Veni. Vidi. Vici. Is your video HD? That is the question.
Don’t blink. Stay glued. Watch closely.
Was that TV commercial shot in 35 mm film or HD (High Definition)?
Millions of TV viewers won’t see the difference.
Unless told, even marketing and advertising people won’t see the difference either.
All they’ll see is the ad has rich color tones—green is green, red is red and all colors of the rainbow are captured just like nature made it.
But to a trained eye, that is another story.
Before 35 mm and HD, all TV commercials had washed-out color tones and easily faded.
They were probably shot in video with no color processing and grading done on them.
Today, as technology improved and moved forward, TV ads look as if they are made in Hollywood, so real you’d think images on screen would jump out from the TV sets.
The skin tones of women, in beauty soap commercials, for example, look supple, rosier, “like the petal of a rose,” to use a tagline once used by a product.
Those ads were shot in 35 mm film.
To the uninitiated, 35 mm is the classic way of filming a movie or commercial, using raw stocks of film, the ultimate medium meant to capture color at their highest intensity and define image quality to crispiest, sharpest, littlest detail.
The film is cut into 35 millimeter strips (about 1 3/8 inches) wide, therefore the name.
HD is the latest invention today with the advent of digital age, made to push filming quality to the level of 35 mm.
All over the world, HD has provided an amazing alternative to 35 mm—allowing editing ease and shortening the film process.
With a bonus at that—putting a smile to advertisers by cutting a big chunk off the production cost.
While the purists and the best cinematographers in the world would still choose to shoot in 35 mm over HD, the high cost of making a TV commercial in the Philippines and other parts of the world, however, is tilting the balance in favor of HD.
“Practically only 10 percent of commercials now are shot in 35 mm, the rest are using HD,” Desiree Beasley, a veteran Filipina TV commercial producer, says.
Beasley, who is celebrating her 22nd year in the industry, adds: “In many global markets, HD has cut into 35 mm film’s turf by a lopsided margin.”
“When time is the essence and clients want to save on cost without compromising on quality, HD provides a ready answer,” she says.
HD’s significant edge is that it allows TV commercial production houses to edit, delete and check on the spot without wasting rolls and rolls of film as one would on 35 mm.
A boon indeed to the ad industry, ensuring that TV commercials will continue to flourish even with the law of diminishing budgets and upsurge of new media.
Making a TV commercial
Apart from being expensive to do, the process is taxing and putting together all steps in one cohesive flow can be a logistical nightmare.
Thus, ad agencies hire the services of a producer who is adept at organizing—the navigator at this stage, tasked to deliver the creative intent of both client and ad agency.
“The role of a producer is to deliver cost-efficiency, get the best team and make sure all communication points seep down to the last member of the crew,” Beasley says matter-of-factly.
Beasley, who has practically done TV commercials for all product categories (telecom, detergents, personal care, dairy, food, alcohol and non-alcohol beverage, financial institutions, consumer durables, hotels among others), started out as a caster for the trailblazing “Bagong Tunog,” “Angat sa Iba” and “Bilib sa Pinoy” for Pop Cola a couple of years back.
She recently produced a number of TV commercials for San Miguel Beer Pale Pilsen, Smart-Department of Tourism campaign and Belo for Men skin lines.
When not producing projects for other clients, Beasley sits on the board of FluidPost as executive director.
The newest post-production house in Manila, FluidPost aims to provide a new excitement for ad agencies, corporate and production houses with a one-stop shop for cutting-edge production support (visual effects, animation and outstanding audio services).
Beasley has cut a name for herself in the industry as a professional. “Producers are not coordinators. One should be worth the talent he or she is paid for. If people treat them as coordinators, it’s their fault because they allowed themselves to be treated as such,” she says.
She has worked with the best creative minds in the industry starting with Minyong Ordoñez, Nonoy Gallardo and Tony Mercado, and credits Ding Fernandez and Marlon Rivera as her brilliant mentors.
She describes herself as very good at what she does and advises beginners to learn the trade before printing that word “producer” on their business cards.
TV is still king
Have you imagined a day without TV, your main source of prime information, entertainment and instant news?
Without a doubt, television is the most authoritative, influential and persuasive communication medium we have today and that hasn’t changed.
In spite of the new paradigm shift that unjustly labeled it as a traditional medium, the real queen of all media actually pays dividends in the form of deeper household penetration.
According to a National Statistics Office research and Mass Media survey, Filipinos spend a high number of hours watching TV—about 300 minutes every day, second to Japanese viewers.
From Aparri to Jolo our Aling Bebang of Tondo, Teacher Janet Maduro of Puerto Princesa or heiress Doña Henrietta de la Merced of Zamboanga spend TV viewing at any given time, reaching peak viewing between noon and 1 p.m. and on the prime time from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Metro Manila has the highest television penetration rate (percentage of population with TV sets) at 96 percent.
Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan have a combined TV penetration rate of 93 percent.
Luzon has an average TV penetration rate of 70 percent, Mindanao 63 percent and Visayas 60 percent.
Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces have the highest TV reach than any other region in the country.
So don’t even think that TV advertising isn’t worth it. The solid facts don’t lie.