Post production project tracking: versions, notes and deliverables
Post-production is where a video job spends most of its weeks and shows the least visible progress. A tracker that follows versions and deliverables, not just tasks, makes it visible.
The short answer
Track post on three levels. The stage (offline edit, VFX and graphics, grade, sound, conform and deliverables), each with a date and an owner. The version (every export that goes to the client, named with the stage and the number, with its notes and its approval). And the deliverables list (every final file the client receives, with its spec, checked off when it is exported and verified). Keep all three on the same project so anyone can see where the job is without asking the editor.
Why post is hard to track
Pre-production has a checklist and the shoot has a call sheet. Post has an editor in a dark room for three weeks. From outside, day four and day fourteen look the same. Meanwhile, notes come in from several people, versions multiply, and the deliverables list at the end, with its aspect ratios, captions and cutdowns, is longer than anyone remembered at the quote stage.
Tracking post well is less about the edit itself and more about the edges: when versions go out, what notes come back, and what has to exist on delivery day.
Level 1: stages
Break post into the stages your jobs actually go through. A typical list for a small team:
| Stage | Owner | Ends with |
|---|---|---|
| Ingest and sync | Assistant or editor | Footage organised, synced, backed up |
| Offline edit | Editor | Rough cut, then fine cut, approved |
| Graphics and VFX | Motion designer or VFX artist | Shots and titles in the cut |
| Picture lock | Editor and client | No more timing changes |
| Grade | Colourist | Graded master |
| Sound | Sound designer or mixer | Final mix and stems |
| Conform and deliverables | Editor | All files exported and checked |
Each stage gets a start date, a due date and an owner. Picture lock is the date that matters most: after it, timing changes ripple into graphics, grade and sound, and they cost more. Put it on the schedule as its own item, and make sure the client knows what it means.
Level 2: versions
Every cut that leaves the edit suite is a version. Name each one with the project, the stage and a number: brandfilm_rough_v1, brandfilm_rough_v2, brandfilm_fine_v1. Never reuse a name, never send "final_final".
For each version, record:
- The date it went to the client
- Who reviewed it
- The notes that came back, as a numbered list with timecodes
- The decision: approved, approved with changes, or another round
This record answers the questions that otherwise take an afternoon of digging: which version did they approve, when did they ask for the shorter ending, how many rounds has the fine cut had. It also lets you count rounds against the quote. See the client approval process for video for the review side.
Notes against versions
Notes only make sense next to the version they were given for. A note that says "cut the second shot" means something different on v2 than on v4. Store notes with the version, with the timecode at the start of each line:
Fine cut v2, notes from Sam (marketing), received 12 Nov 0:08 Swap to the wider shot of the lobby 0:23 Logo is on screen too long, trim by a second 0:41 Typo in the lower third: "Avenue" 1:02 Music swell feels early, hold until the cut to exterior
The editor works through the list and ticks each line. When the next version goes out, the notes from the last one are either done or explained. Nothing gets lost in an email chain.
Level 3: the deliverables list
The deliverables list is the most underestimated part of a post job. A brand film commission can turn into a master in 16:9, a 9:16 and a 1:1 cutdown, a 15-second and a 6-second version, files with and without captions, stems for the agency and a ProRes and an H.264 of each. That is easily twenty files.
Write the list at the quote stage, with the spec for each file: resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate, codec, audio format, captions. Put it on the project as a checklist. On delivery, tick each file when it is exported and again when it has been watched through. Delivery day goes wrong when the list exists only in the client's head and appears in an email the evening before.
Freelancers in post
Small post teams bring in freelancers for graphics, VFX shots, the grade or the mix. Give each one a defined piece on the tracker: the shots they own, the version of the cut they are working to, the spec and the date. When picture changes after they have started, tell them which shots changed and send the new EDL or reference. Freelancers working to an old cut is a common and expensive mistake.
A daily look and a weekly review
Each day, the editor or producer updates the stage statuses and logs any version that went out. Two minutes. Each week, look at the whole job: is picture lock still on its date, how many rounds has each stage used against the quote, is the deliverables list complete, is any freelancer waiting on something. If a client review is late, the schedule moves by the same number of days, and the client hears that in the weekly update.
Budget during post
Post overruns are usually extra rounds and extra deliverables. Track both against the quote as they happen. When the client adds a cutdown that was not on the list, say so before you export it, with the cost. When the fine cut goes to a third round, say so before you start it. Milestone payments for creative studios covers how to bill a long post job in stages, so a delay in approvals does not delay all of your income.
Doing this in OIO
OIO is project management for small studios. A post job is one project page with its stages as tickets on a timeline, each with a date and an owner, so picture lock and the client reviews sit next to the grade and the mix. Each cut goes up on its ticket as a new version, so the ticket holds v1, v2 and v3 with their comments. The client plays the cut and comments at the second, optionally on a spot of the paused frame, as numbered markers on the timeline, and clicks Approve this version; OIO keeps who approved which version and when.
The deliverables list is a checklist on the delivery ticket. Freelance colourists, mixers and motion designers work from a link to their ticket with no account and no seat. OIO is not a media asset manager and has no frame-stepping player, timecode burn-in or editing software integration; rushes stay on your drives. Large final files go out through OIO's file transfer, and the invoice comes from the same project. More on OIO for video production.
Questions
How do I track a post-production project?
On three levels: the stages with owners and dates, every version sent to the client with its notes and decision, and the deliverables list with a spec for each file. Keep all three on the same project.
What is picture lock and why does it matter for tracking?
Picture lock is the point where the edit's timing stops changing. After it, graphics, grade and sound build on the locked cut, so timing changes cost much more. Give it its own date on the schedule.
How should I name edit versions?
Project, stage and number, for example brandfilm_fine_v2. Never reuse a name and never send a file called final, because there is always another version.
What goes on a post-production deliverables list?
Every file the client receives, with resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate, codec, audio format and captions. Write it at the quote stage and tick each file off when it is exported and checked.