Signing a deal with a sales agent or distributor feels like the ultimate victory lap. But the moment the champagne flatlines, the real work begins. It is time to face the Delivery List.

For independent filmmakers, opening a standard deliverables schedule can spark instant budget panic. Fulfilling every technical, audio, and legal requirement can easily cost thousands, sometimes rivaling the production budget of an ultra low budget short film.

The secret to surviving this stage? Negotiate your delivery list before signing any sales agreement, and build your digital archive as you cut your film, not after. Here is the essential delivery breakdown every indie filmmaker needs to store in the cloud before taking their art to market.

1. Video Masters

Visualizing the master timeline.

• QuickTime ProRes Master: Fully graded, uncompressed or Apple ProRes (422 HQ or 4444) file containing the full uncompressed audio mix in both Stereo and 5.1 surround.
• QuickTime H.264 Master: A lightweight, high quality reference file (typically around 7GB) for quick online screening and digital viewing.
• Textless Masters (ProRes & H.264): Fully graded video masters strictly without titles, lower thirds, or end credits. This enables foreign buyers to localize graphics.
• Digital Cinema Package (DCP): An unlocked DCP for theatrical screening. As a rule of thumb, never home brew a DCP with amateur software for commercial delivery because a corrupted file will fail quality control.
• Quality Control (QC) Report: An official pass or fail evaluation report from a reputable post production facility verifying your picture and audio meet broadcast standards.

2. Audio Masters & Stems

Perfecting the final sound mix.

• Sound Master Mix: Discrete, uncompressed WAV files containing the final 5.1 and Stereo mixes.
• Music & Effects (M&E) Mix: Discrete WAV audio files containing all sound effects, foley, and score. This mix excludes all spoken dialogue, which foreign distributors require to dub your film into other languages.
• Sound Mix Stems & Soundtrack: The full Pro Tools project stems alongside standalone stereo WAV files of all original soundtrack music.

3. Marketing & Legal Assets

Organizing your intellectual property.

• Official Trailer: Delivered in ProRes and H.264, complete with textless versions and discrete audio mixes.
• Layered Key Art & Poster Files: Multi layered Adobe Photoshop (.PSD) or Illustrator (.AI) files with isolated text layers so foreign distributors can easily translate billing blocks and titles.
• Chain of Title Documents: Executed contracts for every writer, director, producer, composer, cast member, and crew member, plus location and appearance releases.
• Music Cue Sheet: A timecoded list detailing every piece of music used, artist info, rights holders, and exact duration. This is mandatory for performing rights organizations to pay royalties.
• Final Cut Script Transcript: A precise, timecoded word for word transcript of all spoken dialogue and on screen action matching the final edit.

Master the Hand Off

Distribution friction should not stand between your art and its audience. Organize your assets during post production, not months after your premiere.

When you bring a meticulously organized master drive to the table, you instantly separate yourself from the amateur crowd.

At ELEVI, we respect the immense effort it takes to cross the finish line. That is why we offer a creator first ecosystem that pays a strict 70% revenue split directly back to the filmmaker. Prepare your deliverables, protect your art, and partner with a platform that values your cinema.