All of our creative work is done free of charge, so there’s nothing to lose by getting Space City to pitch.
How To Get An Advert On TV?
So, you want to know how to get your commercial on TV? Then it’s paramount you understand the TV commercial production process. How does this happen? By reading our Space City TV commercial production process.
You’ll find answers to the following questions:
How do I make a TV ad? or maybe, you already have an advert and you’re asking, how to make a TV commercial on TV? or maybe it isn’t even a commercial yet, in which case how do I get my video on TV?
Breifing & Creative
Advertising Briefing Session
After first contact we encourage a face-to-face briefing session to understand your business and objectives. We will welcome you to our London studio where you can meet the team and take a tour of our facilities. Of course we are happy to travel to you if this is more convenient. We take away your brief and spend two weeks working up creative ideas.
Creative Idea Generation
We take away your brief and spend two weeks working up creative ideas. This involves drawing up moodboards, draft scripts & storyboards for three or four creative options of varying budgets. We will also present schedules, quotes and suggested artists fees for each concept. For more information regarding the Idea generation & Scripting stage of the process view here.
Advertising Presentation
Once we have our scripts, or sometimes just idea synopsises (depending on what deliverables are wanted) we begin the storyboard and pitching process, whereby a bespoke presentation document will then be presented back to you ideally in person.
Advertising Presentation contents
The pack commonly includes our three or four creative options, storyboards, animatics, production quotes, artist fees (if applicable) and schedules. We work hard to ensure this takes your budget, time frame and objectives into consideration. After all, we want to achieve the best response for your campaign.
All of our creative work is done free of charge so there’s nothing to lose by finding out how Space City can assist on your next advertising venture, and having us along to pitch.
Pre-Production
tv Advert Scheduling
Once an idea has been approved, we move full swing into pre-production. A typical commercial has a schedule of eight weeks from concept sign off to going on air, however if you need a quicker turn around we are always happy to accommodate where possible.
Advertising Producer
The most appropriate producer will have already been assigned to your project. They then get to work organising. A director is selected based on who would be best suited to work on your advert. Whether the genre is comical, testimonials, lifestyle or special effects we will allocate the best person for the job. We also offer directors treatment presentations if you are unsure what style of director you desire.
London Casting Studios
We organise a casting at our In-House studios in Hammersmith which you will be invited to attend, alternatively this can be organised virtually if more convenient. If in person our studio capacity and scheduling allows up to 80 actors auditions a day, helping you find the perfect artist(s) to represent your brand.
Advertising Behind The Scenes
Meanwhile, we are busy organising wardrobe, hair and makeup, catering, crew, and conducting location recces to give you a selection of venues suitable for filming. We encourage our clients to be as involved or trusting as they like at this stage.
TV Shoot preparation
Once all production details are in place, a pre-production meeting (PPM) will take place. This is in order to finalise details of what we have organised with you so far, ensuring everything is prepared for the shoot. cast, crew, locations, wardrobe, hair & makeup and timings for the big day. Everything is signed off in advance so you know exactly what to expect.
Clearcast
Do I Need Clearcast Approval?
Clearcast approval is only relevant to Commercials playing out on Television. So, depending on your deliverables this may be a step your campaign doesn’t require.
What is Clearcast?
Clearcast is a governing body that oversees the clearance of commercials for Television. In the UK, broadcasters aren’t allowed to show adverts that are misleading, harmful or offensive. Before ads are approved, Clearcast check them against the UK Codes of Advertising (the BCAP and CAP Codes), which set out what is and isn’t permitted.
Why clearcast?
The Clearcast process is in place to ensure decisions are consistent across the board. This includes challenging and checking content, and ultimately deciding whether an advert is acceptable to go on Television. When an advert is deemed acceptable, certain timing restrictions or legal text may apply.
How we work with Clearcast?
We are experts in Clearcast approval, with all members of the production team being fully trained. This clearance happens twice during the production process – once at the initial scripting stage, and once on completion of the final film, whereby rough-cuts and then the final ad itself is cleared.
Clearcast Do’s & Dont’s
We would never present an idea that would fail to get Clearcast approval. Considering this we will likely need you to substantiate any claims made in the commercial VO, on-screen text or offers.
Most adverts cleared
Last year alone we had over 3,000 adverts approved by Clearcast for TV – so we are in regular contact. If you’re having trouble getting an advert cleared, whether we produced it or not, we are happy to offer the clearance process as a stand alone service.
The Shoot
What’s Involved In a TV Shoot?
A typical shoot consists of one or two days on location or in a studio. For our London shoots we primarily use locations within the M25 to save travel time and your production budget.
A space City TV Shoot
When the shoot day arrives your Space City team and crew arrive early to set up breakfast catering and equipment for filming. Typically we invite clients to attend just before filming begins, around 9am.
TV Shoot Attendance
We recommend you attend the shoot and get involved as much as possible on the day. This is both for your enjoyment and so everyone is happy with the final result. When on set our crew set up viewing monitors in order for you to see exactly how the director brings your script to life.
TV Collaboration
We fully encourage a collaborative approach between director and client. After all, it’s your brand so you’ll undoubtedly have some great ideas – why not voice them and we can incorporate them on the day.
Post-Production
How Long Does Video Editing Take?
The post-production stage usually takes around two weeks.
Video Backups
After the shoot, we ingest the rushes (footage) storing it safely on our system with multiple back-ups. These are kept forever in our archives so if you need to revisit a project at a later date we can bring it back online.
Reviewing Your Advert
We generate an initial edit called an ‘offline’ which we send over for you to review. We then have an ‘offline-amends’ day where we make changes based on your feedback.
Voiceover Studio London
You are then invited to attend the final online edit at Space City. The voice-over recording will also take place in our audio studio on that day. The track is then mixed with your specially composed music, before being laid into the advert. Finally, you can make decisions on graphics before the advert is complete.
Clearcast approval
The final advert is sent back to Clearcast for video approval and is then ready to go on air.
Transmission
Space city Transmission
We are happy to organise transmission for both commercials that we have produced, as well as existing ads.
TV Advert distribution to Channels
We also arrange the distribution of transmission copies to the various TV stations, both in the UK and abroad. We upload finished commercials to a delivery platform, where technical quality checks are carried out. Based on our production schedules, we will aim to get commercials to stations for transmission about 3-5 days before the first air date.
TV Advertising Cost Savings
We work with your Media Buyer to ensure your ad gets to where it needs to go on time. TV Commercial Transmission is the process all completed adverts go through in order to reach their designated channels. We annually review the Transmission company we work with in order to pass those cost savings onto you.
TV Transmission Quote
We are unable to include this process in our production budget as the cost will be based on how many stations you decide to play out on. If you give us your stations list we are happy to provide you with a quote.
