Our Publicity Requirements are as important as our physical tape requirements - enabling us to promote the programme effectively.

This is used by our Press, Publicity and Creative Services teams.

Provides information regarding what the programme is about, who presents it, who wrote it, etc. Examples of material could include a cast list.

This information is needed 6 to 8 weeks in advance of delivery in order to provide the best publicity/promotion for any programme but the earlier information is provided the better - even before pre-production if available.

BBC Scotland commissions that are unable to deliver DVDs should contact the BBC Scotland Press Office

Publicity Plans for Open University Programmes are co-ordinated by Media Relations staff at the Open University and agreed with BBC Public Relations. Their aim is to generate maximum positive coverage for the programmes and related OU courses and activities. A typical timetable of OU publicity activities for individual productions is here.

Photographic stills are used to publicise the programme. This process is managed by Picture Publicity for Network programmes, OU Media Relations for Open University programmes and the BBC Scotland Press Office for BBC Scotland programmes. Please contact them to agree format, style, content and quantity of photography in advance.

We need to receive:

• A number (to be agreed at time of commission) of high quality colour original images taken by a professional photographer for each programme in a series. These can be provided as digital images at a minimum size of 40mb as a raw file for set up and episodic shots. Alternatively stills can be supplied on original colour transparency film or negative film with corresponding contact sheet. All stills should be clearly numbered.
• A caption list corresponding with the images should indicate each image number, the programme title, photographer's name, the name of the subject, presenter or actor(s) who appears in each shot and if relevant the character(s) that they play.
• A list of any other approved shots to be supplied.

Amongst these pictures should be at least two generic set up images which best represent the whole series.

Set up

posed portraits of main cast, singles and significant pairs and groups. Taken under controlled conditions, art directed, lit and styled

Episodic

Unique images of key scenes or cast in each episode

The Photography must be of professional standard and should be of sufficiently different and varying content so as may be used together or separately across a broad spectrum of media without compromising each other.

Photographic stills are normally required 9 weeks in advance but our press/publicity teams should be involved at as early a stage as possible (essential on major series), preferably before filming commences.

Photographs should be fully cleared of copyright and artists' restrictions, including associated moral rights. Where archive or artwork photography is being supplied the images should be cleared for publicity without restriction.

The BBC or the OU may also commission its own photographer subject to agreement with the producer.

Note that screen grabs taken from the master are of very limited use, (news stories, websites), and are not acceptable for newspaper features or magazines.

For OU productions, the cost of commissioning a professional photographer to provide stills will need to be covered by the production budget.

Providing Production Scripts, Running Orders, or other documents that could be useful to subtitlers in advance greatly helps the subtitling process.

Please inform Access Services whether an electronic script will be available even if it is not available immediately. When available, please e-mail documents to Access Services (no later than the delivery date and ideally as early as possible).

If there are no electronic scripts available, paper documents provide an acceptable substitute.

Information about the special requirements for the English sub-titling of Gaelic programmes for BBC Craoladh nan Gaidheal is available here.

Trailing a programme ensures it gets maximum publicity. If your programme is to be promoted, you will be contacted to obtain trail material.

Example of requirements for material would be:

• broadcast quality graded rushes - source of 'clean' sound and uncaptioned pictures
• access to artists for filming/recording
• a version of the complete programme (often before its sound dub)

Precise delivery requirements are under review - these could be as early as several months prior to transmission. Note that we like to be involved in this process at as early a stage as possible.

This provides essential information, for example to:

• Red Bee Media Playout Planning Unit  who use the billings to collate the programme detail to produce the final transmission schedule
• Broadcasting Data Services (BDS) for circulation to listings magazines (including Radio Times) with the final transmission schedule
• EPG Unit  who supply billings to digital TV Electronic Programme Guides (EPGs) and the BBC's What's On Website.

What Billings Information do we Need?

In-house programme-makers and independents using the P4A system can find full information on our requirements on P4A. Other Independent producers may find the information and example billing here useful.

When do you submit this information?

The dates by which this information must be received varies for different channels:

NB It is essential that the relevant delivery date is met to ensure that your programme is properly advertised to viewers in printed and electronic programme listings. In cases where the final schedule slot has yet to be confirmed, Production can submit billings forms without the TX time filled in.

Independents will receive a P4A disc approximately 4 weeks prior to delivery date which contains all the necessary paperwork templates including the billing form. The paperwork should be completed on the disc and returned by your programme's delivery date.

www.Open2.net is the OU website for all University Broadcasts on the BBC. It features programme listings, programme summaries and expands on programme content. The web teams working on the programme related sites require certain assets from production teams in order to create and style the site appropriately.

Requirements:

• Programme/Series outline: approx 200-250 words - 6 weeks before delivery. (If appropriate these can be the same as delivered to OU Media Relations).
• Individual programme summaries - approx 200-250 words - 6 weeks before delivery. (If appropriate these can be the same as delivered to OU Media Relations).

Deliver to: Broadcast Project Co-ordinator, OBU

• Programme/Series titles: on conformed Beta (or Digibeta) and/or frame grabs from titles - 4 weeks before delivery. (Required to compliment programme style on the website).
• Finished programme: Beta (or Digibeta - 2 weeks before delivery - can be off-line version prior to dub. (Required for frame grabs for use on the website as appropriate/copyright allowing).

Deliver to: Open2.net Web Team