The Editor’s Pre-Delivery Checklist

Run through this before every export. Tick as you go; your ticks reset when you reload. By Mahender Banoth.

1 · Story & pacing

The first 3 seconds give a reason to keep watching Every shot earns its place: cut anything that repeats information Cuts land on a beat, a word or an action, not in the dead air between There is a clear ending or call to action Watched once start to finish without stopping, with fresh eyes No jump cuts or flash frames you did not intend

2 · Audio

Dialogue is clear and sits around the same level everywhere Music ducks under speech and never fights it Background noise, hum and clicks are cleaned up Audio cuts have short fades, with no pops Sound effects support the picture instead of distracting from it Peaks stay below 0 dB and the overall loudness suits the platform Checked on headphones and on a phone speaker

3 · Color & picture

Shots in the same scene match in exposure and white balance Skin tones look natural Blacks and highlights are not crushed or clipped Look is consistent from first shot to last Footage is not soft, over-sharpened or showing banding

4 · Text, graphics & captions

Spelling and names are correct (read every title aloud) Text stays inside platform safe zones (away from the top, bottom and sides on vertical video) Text is on screen long enough to read twice Captions match the audio and are easy to read on a bright phone screen Logos and brand colors match the brand guidelines Fonts, sizes and animation style are consistent

5 · Export settings

Correct aspect ratio: 9:16 for Reels, Shorts and TikTok, 16:9 for YouTube, 1:1 or 4:5 for feed Resolution is at least 1080p (1080×1920 for vertical) Frame rate matches the footage (24, 25, 30 or 60) with no accidental conversion Format is H.264 MP4 with AAC audio unless the client asks for something else Bitrate is high enough to avoid blocky compression No black bars, no stray frames at the start or end

6 · Final delivery

Watched the exported file (not the timeline) from start to end Checked it on a phone, not only on the editing monitor File name is clear, e.g. ClientName_Project_Version.mp4 Cover or thumbnail frame is ready Project saved and media archived or backed up Client has the final file, the format list and any notes on revisions