Packaging and formatting a program to meet broadcast specifications requires great technical skill and creative finesse.  We have prepared thousands for programs for national broadcast on PBS, History, Smithsonian and National Geographic channels.  Our editors create masterful transitions from tease to underwriting to program.  They have command over closed captioning, 5.1 audio and timing down to the frame.

Promos and Teases are a vital part in the success of every broadcast program.  Most experienced promo editors will tell you the importance of working from a basic theme.  Make sure to tell an intriguing story.  Use rhythm to help hold the attention of the audience and answer the all important who, what, where and when.  At p2p we understand and practice these skills.  We also know that most independent producers are trying to do all this on a budget.  We love to help guide our clients through this process and amaze them with the reasonable cost.

Underwriting spots provide an opportunity for your supporters to be recognized.  Pillar To Post is here to help you through all the technical guidelines.  We'll ensure that everything is timed properly and in place.

Your story is magnificent.  The message is compelling.  Editing is right on point.  Quality color grading will take you to the finish.  Our techniques drawn from over a quarter century of experience.  Understanding the origin of video from the camera lens, color balance in the body to the component video signal and digitization, gives us command over each and every shot.  The tools may have changed over the years, but the techniques for finishing color remain.  Our team knows how to provide just the right amount of creativity to meet your needs.

If your budget is tight, we can quickly and efficiently provide primary correction.  We'll give a natural consistent look from scene to scene.  The idea here is to provide a finished look where the viewer will enjoy the story without distraction of jarring color changes due to color balance or exposure issues.

Using the extraordinary tools now available our colorists can go even deeper with secondary color.  We'll isolate that troubled area and tame the effects of multiple light sources.  We can subtly use color to help set the mood.  You are welcome to come in and sit with us, or let us do our magic and we'll send you a proof for review.

They say that if sound is done correctly, it should not be noticed.  We understand that not all shooting situations are ideal.  You may not have had the best conditions.  Bring us your mix and we'll do the polishing work.  Our team is ready to eliminate that strange noise, smooth out the levels and bring it all to broadcast spec.

5.1 audio does not phase us.  We have the right tools to provide 5.1 from stereo or stereo from 5.1.  We can encode your final 5.1 mix to HDCam with Dolby E encoding.

Loudness control is one of the biggest technical challenges for broadcast audio mixers today.  We know all the Dial Norms and LKFS levels.  We have the tools to measure and the skills to manage the loudness of your mix.  There is no magic plugin that works in every situation.  We can pinpoint the cause of any level issue and provide a precision adjustment.

Quality control evaluation is the pillar around which our entire broadcast delivery package is built.  We provide our technicians and editors with extensive technical training.  All that training is then re-enforced by detailed checklists and loads of practice and mentoring.  Yes, we have automated equipment and QC stations that alert us of problems, but nothing can replace a properly trained human eye and judgment.  That's why our standard package includes eyes on every frame of the program three times.

Proper standards conversion is critical to broadcast, international and digital distribution of your program.  Our crew has analyzed, de-interlaced, inverse telecined, scaled and frame rate converted over 3000 programs for National Geographic, Acorn Media, History Channel and PBS.  All of these conversions have been accomplished through hardware based converters followed by appropriate legalization and scene by scene review.  We know the ins and outs of field dominence, enhancement, phase correlation and motion correction.  All you need to know is that the video will look as clean and true to the original as possible when we deliver.

Relying on a "broadcast safe" filter is a sure way to ruin good looking video and get rejected by most broadcasters.  Yes, when used properly these filters can speed up some of the color grading process.  However, a much better looking result can be obtained with a little more attention to detail.  Our video legalization process is perfect for those that don't have time or budget for a full color session.  We start with preliminary evaluation to identify any major luminance or black level issues.  We advise the producer if there are any shots that may result with undesirable clipping so that they can be addressed individually.   Finally, the video passes through a high end hardware based legalizer.  Our legalizers are set to match broadcast specs and meet component, encoded and RGB gamut.

Tape is not dead, yet.  We still have the machines to support delivery to broadcasters that require tape based delivery.  We can support nearly any tape format.  We'll master with the proper leader, slate, countdown, timecode and closed captioning.  We make sure the audio is on proper tracks and encode your multi-track audio with Dolby E if necessary.  Tape based mastering still has advantages over file based delivery.  Last minute changes can be inserted on the master tape and spot checked.  No need for another full evaluation.

Once the master is complete, we'll provide duplication for most any tape requirements.

File based delivery is now accepted by many broadcasters.  Pillar To Post can encode to virtually any requirement and then deliver via most of the popular accelerated file transfer systems.  We have regular deliverys to PBS via Sony Ci, Viacom via Signiant and National Geographic via Aspera.  Upon request we'll set up a dedicated FTP login for delivery through our super high speed fiber connections.

Reaching the deaf and hard of hearing community is just the beginning.  Closed captioning helps to educate our young and those learning to read.  Our caption files can be delivered as timecoded transcripts.  We settle for nothing less than the best quality FCC compliant captioning.  The p2p crew are experts at editing, reformatting, converting and encoding captions to both tape and file based masters.  If you need subtitles for your Blu-Ray or broadcast program, look no further than our team.  You can learn even more about our captioning here...

Reaching the visually impaired audience is the purpose for DVI. (Descriptive Video Information)  We like to describe DVI as a way to turn your program into a radio show.  A neutral voice is used to share the on-screen imagery with those that can't see.  This VO is timed and mixed with the program audio to create a DVI track that can be accessed through one of the secondary audio programs on the broadcast.  The US Department of Education is encouraging producers of educational programs to add DVI accessibility.  Pillar To Post can help you with the simple grant application process.  In many cases we can arrange for full DVI production and lay-back at no cost to the producer.