A Guide to Video Deliverables
Reading Time: 3 mins
Let’s talk about deliverables. You can think about deliverables as the “finished products” or the last things the video production team delivers to a client.
Deliverables are delivered in the final step of the production process, otherwise known as the (you guessed it) delivery step. Yes, it’s actually an entire step requiring a fair amount of time and attention paid to the creation, packaging, and transfer of video deliverables as well as other important details like music licensing, meeting broadcast standards, attaining copyright permissions, and performing quality assurance checks.
Deliverables should be decided upon and defined in the discovery step of the production process, long before any creative brainstorming or video shooting begins. Deliverables are outlined as part of the project scope, a document that also stipulates the goals, timeline, and budget, so that the production team can develop and execute a production plan that stays on schedule and on budget.
Deliverables can be costly and time-consuming to create for the production team, requiring investments of time, software, and hardware to get the job done, so be sure that your deliverables are clearly defined from the get-go. No one wants to have an uncomfortable conversation about scope creep right before a deadline. Nor do you want to go over budget for deliverables you thought were included in the project scope.
Below are a few key considerations to think through when defining video deliverables:
Distribution: Where will your videos live?
Will your videos go live on a website, a social media platform, television, or screened at an conference? Maybe the same videos will live in a few different places? Be sure to communicate where each deliverable will live to your video production partner. Its distribution will dictate how your video partner needs to treat a slew of technical specifications (e.g. resolution, codecs, aspect ratios, color space, sound mix, etc.). Distribution standards vary across platforms, and ignoring them is kind of like trying to fit a square peg through a round hole.
Resolution: 4K or HD?
The higher the resolution the better the quality. However, better quality means a larger file size, making your video more difficult to share and stream online. So when should you choose 4K and when should you choose HD.
4K – Go with a higher resolution (ultra-high definition or higher) if you’re planning to screen your video at an event (e.g. film festival or conference) or it’s destined for television (e.g. commercial), or if it will be featured on a website (e.g. an explainer video embedded via a high-quality video player like YouTube or Vimeo).
HD – Go with a lower resolution (full high definition) if you’re planning to post your videos to social media platforms or expect your audience to mostly watch on their phones. You want to ensure that your video plays smoothly over data, so a smaller file is best. Your viewers won’t be distracted by pixel detail, but they certainly will be distracted by choppy playback.
Codec: ProRes or H.264?
Codecs are bits of software that compress video files. The ProRes codec performs the least amount of compression, offering maximum quality for your final video, but creates a large file (gigabytes, at least) that’s more difficult to share and stream. The H.264 codec performs significantly more compression to ensure that video files stream flawlessly online.
ProRes – If your video is screening in a setting where sacrificing even the slightest decrease in quality is unacceptable (e.g. film screening or opening hype video at an event or conference), go with ProRes. Also, if you’re planning to recut or recycle the footage from your video in future projects, order a separate ProRes version for your archives.
H.264 – If your video is destined for the web, H.264 is the way to go. This codec is designed to make your video light and nimble on the web, minimizing hiccups while looking just as good as ProRes to the naked eye.
Runtime: How long (or short) should they be?
Is your video a commercial that needs to be exactly 30 seconds long? Is it a brand video you want to be 90 seconds or less? Do you want several cutdowns (30 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds) of the same video to post on social media? Should your video loop seamlessly to appear infinite? Be sure to communicate these details to your video partner.
Aspect Ratio: Horizontal, Square, Portrait, or Vertical?
Social media platforms and video hosting sites all have their own preferred video aspect ratios. The most common are 16:9/horizontal (YouTube, Vimeo, Television), 1:1/square (Instagram, Facebook carousels), 4:5/portrait (Instagram), and 9:16/vertical (Instagram, Tik Tok).
Project Scope: So how many deliverables do you need?
Let’s imagine that a new tech startup is looking for a brand video. They want to feature the brand video on their homepage to explain their product to potential customers and extend the average amount of time spent on their website. In addition to the brand video, the startup wants their production partner to create three separate cut-downs of the brand video to post on social media and prepare still frames from the video for investor presentations. They present the following list of deliverables to their video production partner:
x1 Brand video (90 seconds)
x3 Social media cutdowns
x1 30-second cutdown
x1 15-second cutdown
x1 5-second cutdownx10 High-resolution still frames
Total = 14 deliverables
When talking through the list, the startup mentions that they want a horizontal, square, and vertical version of each social cutdown. They also plan to screen the brand video during their investor presentations and have a marketing strategy in place to AB test two different end card CTAs on the 5-second cutdown. Working with their production partner, the startup updates their list:
x1 Brand video (90 seconds) // 4K // H.264
x1 Brand video (90 seconds) // 4K // ProResx12 Social media cutdowns // HD // H.264
x3 30-second cutdowns
x1 16:9 (horizontal)
x1 1:1 (square)
x1 9:16 (vertical)
x3 15-second cutdowns
x1 16:9 (horizontal)
x1 1:1 (square)
x1 9:16 (vertical)
x6 5-second cutdowns
x2 16:9 (horizontal)
x1 with CTA version A
x1 with CTA version B
x2 1:1 (square)
x1 with CTA version A
x1 with CTA version B
x2 9:16 (vertical)
x1 with CTA version A
x1 with CTA version Bx10 High-resolution still frames // PNGs
Total = 24 deliverables
Luckily, the startup worked with their video production partner to define this list of deliverables before contracts were signed, so an expensive change order wasn’t necessary (phew!).
Want help creating your list of video deliverables? Contact the team at Haunted Basement. We’ll make sure you get everything you need for a successful project.
