Advertising pitch · Production guide
How to time a commercial pitch animatic against a scratch voiceover
Compare two eight-second REED edits with the same six frames held in the same order. Both scratch reads start at 2.000 s, and the end card arrives at 6.000 s.
Input and decision
Two original REED scratch recordings share one eight-second picture track and one synthetic voice. Compare their end times against the fixed end card.
Read the starting record
In the first row, “Time in (s)” is recorded as “2.000”. Its review entry under “Relation to the end card” reads “Overlaps end card by 0.957 s”.
Make the comparison
Mark 2 s and 6 s on the eight-second timeline. Ask the reader to start at the first mark and flag the word that lands beyond the second.
Worked record
The downloadable worksheet includes the records below and a blank row for your own project.
| Read | Time in (s) | Time out (s) | Read duration (s) | Relation to the end card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · long copy | 2.000 | 6.957 | 4.957 | Overlaps end card by 0.957 s |
| B · short copy | 2.000 | 4.981 | 2.981 | Leaves 1.019 s before end card |
| Fixed picture | 6.000 | 8.000 | 2.000 | End card held for two seconds |
Check the result
Keep the cut at 6.000 s and compare the voice against that fixed frame. Note whether the last word is still audible as the end card appears.
Hand off the revision
Send the scratch read and cut instructions as separate items. A later talent recording will need its own timing pass.
Review question
Which scratch read overlaps the REED end card, and by how much?
The long read ends at 6.957 s, overlapping the 6.000 s end card by 0.957 s. The short read ends at 4.981 s, leaving 1.019 s before the card. Both use the same synthetic voice and speaking rate.
Use the task on your own brief
Use a copy of the worksheet to keep the project’s source files, reviewed options and decisions together.