Video Production Checklist

The PMM or brand lead writes a one-page brief: target persona, funnel stage (TOFU/MOFU/BOFU), single-sentence message, primary CTA, success metric, and the channels the cut will run on. Aspect ratios and runtime get decided here, not in the edit — a 90-second YouTube hero and a 15-second Reel cannot share a single timeline.

The primary channel drives format decisions downstream — paid social demands :06/:15/:30 cutdowns and 9:16 + 1:1 ratios, YouTube wants 16:9 and chapter markers, owned-site embeds may need captions baked in. Pick the lead channel before storyboarding.

Copywriter drafts the script against the brief; producer builds the shot list and storyboard frames in Figma or Frame.io. Time the read aloud — script length is the most common reason a 60-second spot becomes a 90-second spot in the edit.

Legal and brand sign off on claims, comparative statements, customer quotes, and any regulated-industry language (FINRA 2210 for financial services, FDA for health, FTC substantiation for performance claims). Capture timestamped approval — Slack DMs do not satisfy a Lanham Act substantiation file.

Every on-camera person signs a talent release naming the channels and term of use. Music needs a sync license — Epidemic Sound and Artlist cover most marketing use, but a recognizable track from a major label is a separate negotiation. Stock footage licenses get logged in the DAM (Brandfolder, Bynder, or Frontify).

Walk the location at the time of day you'll shoot — light, foot traffic, and HVAC noise change hour to hour. Public spaces and most commercial buildings require a film permit; check city rules and confirm COI requirements with the venue.

DP confirms camera bodies, lenses, batteries, ND filters, and 2x media cards per body. Audio confirms lavs, boom, recorder, and spare AA/9V. Format every card on the camera that will record to it — mixed-format cards is a leading cause of dropped takes.

Three-point key/fill/back as a baseline; check skin tones on a calibrated monitor. Record 30 seconds of room tone before the first take — editors will ask for it and re-shooting room tone after wrap is not possible.

Director runs talent through the read, reviews any pronunciation of product names, customer names, or technical terms, and confirms wardrobe is brand-aligned. Capture pickups for any line where the read drifts from approved script — substitutions trigger a legal re-review.

Slate every take; producer marks circle takes in the shot list as you go. Capture wide, medium, and close on every key beat plus B-roll for cutaways — under-shooting B-roll is the most common regret in the edit bay.

Offload every card to a primary RAID and a secondary drive (or cloud — Frame.io C2C, LucidLink, or Dropbox). Verify checksums with Hedge or Shotput Pro before formatting any card. Two backups before format, no exceptions.

Editor sets up the Premiere or DaVinci Resolve project with bins for A-cam, B-cam, audio, B-roll, graphics, and music. Sync sound on the timeline using Plural Eyes or in-app waveform sync. Match project frame rate and color space to the camera's native format.

Assemble against the script, then trim to the runtime committed in the brief. Share a rough cut on Frame.io for stakeholder comments — keep revision rounds bounded (three rounds is the industry norm) or the edit drifts indefinitely.

Lower thirds, end card, and logo lockups must match the brand book — HEX values, type stack, and safe-zone padding. Burn-in captions for paid social (most plays are sound-off) and ship a separate .srt for YouTube. WCAG 2.1 AA contrast on any on-screen text.

Grade against scopes (waveform, vectorscope) — eyeballing on a non-calibrated laptop yields a different look on every viewer's screen. Mix to broadcast loudness targets: -16 LUFS for web, -14 LUFS for YouTube, -23 LUFS for broadcast. Run a mono fold-down check before locking the mix.

Legal compares the final cut to the approved script for any drift; brand confirms logo, colorway, and tagline usage. Save the timestamped approval in the project folder — this is the artifact regulators or a Lanham Act challenge will ask for.

Export per channel spec: YouTube wants H.264 1080p or 4K; Meta wants MP4 with AAC audio under 4GB; LinkedIn caps at 200MB and 10 minutes. Generate 16:9, 1:1, and 9:16 cutdowns from the master. Upload masters and proxies to the DAM with consistent naming: brand_campaign_format_aspect_runtime.mp4.

Set the video to unlisted while QA-ing the embed and metadata. Custom thumbnail at 1280×720, target keyword in title and first line of description, chapter markers from the storyboard, end screens linking to two related videos. Submit the page URL to Google Search Console after publish.

Build campaigns in Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and TikTok Ads with the 9:16 and 1:1 cuts. Apply the standard UTM convention (utm_source / utm_medium / utm_campaign) from the team's link-builder — UTM drift breaks attribution in GA4 within a week. Set frequency caps and a brand-safety blocklist on programmatic placements.

Creator's post must include FTC disclosure — #ad or #sponsored at the top of the caption (not buried in 30 hashtags) and platform's native Paid Partnership tag. Review the creator's draft against the brief before they schedule. Skip this step entirely if the channel selection earlier didn't include an influencer partnership.

HubSpot or Marketo broadcast to the segment matched to the video's funnel stage. Animated GIF preview links to the video page; physical address and one-click unsubscribe per CAN-SPAM. EU contacts get the GDPR-compliant version with separate consent basis — do not blast the same template across regions.

Pull view-through rate, average watch time, click-through to landing page, and conversions in GA4. Compare to the brief's success metric — anything off by 2x in either direction triggers a creative review. Tag winning hooks and losing hooks for the next brief so the same lesson is not relearned every quarter.