Festival & Market Deliverables — What EO Media, Buyers and Platforms Actually Require

Stop losing deals in the screening room: a practical deliverables checklist for festivals, buyers and platforms

Nothing kills momentum at Content Americas or any market faster than last‑minute file drama: an undownloadable screener, the wrong codec, missing captions, or legal docs that won't clear. If you're a sales agent, distributor or producer sending titles to EO Media, buyers or SVOD platforms in 2026, you need a single, repeatable deliverables workflow that answers every technical, legal and marketing request before anyone asks.

Why this matters now (2026 context)

In late 2025 and into 2026 buyers accelerated requirements for high‑quality masters, forensic watermarking and richer metadata. Streaming platforms increasingly accept HEVC/AV1 for bandwidth savings, but still ask for ProRes masters and H.264 screeners for compatibility. Festivals and sales markets—Content Americas included—prefer passworded streaming screeners over shipping drives, but expect downloadable ProRes or DCP on request for acquisitions. Deliverables completeness is no longer optional: it speeds licensing, reduces QC cycles and shortens negotiation windows.

Top-level checklist (what every buyer/platform expects)

• Delivery package: Passworded streaming screener (MP4 H.264), ProRes master (.mov), trailer(s) in H.264, EPK (PDF + zipped assets), closed captions and subtitle files, metadata package, watermarking details, legal chain‑of‑title and cue sheets.
• Technical QC: Video codec and container, audio spec and loudness report, color space (Rec.709 or HDR), checksum and QC report (visual/technical).
• Security: Visible watermark for screeners, forensic watermarking, password protection, access logs.
• Administration: Delivery manifest, file naming convention, transfer method and retention window, contact person for technical issues.

Detailed deliverables checklist — concrete specs and naming

Below are field‑tested specs that cover 95% of requests you'll see at Content Americas, other markets and platform buyers in 2026. Keep this as your default pack; adapt only if a buyer lists different requirements.

1) Masters — the canonical source

• Preferred: ProRes 422 HQ (.mov) or ProRes 4444 XQ for HDR/visual FX. 10‑bit color depth for HDR deliveries. Provide a 4:2:2 ProRes 422 LT only if storage limits demand it and buyer agrees.
• Resolution & color: Native resolution (2K/4K as delivered). SDR: Rec.709. HDR: PQ or HLG with MaxCLL/MaxFALL metadata embedded.
• Audio: 48 kHz, 24‑bit, stereo + 5.1 stems if available. Provide a loudness report showing integrated LUFS (specify target used; many streamers expect around -16 LUFS for stereo—confirm with buyer).
• File naming: Title_YEAR_MASTER_PRORES_4K_10bit_LANG_DATE.mov (example: UsefulGhost_2025_MASTER_PRORES4K_10bit_EN_20260110.mov).

2) Screeners — speed the viewing

• Common format: MP4 H.264, baseline/high profile, AAC audio. Deliver 1080p at 8–12 Mbps for web screeners; 4K H.265/AV1 versions optionally for high‑end buyers.
• Passworded streaming: Vimeo Pro/Business, private S3 presigned URLs, or specialist platforms (Festival screener portals). Always provide username/password and an expiration date — and provide clear delivery notes if you used a portable streaming or review platform during market previews.
• Downloadable option: Offer a downloadable H.264 MP4 and a ProRes download link for buyers who need offline QC.
• Watermarks: Visible dynamic watermark in screeners (name/email + date) and a statement whether forensic watermarking is active. Visible watermarks deter leaks in market settings.
• File naming: Title_YEAR_SCREENER_1080p_H264_LANG_DATE.mp4.

3) Trailers & social assets

• Trailer specs: MP4 H.264, 1080p (or 4K), 25–50 Mbps for highest quality. Deliver 2 versions at minimum: full trailer (90–120s) and 30s TV POD.
• Vertical & square: 9:16 vertical (shorts/reels), 1:1 square for social. Encode same H.264, with bitrates tuned for mobile (6–12 Mbps at 1080p).
• Closed captions: WebVTT for social and streaming, plus embedded burned captions for platforms that require them.
• File naming: Title_TRAILER_90s_1080p_H264_EN_DATE.mp4; Title_TRAILER_30s_9x16_H264_EN_DATE.mp4.

4) Captions & subtitles — don’t be the one missing these

• Closed captions (US broadcast): CEA‑608/708; deliver .scc files if requested.
• Platform/subtitle formats: WebVTT for web/streaming, SRT for general use, TTML/DFXP for document‑style timed text. EBU‑STL for European broadcasters.
• Caption placement & QC: Verify reading order and line breaks. Run a caption QC pass to catch overlapping speakers and off‑screen cues.
• Languages: Provide an English closed caption file by default and additional subtitle SRTs for buyer markets (Spanish, French, Portuguese, etc.).

5) EPK — the marketing heart of the package

Buyers want the story and assets fast. Your EPK should be a one‑stop press kit and include both printable and web‑ready assets.

• Essentials: Press synopsis (short and long), director’s statement, cast & crew bios, high‑res stills (300 dpi), poster (PDF + PNG/JPEG), credits list, festival laurels and awards.
• Digital assets: Social banners, key art crops (16:9, 9:16, 1:1), trailer links (streaming and download), contact info and sales agent details. For ideas on turning festival buzz into usable marketing assets, see our note on turning franchise buzz into consistent content.
• Formats: One PDF package and a zipped folder with images and trailers for quick download.

6) Metadata — machine‑readable and buyer‑friendly

Accurate metadata speeds discovery and finance checks. Think beyond title and runtime.

• Core fields: Title, original title, year, runtime, aspect ratio, production country, language, synopsis (short/long), cast, director, producers, technical specs, and rights windows available.
• Identifiers: ISAN, EIDR, UPC, production company codes where available.
• Delivery manifest: Include a checksum (MD5 or SHA256) for every file and a manifest.csv listing file name, size, checksum and delivery URL.

7) Legal & compliance documents

• Chain‑of‑title: Assignments, option agreements, gap financing paperwork, and evidence of music clearances.
• Cue sheets: Detailed music usage with composer and publisher details.
• Talent releases: Signed releases and insurance certificates if required.

File transfer and storage — make it painless

Large files are a logistics problem, not a sales problem. Use the right tools and policies so buyers never have to wait.

• Transfer methods: Aspera/Signiant for ultra‑large, time‑sensitive transfers. Presigned S3 URLs for controlled downloads. Managed platforms (Vimeo/Frame.io) for screeners and review comments.
• Retention windows: State how long downloads will remain available (standard: 30–90 days). Offer extensions for long negotiations.
• Storage & redundancy: Keep at least two copies: a cloud backup and an offline archive (LTO or cold storage). Maintain a manifest so you can re‑deliver quickly if a buyer requests an alternate format.
• Checksums: Always include MD5 or SHA256 checksums and validate after upload. This prevents corrupted downloads from stalling deals.

Security & watermarking — balance convenience with protection

In 2026 forensic watermarking has become a common ask from buyers to trace leaks. Combine visible watermarks for market screeners with forensic overlays for high‑value windows.

• Visible watermark: Add buyer/email + timestamp to streaming screeners. Use lower‑third placement that avoids covering critical visuals.
• Forensic watermarking: Provide details: provider name, watermark ID per copy, and whether buyer can request a watermark‑free copy after linting security checks. For workflows that include AI-based checks and sandboxing, consider pairing forensic metadata with ephemeral tooling — see notes on ephemeral AI workspaces and secure review lanes.
• Access controls: Two‑factor access for high‑value files, IP restrictions where possible, and logging of plays/downloads for audit trails.

Quality control: run this before shipping

A QC report avoids nasty surprises. Run both technical and creative QC.

• Technical QC: Check codecs, bitrates, audio channels, loudness (LUFS), color space tags, closed caption file integrity, and checksum verification.
• Creative QC: Spot check for level shifts, subtitle timing, burnt‑in graphics placement, and trailer continuity.
• Report: Deliver a one‑page QC summary with the asset manifest so buyers see there were no surprises. Integrate automated checks where possible — many teams now adopt AI QC tools and ephemeral analysis workspaces to speed this step.

Operational playbook — step‑by‑step to close faster

1. Build a standardized deliverables package template in your DAM (Digital Asset Management) — include master, screener, trailer, EPK, metadata CSV and legal folder. For teams shipping heavy festival loads, a reusable DAM template is central to rapid edge content publishing.
2. Pre‑encode a default H.264 screener and H.264 trailer from your ProRes master; keep both cloud‑hosted with expiring links.
3. Generate captions and subtitles from your final picture lock, run caption QC, and attach SRT/WebVTT files to the screeners.
4. Run technical QC and create checksums; include the QC report in the manifest.
5. Apply visible watermark and enable forensic watermarking per buyer; document watermark IDs in the delivery manifest.
6. Send a single email with a clear delivery manifest, password, expiration date, and a one‑page checklist of included items. Offer a single technical contact for any urgent fixes.

Case study: EO Media at Content Americas — how a checklist closed deals

In January 2026 EO Media brought 20 titles to Content Americas. Their sales team standardized deliverables using a cloud DAM and a two‑tier approach: ProRes masters for technical buyers and H.264 web screeners with forensic watermarking for market viewers. By prepacking EPKs and metadata, they cut buyer turnaround by 40% and reduced re‑delivery requests by half. Buyers could pull trailer assets for marketing immediately, shortening the cycle from first interest to term sheet. They also leaned on portable streaming and review platforms during market previews to keep demand hot — see our field review of portable streaming + POS kits for notes on practical market hardware.

"Prepping every title to a single deliverable standard saved us negotiating time and won several pre‑empt deals at market. Buyers just wanted to press play."

Advanced considerations & 2026 trends

• Codec evolution: AV1 and HEVC adoption continues, especially for mobile and data‑sensitive markets. Still deliver ProRes masters; provide AV1/HEVC variants on request.
• AI QC: Automated QC tools now detect caption gaps, aspect ratio issues and loudness anomalies. Integrate AI checks into your pipeline for faster, repeatable QC — many teams use sandboxed AI workspaces to run short checks against batches of files (ephemeral AI workspaces).
• Dynamic metadata: Platforms expect richer metadata (genre tags, mood, keywords, and cast/crew canonical IDs). Structure metadata for both humans and APIs.
• Environmental & cost constraints: Maintain an archival strategy—retranscoding on demand (cloud‑based) reduces storage costs while keeping delivery times short.

Checklist you can use today (copy/paste ready)

• ProRes master (.mov) — Rec.709/Rec.2020 for HDR, 10‑bit if HDR.
• H.264 MP4 screener — 1080p @ 8–12 Mbps, passworded streaming + downloadable link.
• Trailers — 90–120s (1080p H.264) + 30s TV POD + 9:16 vertical assets.
• Closed captions — SRT + WebVTT + SCC (if US broadcast).
• EPK — PDF + zipped hi‑res stills, poster, bios, trailer links. For inspiration on short-form assets and turning trailers into distributed content see our piece on micro‑documentaries.
• Metadata CSV — title, runtime, language, ISAN/EIDR, rights window, keywords.
• QC report & checksums (MD5/SHA256).
• Visible & forensic watermarking details, access credentials and retention window.
• Chain‑of‑title docs, cue sheets, talent releases.

Actionable takeaways

• Standardize once, deliver many: Build a reusable deliverables template in your DAM and use it per title to reduce redeploy work.
• ProRes master + H.264 screener = best practice: Keep the master as your archival source and use H.264 for compatibility at markets.
• Protect and document: Watermark screeners, keep access logs and include checksums so re‑delivery is frictionless.
• QC is non‑negotiable: A short QC report calms buyers and prevents reruns of the same problem. Automate where possible with AI QC tools and sandboxed review environments.

Final thoughts

Market time is precious. When EO Media and other sellers arrive at Content Americas with clean, documented, and secure deliverables, buyers can say yes faster. The technical bar keeps rising—embrace ProRes masters, provide H.264 screeners, include closed captions and robust metadata, and invest in watermarking and QC to protect value.

If you want a ready‑to‑use deliverables template tailored for Content Americas and platform buyers, download our pack or contact our team for a deliverable audit. Make your next market shipment the one that closes the deal. For practical notes on capture and lighting for small sets and evidence-style shoots, see our studio capture essentials field guide; for guidance on ethical imaging of products and health items, see the ethical photographer’s guide. If you're choosing camera gear on a budget, read our refurbished cameras review for 2026.

Call to action

Download the free festival & market deliverables checklist (ProRes, H.264, captions, EPK, metadata & watermarking) or request a 15‑minute deliverables audit to get buyer‑ready in time for your next market.

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