Workflow and post planning: a checklist to go through before deciding

The most useful question in workflow planning is also the simplest: where does this programme end up, and in what form? A broadcaster may ask for a specific file wrapper, loudness target and caption format. A venue screen or a streaming platform asks for something quite different. If you settle that first, every earlier choice, from camera format to storage, can be checked against it instead of being corrected later.

We ask producers to send the delivery specification before anything else, even when it is still a draft. Where there is no written specification yet, we note the assumptions in plain language and ask the commissioner to confirm them. A two-line confirmation by email at this stage has saved more late nights than any piece of equipment we own.

It also helps to name the person who signs off the final file. Technical acceptance and editorial approval are often two different people, and knowing both early keeps the last day calm.

• Final delivery format, frame rate and resolution
• Loudness and caption requirements
• Who gives technical acceptance and who gives editorial approval
• Latest time a finished file can reach the broadcaster

Ingest looks like a technical detail until a card goes missing. Before the shoot, decide who offloads media, onto which drives, and who checks that every clip has copied correctly. Two copies on separate drives is our minimum, and one of them leaves the building by a different route from the other.

Agree a naming convention with the whole crew in advance. Camera operators, the audio team and the edit all need to find the same material without asking. A simple pattern covering date, camera and sequence number is enough, as long as everyone uses it from the first clip.

Think about volume as well. A multi-camera studio day can produce more footage than a small team expects, and storage that is nearly full by mid-afternoon causes pressure at the worst moment. We estimate the data per hour for each camera and add a margin before recommending drives.

• Named person responsible for offload and verification
• Two verified copies before any card is reused
• Shared file naming pattern agreed before the shoot
• Storage sized with a margin above the estimate

Titles, lower thirds, captions and logos are often treated as something done at the end. In practice they depend on approved spellings, brand artwork and timings that only the producer can supply. We ask for the full list of names and job titles early, because a misspelt surname on air is the error viewers notice and remember.

For live or near-live programmes, playout is its own chain with its own rehearsal. Decide how clips, graphics and live sources are cued, who calls them, and what happens if one fails. A written running order with timings gives the gallery something concrete to work from and the presenter something to trust.

Where a programme goes out in a fixed slot, we build in a rehearsal of the whole chain on the same equipment that will be used on the day, rather than testing each part in isolation.

• Approved names, titles and artwork supplied in good time
• Running order with timings for every item
• Fallback agreed for each graphic or clip that could fail
• A full rehearsal of the playout chain on the day's equipment

Be honest about how many review rounds the schedule can hold. Each round needs time for the editor to make changes, for the reviewer to watch the result and for comments to be gathered into one list. Several people sending separate notes is the usual cause of delay, so we recommend a single point of contact on the client side.

Versions deserve a line in the plan. A broadcast cut, a shorter web edit and a subtitled copy are each real work, with their own checks. Listing them at the start lets us allow time for them properly instead of treating them as an afterthought on delivery day.

Finally, agree how long the project files and rushes are kept, and who holds them. An archive decision made after the programme is finished is usually made in a hurry.

• One consolidated set of notes per review round
• Every required version listed with its format
• Retention period and location for rushes and project files

A good plan names who does what on each day. Producer, workflow engineer, editor and graphics operator should each know their handover points. When responsibilities overlap or sit with nobody, problems surface at the very end of the schedule, when there is least room to solve them.

Look at the calendar as well. Mid autumn brings earlier darkness and busy event diaries, and crews and edit suites are booked up sooner. Locking dates for the edit and delivery at the same moment as the shoot date avoids the common situation where filming goes to plan and the finishing slot does not exist.

Finally, ask what would happen if one link in the chain failed. If the answer is a shrug, the plan is not finished. A spare drive, a second route for the file, a named person to call: these are small items, and they are the ones that matter.

• Named owner for every handover point
• Edit and delivery dates fixed alongside the shoot date
• A stated response for each single point of failure

None of this needs to be settled in one sitting. Bring what you know to a first call and we mark the gaps, which is usually most of the useful work. Producers often find that three or four open questions explain why a schedule felt uncertain.

We write the answers into a short plan that every member of the crew can read in a few minutes. It records formats, responsibilities, dates and fallbacks in plain language, and it is updated as decisions change, so the version on the desk is always the current one.

If you are comparing options before committing, ask each provider the same questions and compare the answers rather than the promises. Clear, specific replies tell you a great deal about how the work will go.