DRTV Production

Telling Your Story

Production is all about process . . . and creating a beautiful story.

At Cesari Direct, production of a direct response message is much like building an efficient, attractive and comfortable home. A strong, nationwide network of staff and partners, many of whom have formed a mutual respect and admiration, have worked together for years. These talented and dedicated writers, directors, producers and technical staff not only foster a daily environment of creativity and cooperation but also assure a prompt, on-budget delivery. Our state-of-the-art, in-house post production studio provides significant cost and time savings for our clients.

Starting with the pre-production phase which consists of approving the script, choosing locations, selecting lighting and sound crews, plus researching appropriate music, graphics, animation and actors, Cesari Direct has a reputation of quality and class.

The actual production phase includes the filming, recording and editing –depending upon on the form of media (television, radio, print or Internet). This work typically is done in several locations and filming rarely is completed in the sequence dictated by the script. Lighting, camera angles and talent availability often can determine the production schedule. All video footage, audio and print content is retained. Even though much of the material may not be included in the initial finished product, it is always available for future permutations of your package, minimizing your costs.

“We like to know that we always have the opportunity to go back and fine-tune a presentation depending upon the needs for a specific offer, situation, or season,” said Rick Cesari, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Cesari Direct. “After test marketing, we might elect to include more testimonials, or decide to change the offer. Anticipating some of these possible needs ahead of time, capturing all of the footage at once, allows us to do that and not have to go back and re-shoot or re-record. This saves our clients time and money.”

“In producing our OxiClean show, Cesari Direct really helped us refine our own ideas and product demonstrations. They continued to think creatively throughout the whole production making our show better than we expected.”

Joel Appel
Co-Founder and Former President of Orange Glo International, Inc., makers of OXICLEAN

“When a script comes from Cesari Direct, it always amazes me how clear, and well laid out the copy is for me to read. It always times out, and sounds great on TV.”

Jeff Laurence Gill
Voice Talent
Autumn Hill Studios

Production costs can vary depending upon the creative needs of the project, the number of shoot days required, and any location specifications. Short-form campaigns cost a minimum of $50,000 with a ceiling of approximately $350,000 while long-form programs begin at $250,000 and can run as much as $550,000. These fees typically include script, crew, locations, studio and editing.

Long or short form? There are both quantitative and qualitative factors that determine which time length to utilize. Long-form shows, also known as infomercials, are one-half hour in length, have higher price points and and are aimed at products that require more consumer education. Short-form, also known as “spots”, can be in a variety of time lengths including 5 minute, 2 minute, 1 minute and 30 seconds. Short-form spots are effective for products that are easily understood and have lower price points (typically less than $29.95). Additionally, short-form spots work well in generating leads and driving web traffic.

Once all of the production sequences are filmed or recorded, the post-production tasks begin. Tina O’Sullivan, Cesari Direct’s Post Production Supervisor, begins a variety of consultations with the client, Editor Dan Riley, Producer Megan Spong and Creative Director Ron Lynch to deliver a compelling, accurate story that educates, entertains and moves viewers and listeners.

“Our job is to tell the client’s story the best possible way we can,’’ O’Sullivan said. “The client comes first and often has years invested in a project. We strive to honor that with video, audio, colors, graphics and a great script.’’