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| Careful management is the key to success in producing advertising. If the production process is not handled correctly, an otherwise beautiful ad or commercial can be destroyed. The task of managing this process is the responsibility of a print production manager or an electronic media producer. The manager's job is to keep the project moving smoothly and under budget, while maintaining the required level of quality through every step of the production process. Production managers perform the classic functions of management: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. They also have to keep up with changing technology, monitor costs, and meet budgets. Many factors can destroy budgets. The five most common are inadequate planning and preparation, production luxuries, overtime, special equipment, and too many decision makers. Factors specific to each medium can also affect budgets drastically. The print production process consists of four phases: preproduction, production, prepress, and printing and distribution. In the preproduction phase, the manager plans the overall job carefully and then starts to deal with the specific needs of the job, such as typography. Typography affects an ad's appearance, design, and legibility. There are four important concepts when selecting type: readability, appropriateness, harmony or appearance, and emphasis. A key skill is copy casting, knowing how to fit type into a particular space in a layout. The production manager also considers what kind of paper will be used, since it affects the way the art is prepared. In the production phase, artists prepare mechanicals (or pasteups) of the art to be printed. Most agencies use sophisticated desktop publishing. The artists prepare the mechanicals as line art and use a photographic process to turn continuous-tone artwork into halftones. Halftone images (illustrations and photos) simulate gradations of tone with different sizes of black dots. In the prepress stage, the printer makes a plate from the base art and one from each overlay. Each mechanical must be photographed separately. For full color, four halftone plates are used (one for each color process color plus black). The set of negatives used to make the four plates is called a color separation. This work is now mostly done on large computerized scanner systems. The final phase of the production process includes the actual printing of the job, as well as cutting, embossing, binding, and shipping. Quality control is critical throughout the process. The production manager has to make sure computer disks are compatible with the reprographics service bureau and contain all the elements needed to produce the negatives. Along the way, the manager must check several printer's proofs for scratches or blemishes and to make sure traps and bleeds are handled correctly. Radio spots are among the quickest, simplest, and least expensive ads to produce. A producer manages the production process through the preproduction, production, and postproduction stages. The producer contracts with a recording studio, selects talent, and collects music and sound effects for the recording session. At the session, the talent works in a studio, while the director and sound engineer work in the control room at an audio console, monitoring and modulating the sound as it's recorded. In the postproduction phase, the director and sound engineer select the best takes, splice them together, mix in sound effects and music, and then edit the sound until the master tape is completed. Dubs are made from this and sent to radio stations for airing. Television production involves the same three stages. In preproduction, the producer determines which production technique is most suitable for the script: live action, animation, special effects, or a combination. The studio is chosen, the cast selected, and rehearsals held. As much work as possible is done during preproduction to reduce the shooting time required. The production phase is when the commercial is actually shot, in a studio, on a lot, or on location. Specialized technicians are responsible for the sound, lights, and cameras, all of which can diminish the commercial if not handled correctly. Scenes are shot and reshot until the director and producer feel they have a good take. For cost reasons, scenes are frequently not shot in order. The sound track may be recorded before or after the shoot. In the postproduction stage, the commercial is actually put together on either film or videotape. External sound and music are added to the video and the sound track until the master (or answer print for film) is completed. Then dupes are made and shipped to TV stations. A multimedia presentation provides information or entertainment using several communications media simultaneously, typically slides, video, and audio. The electronic capabilities of computer technology were added to the multimedia presentation to create digital media. Digital media are used in mass audience venues, private audience venues, and personal audience venues. The personal audience venue includes PC applications such as advertising on the Internet, with online database services, or via interactive TV and kiosks. Digital media are a whole new industry. The overall production process is similar to those of print and electronic media, but the details involve new technologies, terminologies, and costs that advertisers and agencies are not yet familiar with. This means opportunities for new people coming into the field. |