Just as the Association of National Advertisers (the ANA representing 360 companies with 9,000 brands that collectively spend over $100 billion in marketing communications and advertising) and the recently formed broad-based industry coalition of which it is a founding member–along with such mainstay organizations as the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Television Bureau of Advertising (the not-for-profit trade association of local TV broadcasters)–are looking to be responsive to the needs, concerns and issues that arise in the advertising marketplace as a result of the pending transition to DTV (see this week’s lead story), so too has SHOOT decided to tap into various experts in the field for their perspectives on how to best take advantage of the nation’s shift to digital.
We thus posed the following SHOOT survey question to a cross-section of the industry:
What advice would you offer to clients and/or advertising agencies about how to best adapt to–and benefit from–the fast approaching transition to digital television (DTV)? You may also refer to examples of relevant recent projects if it helps to demonstrate, substantiate or expound upon any important points you care to make.
(Keep in mind that in the September 26 issue as part of our follow-up coverage, we will have insights on the transition to DTV based on a survey of key manufacturers who are behind assorted creative tools of choice.)
Here’s a sampling of the industry feedback we received in our first survey go-around from artisans, tech experts and executives spanning production, postproduction and visual effects:
Randall P. Dark, director, Randall Dark Productions, Austin, Tex. Digital television demands widescreen, high-resolution imagery. That’s a no brainer.
Do you want your product to look inferior to your competition and lose market share? Of course not. Unfortunately in the Digital arena, what works perfectly in one application sucks in another. How do you target your young demographic if they spend half their waking hours texting their BFF? A beautifully shot beer commercial during halftime of the high-definition Super Bowl broadcast will always be of high value but what about the other 58 million eyeballs that want something different? What will pique their interest?
Recently, I directed and shot a music video that was specially designed to be shown exclusively on devices like iPods and cell phones. No wide-shots of girls dancing around a pool or car chases with the lead singer in a red Lamborghini. Basically, a performance piece with product placement. It’s a difficult thing to cross platform; almost impossible.
Digital Television and PDA-like devices allow the programmer or advertiser 24/7 access to their viewer wherever they are but via non-traditional methods. Now, that should excite both you and me.
Jerry Haggart, director of technical operations, The Nice Shoes Companies, New York
I believe the transition to DTV will provide our clients with a much higher quality “canvas” on which to display their product. The use of digital transmission will eliminate the ghosting and fuzzy pictures that often plague analog systems, even if those images are received by means other than over-the-air. Since cable and satellite providers will also have to upgrade their signal acquisition equipment, the pictures and sound they deliver should improve as well.
Producers can maximize the advantage their product will gain, by using the best quality equipment and knowledgeable artists to acquire, transfer, and finish their commercials. With the potential for high-definition quality images, and Surround Sound–anything less will now compare poorly and diminish the impact that their commercial could otherwise have.”
Don McNeill, president, Digital Kitchen (Chicago, New York, Seattle, Culver City, Calif.)
I would suggest that clients and advertising agencies look at DTV as a creative opportunity. Right now it seems too many folks see this as a technical hassle or added cost. However brands can really benefit from the improved resolution and added image size–seems obvious for auto makers, cosmetics, sports attire etc.
DTV will give everyone a much bigger and more detailed canvas to showcase their products or services. For the last few years, all the television series we design titles for use DTV–House, Dexter, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, etc… and if you are familiar with those title sequences, you can see how beneficial it was to have the aspect ratio and detail of DTV. We’re seeing more advertisers take advantage, but it hasn’t caught on as fast as in Hollywood.
Stefan Sonnenfeld, co-founder and colorist, Company 3, bicoastal This question is an interesting one for us at Company 3, because we were early adopters of digital technology and all-digital workflows. We have been working in the digital realm and educating our agency clients about digital technology for almost 10 years now. Ninety-nine percent of our deliverables have been in digital format and are primarily now in high-definition. There are a small number of stations across the country still requiring a beta master, but they’ve become increasingly rare.
For us here at Company 3, the impending transition to digital television next year is a reminder of how far we have come in terms of the adoption and utilization of digital technology. Digital television’s superior image quality and the multiple distribution options available for file-based media will benefit clients, advertising agencies and viewers alike. This technology also gives creatives more control of their content and allows for higher-quality content.
Jerry Steele, co-founder and senior creative director, Steele VFX, Santa Monica The transition to digital on February 17 should be a relatively painless event. Most broadcasters are already transmitting a side-by-side digital and analog signal that may be allowed to continue where the transition is cost prohibitive. The CEA has indicated that even though the digital coverage offers more resolution, screen real estate and ability for broadcasters to multicast up to five channels, it may potentially make reception of continuing over-the-air analog NTSC signals in remote areas impossible. Additionally in dense metropolitan areas the over-the-air ATSC digital signal may suffer considerably, displaying ghosting and drop out. The digital signal has only a fifth of the strength of the analog and as reception decreases the digital signal will deteriorate rapidly and may not even show at all. Most viewers today, however, utilize cable or satellite receivers and will not be adversely affected.
The most obvious gains to be made from the transition will be the added channels made available to broadcasters, the 16:9 screen aspect and the increased 1920 x 1080 resolution of the output.
For commercial clients the extra screen size offers more room for titles, logos and legal lines. More resolution means smaller type can be read easily on a larger screen. Minimum requirements for point size have not been altered so potentially up to six times the words can be fit into the same space.
For now most broadcasters will want to either produce the one master with a 4 x 3 protected screen for type or as we advocated recently to our client Johnson & Johnson for the Olympics to produce multiple format masters until the transition is complete.
Steele VFX has for some time now utilized the advanced technologies of the Generation Q hardware from Quantel that operates within a resolution free environment. This allows us to make different resolution outputs from multiple resolution sources in a single timeline.
