TeraAirlift

TeraAirlift

Delivery checklist

Post-Production Delivery Night Checklist

Who it's for: Post supervisors, assistant editors, deliverables coordinators, and facility ops owning overnight client handoffs.

When to use: Use before sending dailies, masters, EXR sequences, ProRes/MXF packages, IMF-adjacent sets, or project archives under a hard client or vendor deadline.

Before you package

  • Confirm the deliverable list against the latest client/vendor spec (not last week’s Slack thread)
  • Name a single delivery owner for the night — who owns ETA and who escalates
  • List every outbound package with priority (must-arrive vs nice-to-have)
  • Note review call / acceptance time in local and recipient time zones
  • Confirm who must accept the package before wider stakeholders are notified

Package readiness

  • Confirm final deliverable set and naming convention matches facility/client convention
  • Exclude scratch, cache, renders-in-progress, and temp media from the package
  • Verify media, EDLs/AAFs/XMLs, and sidecars that belong together stay in one tree
  • Spot-check a sample file opens in the intended app before upload starts
  • Note approximate package size (GB/TB) and expected recipient count
  • Record destination expectations (download folder, cloud drop, review platform)

Bandwidth & timing

  • Estimate upload duration at realistic suite bandwidth (not lab peak numbers)
  • Add buffer for recipient download time before the review call
  • Avoid starting multi-hour uploads with less than 2× estimated window remaining
  • Check whether other facility transfers will compete for the same pipe tonight
  • If shipping drives is Plan B, stage drives now — don’t invent courier logistics at 2 AM

Queue plan

  • List outbound jobs in priority order for the night
  • Identify which packages can run in parallel without starving the critical path
  • Assign an owner watching the queue, ETA, and stall alerts
  • Document the fallback if a transfer stalls after ~50%
  • Decide in advance what gets cancelled if the window collapses
  • Leave a short handoff note for the next shift if the night spans operators

Communication before send

  • Tell primary recipients when to expect availability and how they will access it
  • Confirm preferred contact for stalls (phone/Slack/email) before upload starts
  • Align with producers on what “delivered” means (upload complete vs verified download)
  • Warn stakeholders if a package is review-only vs final master to avoid wrong assumptions

Failure / retry plan

  • If upload stalls: pause dependent review until retry succeeds — do not declare ready
  • Do not open a second uncontrolled share link (WeTransfer/Dropbox/personal drive) as a silent backup
  • Escalate when remaining window is under ~40% of estimated handoff time
  • Capture what failed (network, storage, auth, wrong package) for the postmortem
  • If you must split packages mid-flight, record version IDs so recipients don’t mix halves
  • Notify the review owner as soon as ETA slips past the call buffer — early beats surprise

Recipient / access plan

  • Confirm primary recipient emails and any approved forwards before send
  • Set expire-after window for client review packages (don’t leave masters open indefinitely)
  • Use recipient-only access for finals; avoid anonymous links for masters
  • Remove temporary vendor/freelancer access after acceptance
  • Record who can still download after the producer’s business hours
  • Keep internal suite copies separate from the client-facing delivery path

Verification plan

  • Confirm transfer completed with integrity check (hash) when available
  • Recipient confirms package opens and expected folders/media exist
  • Spot-check duration, frame count, or file count against the delivery sheet
  • Log delivery timestamp, package identifier, and who accepted
  • Only then notify wider stakeholders that review can start
  • Archive the send record so disputes don’t rely on memory or chat search

Send me the printable version

Soft gate — the checklist is already above. Share your details if you want a follow-up copy and workflow tips for your team.