Are you planning on making a political commercial that will air on TV? If so, you're likely going to be using a video production company to handle the planning, production, and editing of the video for you. However, the process of getting a video on the air is more complicated than you may think. Here are some problems that can come up as you deliver the final spot to stations.
File Specification Requirements
Video distributors often require a very specific file type when sending video to stations. You need to ensure that your file meets those technical specifications in terms of frame size, frame rate, and audio quality. These are usually very straightforward, and your video production company should be able to handle it.
Center Cut Safe Requirements
Another issue to be aware of is if your spot is considered to be center cut safe. This is an aspect that came up when stations switched from standard definition to high definition and the aspect ratios changed as a result. It is possible that a station will take a widescreen HD spot and simply crop off the sides so that it completely fills the frame for an older SD station broadcast feed. A viewer on an older TV can also use their set top box's settings to zoom into the picture to fill up the screen, chopping off the sides.
In order to prevent important information in the spot from being cut off, it is required that the spot is center cut safe. This means that no text goes outside of a 4:3 aspect ratio box in the middle of the screen that matches the resolution of a standard definition TV. It ensures that in a worst case scenario all important information in your commercial, such as phone numbers or website URLs, will not be cut off.
Legal Requirements
There are requirements made by the Federal Election Commission that you must follow when making a political ad. One aspect that can have your spot rejected by stations is if your disclaimer at the end that identifies who paid for the spot is not the proper size or duration. You must ensure that your commercial includes these elements. This includes text that is at least 4% of the screen's vertical height, and is on screen for at least four seconds. Stations do check the screen height of these legal disclaimers and can refuse to air your political ad if the requirements are not met.
I still remember my family renting VHS tapes from my local video store every weekend on our family's Friday "movie night." Of course, we also had an additional video tape rewinder machine, because there was a rumor that the rewind mechanisms on VHS video players typically wore out quickly. Audio visual technology has advanced rapidly since those days, and I love staying on top of all of the new A/V technology out there. I have a home movie projector in my home theater, and I love teaching others about the benefits of these relatively affordable machines that provide a real "movie theater" experience right at home. I also stay on top of new television technology and am always eager to try out new TV tech. I plan to post many A/V tips and tricks on my new blog, so come back often!