HD FINISHING – A PRIMER FOR MARKETERS

By David Johnson, VP BBS

As commercial production has moved into the 21 st century, new technology has afforded more opportunities and more solutions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the area of High Definition (HD) production and post production.

Simultaneously, advertisers are working to expand their reach globally and across a variety of media opportunities.

Back in the “old days”, when the only post-production option was to transfer film to video, multiple uses and destinations of a commercial used to mean multiple workflows in post production, compromised image framing to accommodate different formats, and increased time. We’re now able to transfer film directly to High Definition, complete the work ONCE, and output to any format or aspect ratio.

Do we want to do this?

If you’re a domestic advertiser, with no cinema usage in your media plan, there’s no compelling, immediate reason to output post production in High Definition. That said, more and more networks are broadcasting their prime time and sports in HD, (with a total digital broadcast requirement slated for 2009), more cable providers are providing digital capabilities, and slowly the nation is replacing its older, standard definition televisions with HD-capable sets (as of July, 2007 21%-32% of American homes are so equipped – depending on whether you believe Nielsen or the Consumer Electronics Association). They both agree that about 13 million households (out of the 113 million US TV households) are actually receiving and viewing HD content. Both these numbers are growing. Sooner or later though, the nation’s “eye” is going to expect a HD image, and the standard definition image we’ve all become accustomed to will look dated.

Here’s when we recommend you do this.

If your advertising is global and is broadcast in various regions of the world, or if cinema is part of your media plan, or if your content is accessible on the internet, or if it’s important that your images match the resolution of the programming surrounding them, post production in HD is called for now. Finishing in HD enables you to deliver both 4 X 3 and 16 X 9 aspect ratio end product in NTSC and/or PAL standards, high definition video, film for cinema release, or print for print campaigns.

What’s the story about all the different sizes?

There are several different formats, or viewing perspectives, where your content may show up. You need to decide early how you intend to display and weigh the various options.

Here are the primary choices:

HD 16 X 9 Non-center cut protected master . This is just like a movie screen in format. The entire image is “used” or optimized for your commercial and titles.

But…you’ll have to make alternate masters, and possibly shoot alternate scenes, because it won’t be viewable everywhere. This will translate into more costs. Each master will also require a separate Ad-ID identification. This is probably not a good idea unless you have heavy cinema weight and want a version just for that.

HD 16 X 9 Center-cut protected master . Same size image but with your titles, logos, product shots and key content framed while filming within the center (4 X 3) area. You limit filling your screen somewhat, but you’ll only need to make one master and have one Ad-ID identification. When this is down-converted to SD broadcast, it will show up either letterboxed with full 16 X 9 image, or the center-protected image will display within a full 4 X 3 screen. Different stations do this differently. Currently, for instance, CBS, ESPN, and National Geographic do a live center-cut downconvert for HD programming being simulcast in SD.

Or Just finish in SD 4 X 3 It may still fit your needs.

Does HD cost more?

All the talk about HD finishing is taking place because there are some additional costs in the first phase of post production that need to be understood and justified. Transfer costs are more expensive if film is the original medium. The transfer costs to HD versus standard definition video would increase a total production estimate by an increment of approximately 1%. This is certainly a notable amount if the budget is large, but compared to the heftier increases if format decisions were made at a later date, not a significant sum.

If your content includes a lot of CGI the costs will be higher. It takes more time, thus more money to “render” the animation to all the pixels of a HD image.

Should we shoot or “image capture” in HD?

HD finishing is an option whether the original image is acquired on film or HD video itself. Familiarity with film on the part of most directors and directors of photography is causing most commercials to remain film-based. It’s anticipated that as HD cameras and production equipment become more widely utilized, as their capabilities increase, and as a “film look” becomes more achievable, HD video will become a more acceptable and widely used shooting format.

In the meanwhile, it’s important to remember that film is a high definition medium, and can be transferred to HD as the first step in the post-production process.

Does HD production cost more, or less?

Actual production costs aren’t appreciably different except in circumstances where you might shoot huge amounts of film. In these cases, the savings can be notable if you use HD: commercials with babies or animals or real-people testimonials, for instance. High-speed, or slow-motion, image capture is now also available in HD up to equivalent film speeds.

Does HD finishing impact the post-production schedule?

HD finishing can actually speed the overall post-production schedule because multi-format requirements can be addressed simultaneously. You can manage all you post production needs with one work flow, rather than several. Otherwise, there should be no change in the schedule. It’s important, however, to insure that the video and audio finishing companies have the proper HD capabilities.

How do we optimize HD in our work?

Post production today requires thoughtful and informed planning, on a commercial by commercial basis on the part of agency and client to achieve the best value for everyone’s time and money. Media and market requirements for commercials should be thoroughly understood, so the post production work flow can be mapped out efficiently in the early stages of planning and bidding. If this is done, HD finishing offers time and money-saving options and opportunities.

By the way, what’s going to happen to all the over-the-air sets?

This is a digital issue, not a HD one. There’s been a lot of talk, however, about what happens in February, 2009 when all analog signals cease and are replaced by digital signals. Almost all current televisions are either digital-compatible or receive their signal via cable or satellite and this deadline is of no concern. For about 22 million sets in the US who currently pull down their signal over the air, they’ll need to get a converter box for their set to be able to receive the new digital signal. These are going to be available starting soon and all through 2008, and the US Government is going to provide coupons to help purchase them.