of other work that needs to be done on other projects before they come in the office.

[Sycophant] “Make sure ID board contain all the info that people might need – this includes program aspect ratio, full run duration, audio track details, contact email/phone.”

Again, this differs depending on the station. Each has a sample Slate in their technical guidelines and you MUST follow these guidelines. Especially the order in which all the information appears. An incorrect slate will result in a failed QC report and you’ll have to re-run the show. For instance, we never have Aspect Ratio information on our slates as it is not requested. With some networks they want the Series Name first, others want the Episode Title first. Some want the Audio information before the Master number, others want the Master Number first, then the Episode Number, then the Show Title, then the Series title. It’s all standardized per network, station and you just can’t make any generalized assumptions anymore with over 200 broadcast outlets out there today.

[Sycophant] “For international sales, textless elements will be required also. This should be a clean cut-to-cut version of any shot that includes program graphics over video without the graphic. Typically this is on the end of the tape, although can be supplied on a separate tape sometimes (some series I’ve worked on have a ‘textless tape’ of the textless elements for the whole series).”

One more time, this is completely spelled out in the documents you get from each network. We have never delivered any series where there was more than one master on a given tape. Full and Textless shows are always delivered on separate masters. “Textless” also varies from network to network. With some it just means the lower thirds that are added to the show. With others it means ALL show graphics are removed so they can be replaced with language specific graphics at a later date.

Bottom line for me, doing any work without specifics from the broadcast outlet is just a waste of time and you’ll end up doubling up your work down the line. Just my 2 cents.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR
The new Color Training DVD now available from the Creative Cow!

Read my Blog!

[Dylan Reeve]

Walter is right – broadcaster’s specs do differ a lot.

However as you’ve said you’re planning to shop the show to various networks, you are unlikely to get a full and complete spec, and I doubt you’ll want to remaster the show for each broadcaster.

Having worked on the broadcaster side of things, I can say that most broadcasters, buying finished shows from a distributor, don’t care about the specifics of the show finishing, as long as it conforms to reasonable standards and is of good quality. Broadcaster spec guides are for show they commission, and won’t necessarily be applied to show they buy from distributors.

We were taking delivery of shows from around the world at an older job, they varied hugely, but as long as the cue sheet and ID board contained the info we needed we didn’t have many problems (one of those shows was Good Eats!)

Personally, when I’ve prepped shows for international distribution and sale, I’ve always had Start of Message at 01:00:00:00, used 10 second ad breaks, and had textless shots at the end of the program – that is a reasonable ‘average’ of the specs I’ve received from a variety of international broadcasters.

However if you’re providing on a contract to a specific broadcaster you have to meet their spec or you will be breaching the delivery contract.

[Liam Stephens]

Basically we are going to shop 2 completed eps. But for now i am going to strip down the eps remove advertising/sponsors and put 10secs black holes for the advertising. I wont be putting anything to tape until it is sold and we get the specs the network requires.
cheers
L