Forty files from one film
A campaign film has a 60-second master. The client also needs 30, 15 and 6-second cutdowns, each in 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 and 4:5, with burnt-in subtitles for social, a clean version for broadcast with a separate audio mix, and English and Welsh versions. Some go to a media agency with its own technical specs.
The producer keeps a spreadsheet. The editor keeps a list on a sticky note. Exports are named however the editor chose that day. A week after delivery, the media agency rejects two files for the wrong loudness level, and the client asks where the Welsh 9:16 15-second version is. It was never made.
Why deliverables fall through
- The list of deliverables lives with the producer, but the work is done by the editor.
- Specs differ by platform and by media agency, and change between campaigns.
- File naming is inconsistent, so matching exports to the list is manual.
- Technical checks, such as loudness, frame rate and resolution, are done by eye, or not at all.
- Late changes to the master mean every derived file must be re-exported, and some are missed.
What missed deliverables cost
Rejected files hold up campaign launches. Missing versions are noticed by the client at the worst time. Re-exports after a late change to the master take editor time that was not planned. And a delivery with gaps makes a well-made film look carelessly finished. The editor, who knows the film best, ends up doing hours of repetitive exporting and checking at the end of a job, which is the part of the work most likely to go wrong when someone is tired.
How we build the deliverables matrix
- At the start of a job, the deliverables are entered as a matrix: length, aspect ratio, language, subtitles, audio mix and destination, with the spec for each.
- Specs can come from saved templates for common destinations, or from the client's or media agency's spec sheet.
- Each deliverable gets a standard file name, generated from its row, which the editor uses when exporting.
- When exports land in the delivery folder, they are matched to their row by name and checked automatically for resolution, frame rate, duration, codec and loudness against the spec.
- Files that fail a check show in red with the reason, before anything goes to the client.
- If the master changes after deliverables are made, every file derived from it is marked as needing re-export.
- The matrix view shows done, failed, and not started, so the producer and editor see the same list.
| Deliverable field | Checked against export |
|---|---|
| Length | Duration of the file |
| Aspect ratio and resolution | Frame size |
| Frame rate and codec | File properties |
| Loudness | Measured audio level against the spec |
| Language and subtitles | File name and a spot check by a person |
Delivering the next campaign
The producer builds the matrix from the media agency's spec sheet and the client's list. The editor exports with the generated file names. Two 9:16 files fail the loudness check and are fixed before delivery. The Welsh 15-second 9:16 shows as not started, so it is made.
When the client changes a line in the master, the matrix marks every derived file for re-export, and the editor works through them from the list rather than from memory.
The delivery email is generated from the matrix too, listing every file with its spec, which the media agency can check against their own sheet before they start trafficking the campaign.
Is this your delivery week?
- Deliverables are tracked on a spreadsheet the editor does not use.
- Files have been rejected for technical specs.
- Versions have been missed until the client asked.
- File names vary from job to job.
- Late master changes lead to missed re-exports.