A JPEG logo on a white background
The edit starts on Monday. The editor needs the client's logo as a vector or transparent file, the brand fonts, the colour values, the end card, a legal line, and product shots for a graphics sequence. The producer asked for them in the kick-off email. On Monday, the client sends a JPEG of the logo on a white background, a link to a brand guidelines PDF from a few years ago, and says the fonts are on the way.
The editor uses a system font as a placeholder, cuts out the logo as best she can, and builds graphics that will need redoing. The fonts arrive on Thursday. The brand team, when they review, say the colour values in the old guidelines have changed.
Why assets arrive wrong
- Clients do not know which formats editors need.
- Assets sit with the brand or design team, not the marketing contact.
- Old guidelines are sent because they are the ones people can find.
- Font licences may not allow sharing, and nobody checks.
- Requests are one line in a kick-off email.
Whether a font licence allows your use is set by the font's licence terms, and your client should confirm it. We make sure the question is asked and the answer recorded.
What late assets cost
Graphics built on placeholders are rebuilt, which is editor time nobody charges for. Colour and font mistakes reach client reviews and create extra rounds. Edits start late, squeezing the rest of the schedule. And the producer spends the first week chasing files. On jobs with a fixed delivery date, such as a conference or a launch, those lost days at the start are taken out of the end, usually from the grade, the mix or the client's final review.
How we build the asset request
- Each job has an asset list generated from the film type and deliverables: logo, fonts, colours, guidelines, product images, end card, legal lines, music preferences.
- Each item says what format is needed and why, in plain words: a logo as SVG or transparent PNG so it sits on any background.
- The client gets a link to an upload page with one slot per item, and can assign items to colleagues in the brand or design team.
- Uploads are checked automatically: logos for transparency and resolution, images for size, fonts for file type. Problems are shown to the uploader straight away.
- Font uploads ask the client to confirm the licence allows use in the project.
- Reminders go before the edit starts, and the producer sees what is still missing.
- Approved assets are placed in the job's folder in the structure your editors use.
| Asset | Checked for |
|---|---|
| Logo | Vector or transparent, sufficient resolution |
| Fonts | File type, licence confirmation |
| Colour values | Given as hex or RGB, matching current guidelines |
| Product images | Resolution for the graphics planned |
| End card and legal lines | Approved by the client |
The next job's first week
At kick-off, the client gets the asset link and passes the fonts and logo to their design team. The designer uploads a JPEG logo, sees a message saying a transparent version is needed, and uploads an SVG instead. The fonts arrive with a licence confirmation. By Friday, the producer sees everything but one product image, and a reminder goes out.
On Monday the editor opens the job folder and starts with the real assets.
Assets are kept against the client, not just the job. When the same client comes back for another film, the producer starts with last time's assets and only asks the client to confirm nothing has changed, which saves everyone a week.
Is this how assets arrive?
- Logos arrive as JPEGs.
- Fonts arrive after the edit has started.
- Old brand guidelines are sent.
- Graphics are rebuilt after client review.
- The producer spends days chasing files.