Assign one accountable owner per handoff, publish a shared workflow memo before the shoot, centralize every review on a single platform, and timebox revision rounds so notes do not linger for weeks. This structure draws on broadcast production standards and dailies practices built for high-volume studio pipelines, and it scales down cleanly for agencies working with a lean post-production partner like 35milimetre.
TL;DR:
- Establishing a clear workflow memo before production ensures consistent technical standards, such as codecs, frame rates, and naming conventions, to prevent delays.
- Implementing a standardized handoff checklist, including file naming, backups, proxies, and metadata, reduces post-shoot file mismatches and missing data.
- Using the appropriate collaboration tools, like cloud-based or shared storage, and connecting review platforms to task systems minimizes ambiguous feedback and revision cycles.
- Assigning a single accountable owner per handoff step and tracking review durations helps prevent bottlenecks and reduces unnecessary rework.
- Smaller, senior-led teams that consolidate vendor work can improve creative consistency and shorter review rounds, especially when supported by AI tools and disciplined workflows.
Table of Contents
- Pre-production planning: building a workflow memo and technical prep
- Production-to-post handoff checklist: ingest, backups, proxies, and metadata
- Cutroom collaboration: NLE workflows, VFX handoffs, color, and editorial QC
- Choosing and configuring review platforms, shared storage, and integrations
- RACI owners and measurable checkpoints to gate work and reduce rework
- Dailies, QC timing, and a deliverable spec checklist editors will love
- 35milimetre: practical tips from studio experience and proof points
- How 35milimetre can help: relevant services and next steps
- Sources
- FAQ
Pre-production planning: building a workflow memo and technical prep
Most post-production friction starts before a single frame is shot. A workflow memo, distributed to every department before production begins, is the single document that prevents the guesswork that turns into rework later. Adobe's guidance on learning from broadcast production frames this as mapping the workflow first, then standardizing it, so technology serves the creative work instead of becoming the thing everyone has to manage.
The memo should specify:
- Codecs and proxy resolutions for editorial, plus any LUTs or ASC CDL values tied to the color pipeline.
- Frame rates, deliverable specs, and the folder structure everyone will use from ingest through finishing.
- Metadata and naming conventions, agreed before day one, not improvised on set.
Workflow meetings need the right people in the room: the DP and DIT understand what the camera and color pipeline can actually deliver, the editor and post producer know what editorial needs to cut efficiently, and VFX or sound leads flag anything that changes capture requirements. Skipping any of these voices tends to surface as a costly surprise three weeks into the edit.
Dailies planning belongs in this same conversation. Deciding render windows and QC specs early, rather than after the first day of footage arrives, keeps editorial working instead of waiting.
Pro Tip: Attach the workflow memo to the call sheet distribution list so it reaches every department automatically, not just the ones you remember to email.
Production-to-post handoff checklist: ingest, backups, proxies, and metadata
A handoff fails in predictable ways: mismatched file names, missing proxies, metadata nobody exported. A standardized checklist closes most of that gap before it becomes an editorial delay.
- Apply a consistent file naming scheme with unique identifiers per clip; assign one person to rename duplicates immediately, not at the end of the day.
- Back up footage to at least two separate drives before the originals leave set, and verify ingest with checksums rather than a visual spot check.
- Hand over proxies alongside full-resolution media, with metadata exported in the same pass so editorial never has to reconstruct it manually.
- Send an end-of-day report covering card counts, any technical issues, and confirmation that backups completed.
- Hold every stakeholder to the same SLA for delivering dailies to editorial, agreed in the workflow memo, not negotiated fresh each day.
Our handoff checklist covers the deliverables and folder structure side of this in more detail for agencies building their own version.
Cutroom collaboration: NLE workflows, VFX handoffs, color, and editorial QC
Once footage lands in the edit, the tool you choose for collaboration shapes how much friction the team feels every day. Adobe's Productions and Team Projects documentation draws a clear line: Productions works well for local or shared-storage collaboration, while Team Projects is built for cloud-native teams spread across locations. A Premiere Pro Productions workflow guide recommends keeping individual projects small inside a Production, which lowers the odds that two editors lock the same sequence at once.
Decentralized clones, where editors work on local copies and sync later, can work for small teams but require disciplined metadata practices to avoid relinking headaches during conform.
Practical rules that keep the cutroom moving:
- Lock projects before stepping away, and communicate locks in a shared channel so nobody waits on a mystery.
- Hand VFX teams plates with reference frames, LUTs, and color metadata attached, not sent separately after the fact.
- Run spotting sessions before finishing begins, so VFX and color know exactly what needs attention.
- Use approval stamps or a gated signoff step so a shot cannot move to finishing until editorial has actually accepted it.
Gated signoffs matter more than they sound. A shot that slips into color without editorial approval often comes back for rework, which costs more time than the extra review step would have.
Choosing and configuring review platforms, shared storage, and integrations
Ambiguous feedback is the most common cause of extra revision rounds, and it is almost always a tooling problem rather than a talent problem. A single review platform for frame-accurate annotation gives every stakeholder the same timecode reference, which removes the back-and-forth of "which version, which frame" that eats a review cycle.
- Centralize all review and approval in one platform so version history and comment threads live in one place.
- Standardize shared storage paths for Productions and confirm network speed before rollout: Adobe's shared storage guidance recommends a minimum of 1Gbps per workstation, with 10Gbps recommended for larger productions with multiple simultaneous users.
- Connect the review tool to your task system so comments become assigned action items instead of getting lost in a thread.
Automation is worth a closer look here too. Some agencies report meaningful productivity gains from AI-assisted tools that reduce manual steps in review and delivery, though the core discipline is still keeping the NLE as the single source of truth so nobody is context-switching between five tools to find the current cut.
Pro Tip: Before adding a new tool to the stack, ask whether it replaces a step or just adds another place to check for updates.
RACI owners and measurable checkpoints to gate work and reduce rework
Every handoff needs one name attached to it, not a department. A compact RACI structure works for most agency-post relationships:
- Creative lead: owns creative intent and final sign-off on tone and story.
- Post producer: owns the schedule, dependencies, and vendor coordination.
- Editor: owns the cut and communicates technical constraints back to the team.
- Client approver: owns the sign-off that closes each review round.
A practical agency operating model tracks review-round count, average time-to-approval, unresolved notes, and percent rework as the health metrics of a handoff, an approach synthesized from Adobe's broadcast production guidance on mapping bottlenecks before automating around them. A reasonable target is three to seven business days per review round; anything consistently longer signals an approval bottleneck worth fixing before the next project starts.
Checkpoints work best as actual gates. Nothing moves to the next stage until the acceptance criteria for the current one are met, which stops half-finished work from compounding downstream.
Dailies, QC timing, and a deliverable spec checklist editors will love
Dailies are a cross-department responsibility, not just a technical task handed to one assistant editor. Netflix's dailies best practices call for rendering, QC, and distribution within roughly 12 hours of wrap unless the team has agreed otherwise, with DP, DIT, editorial, VFX, and color all involved in the technical prep that makes that timeline realistic.
A deliverable checklist worth adopting:
- Confirm proxy codec and resolution match what the memo specified.
- Burn in timecode and frame data so review notes reference the same frame every time.
- Include LUT and ASC CDL notes with every delivery, not just the first one.
- Export an ALE alongside the media so metadata travels with the footage.
Testing the pipeline on day one, before the full shoot depends on it, catches conform problems while they are still cheap to fix.
35milimetre: practical tips from studio experience and proof points
Smaller, senior-led teams tend to cut review rounds simply because fewer people are interpreting the brief. A compact team works directly on each project rather than routing it through layers of account management, which keeps creative intent consistent from the first draft to final delivery. That structure blends AI-assisted tools with handcrafted retouching and compositing, an approach we go into further in our studio collaboration process.
— 35mm
How 35milimetre can help: relevant services and next steps
If your agency is managing color grading, compositing, 3D renders, and packaging across separate vendors, consolidating that work with one studio removes a layer of handoffs, not just a layer of invoices. 35milimetre handles photo compositing and retouching, 3D modeling and rendering, AI product compositing, and packaging design, which covers most of what an agency needs between a raw asset and a marketplace-ready image.
| Pain point | Relevant service | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Inconsistent retouching quality across vendors | Photo compositing and retouching | Product and campaign imagery |
| Slow turnaround on 3D assets | 3D Modeling, from $175 one-off | Product visualization |
| Generic AI output that looks templated | AI Product Compositing | E-commerce and ad creative |
| Packaging that needs to survive a rebrand | Packaging Design | CPG and retail clients |
New agency partners typically start with a short onboarding call covering deliverable specs and timelines, then move into a project brief. Visit the 35milimetre services page to check current availability and start that conversation.
Sources
- Learning from broadcast production — Adobe Premiere documentation
- Dailies: Best practices — Netflix Partner Help Center
- Premiere Pro Productions workflow guide — Editors Guild / workflow PDF
FAQ
What should a workflow memo include before a shoot?
A workflow memo should cover codecs, proxy resolutions, frame rates, LUTs or ASC CDL values, deliverable specs, and the folder and naming conventions everyone will follow. Distributing it with the call sheet ensures every department, from DIT to editorial, works from the same technical baseline.
How fast should dailies be delivered to editorial?
Dailies should generally be rendered, QC'd, and distributed within about 12 hours of wrap, unless the production team has agreed on a different timeline. Meeting that window depends on cross-department planning done before the shoot starts.
What is the difference between Productions and Team Projects?
Productions supports collaboration on local or shared storage, while Team Projects is built for cloud-native teams working from different locations. Both use project locking to prevent two editors from working on the same sequence simultaneously.
How many revision rounds should a project typically take?
There is no universal number, but timeboxing each round to a set window, often three to seven business days, keeps feedback from stalling a project indefinitely. Tracking review-round count and time-to-approval helps a team spot when a handoff is at risk before it derails the schedule.
Does 35milimetre work directly with agencies on post-production?
Yes, 35milimetre works with ad agencies on services including photo compositing, retouching, 3D rendering, and packaging design, with pricing available on the studio's service pages. Projects are handled by a small, senior team rather than routed through multiple account layers.