Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Who To Hire After Tv Copy Is Created?

Posted by Anonymous on 12/2/2009 at 11:37 AM ET 250 Points
I was told recently that I should be looking to hire a Director of Photography as soon as my copy is created? I worked in motion pictures for years, and that just doesn't seem right to me (I'm new to this side of Advertising). Shouldn't I hire a producer? What is the SOP for advertising agencies?
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  • Posted on 12/2/2009 at 11:48 AM Author
    Thanks for the response.

    The agency I am with produces regional to national content. I have been told by the powers that be - that on the agency end - they hire a DP and the DP then hires the crew. That sounds completely ridiculous to me, but I want to make sure that before I rock the internal boat - I'm not stepping out of line.
    When I worked as a DP I was never hired by an agency. Instead, the production house I worked for was picked up. We spent tons of time and money building relationships with agencies in order to retain their business.

    To rephrase - here is my question...
    After copy is written, approved and ready to go into production - who do agencies hire to perform the production?

    I know the question can be answered with intuitive competence, but I am looking for benchmarkable data to fend for or against my situation.
  • Posted on 12/2/2009 at 11:57 AM Accepted
    When you say the copy is "created," do you mean you have approved storyboards? If so, the next step would probably be to meet with a production company and select a director. Of course, you can get a few bids to be sure you've heard all the options before you select the folks who will do the work.

    Are you in or near a major market -- NY, LA, Chicago, etc.? If so, there are many options. Even most mid-sized markets have multiple options ... as long as the spot you've "created" doesn't require bizarre special effects. You'll want someone with connections to talent and editing facilities, of course.

    You can always contact the local cable company and/or broadcast stations and see how much help they can give you. Some are actually pretty good; others are relatively amateurish. Depending on your needs, this may be a route worth exploring.

    Finally, you might want to look into Spot Runner to see if they can help. Worth a stop on their website just to see if there's a simple/quick and inexpensive production alternative for you.
  • Posted on 12/2/2009 at 12:06 PM Accepted
    I didn't see your response posting until after I'd posted my suggestions.

    To answer your question, you do NOT hire a director of photography until you've settled on a production company to handle the project. There are too many other steps in the production process to jump right from storyboards to photography. And usually the production company has a roster of photography directors they use, and they will make recommendations based on the specific needs of your spot.
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