Button Endings

Remember that one of your goals with a promo is to enlarge the perceived value of the show, and music is the best way to send that subconscious message to your viewers.  The way you end the promo is very important; it may be the only thing the viewer remembers about it!

One of your first decisions will probably be about whether or not you have a ‘button’ ending.  Like a joke, wink, nod or something that ties up or sums up the point of the promo.  They are not a bad thing, but not every promo needs a button ending!

Too Late

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you are crafting a button ending, and timing is everything.  The most common problem I usually see is that they are way too close to the end.

Let’s think about at a typical 30 second promo with a button ending.  The actual button event can be anything, and these principals will hold.

I have scored literally hundreds of promos and commercials, and the thing I see the most is that the breath AFTER the button event is neglected.  Often the button will be pushed as far to the end as it will fit, but this doesn’t give any room for the promo to really end; it just cuts off and the viewer is immediately hit with the next promo, commercial or whatever.  Just like a good piece of music, a promo has ups and downs and a certain pacing, and that pacing can only be within the confines of the allotted time.  Use that time wisely.  Think about pacing and give the end of the promo time to breathe AFTER the button.  Without that breath, the promo and the music just gets cut off, and the viewer is immediately slammed with the next spot on the air.

How do you get the right timing?

You could try editing from the back first.  This is a common way we compose music, finding the important parts and getting those laid out, then working around them.  It might also help to take another spot you have and slap it in immediately after the end of the one you are working on.  If you are making a 30 second spot, put another unrelated spot starting at exactly 31 seconds.  This will help you get the feel for how your spot will be perceived on air, and will better illustrate how you might need a little more time at the end of your spot than you thought!

With your ending in the right place, lay out the rest of the spot before it.  If you find that it is 40 seconds long (and starting at 01:59:50,) then just keep that ending where it is and squeeze your time out of the middle.

Should the music end or fade out?

In general I say it should fade out without an actual ending.  This makes the spot feel a little larger than its allotted space and scope.  Even for a custom scored spot I like it to fade rather than end.  There are times where an actual ending is preferred, though.  Like on a comedy spot, with quirky funny / weird music.  Or maybe a big orchestral finish, as long as you allow a couple of seconds AFTER the last note for the reverb tail (and for the spot to breathe a little!)

Whatever!

Of course this is all coming from a composer, for whom the feel and timing of a spot is very important.  Anyway, maybe this will get you thinking about new ways to take your promo to the next level!