I will be working on a commercial for broadcast on a local cable station and have a few questions.
Should I put some kind of lead in on the spot ? Like a count in of some sort?
Is a 60 second spot really 58 seconds? I've heard that is to alow one second at the head and at the tail of the spot.
Or better yet, What is the standard layout of the video to be presented for broadcast?

Thanks!

From my expirience, some TV stations have their rules. The best way is to call them and ask. Some prefer 5sec bars with 1kHz tone then 5 sec black, and after material 10 sec black. Some prefer other combinations, but also from my expirience lots of them hate counter.

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll give them a call. I'm kind of dreding the call because they offer there own video production so I might be stepping on some toes.

What is the standard or safe level for the audio? I would like it to be in the ball park.

Thanks again for your help.

I ussualy keep my peaks at -6 dB. No complains for now.