Broadcast quality?

Quite often we will have clients specifying that they require a ‘broadcast quality’ production.  The term is bandied about a lot and I think it’s origins most probably stem from the desire to achieve the image and production quality of programmes broadcast on television channels.

The problem with this whole idea is that the quality of television varies incredibly from high end documentaries filmed on 35mm to trashy fly-on-the-wall programmes filmed on consumer camcorders.  So in my opinion, the term ‘broadcast quality’ has become redundant!  Whole hour-long programmes are dedicated to police chase sequences comprising low-res shaky camcorder footage.  Are these broadcast quality productions?

Television channels do still adopt a fairly superior attitude in their technical commissioning specs when it comes to quality, however, this is often not reflected in the quality of what is actually output.  Discovery Channel do seem tighter – apparently only allowing a small percentage of final footage to be in the lower (none HD) acquisition formats.

So the question in my opinion is ‘how do we judge the quality of a production?’  I believe the answer is to not necessarily use television as an example!  Often television budgets are very tight indeed and the aims of the commissioners are to achieve big audiences with shock or so-called ‘wow factor’ programmes that do not hold high production values as the first priority.

For superb creativity and photography from the best professionals in the business, in my opinion, you’re better off looking at the television commercials, feature films and also corporate productions that need to demonstrate excellence in the craft of film and video.

James