When you finally sign a deal with a sales agent or distributor, you’ll get hit with a list of film deliverables. And sometimes, that list can feel overwhelming—pages long, with items that seem impossible to track down. But here’s the truth: most of those lists are wish lists. The real question is: what do distributors actually need so they can sell your movie? Let’s break it down.
The Core Film Deliverables You Can’t Avoid
The first thing you’ll need is a ProRes 422 version of your movie. That’s the standard file format most distributors and VOD platforms expect. Sometimes they’ll ask for ProRes 422 HQ or even a 4K version, but nine times out of ten, it’s going to be a 1920×1080 ProRes 422 master. That’s your main delivery file.
Next up: stills from your movie. And not just screengrabs. You want a professional photographer on set capturing real production stills. Those are what distributors use for marketing and sales. Behind-the-scenes shots might be fun for your social media, but sales agents rarely touch them.
You’ll also need captions in SRT format and any artwork or posters you’ve created. Sometimes distributors will make their own, but it helps if you already have professional-looking materials to hand over. And of course, a trailer is a must.
Why DME Tracks Are Essential
If you’re planning to sell your film internationally, you can’t skip the DME tracks (sometimes called M&E). This stands for Dialog, Music, and Effects, and they have to be delivered as three separate audio files.
Here’s why: when your film is dubbed into another language, the distributor needs to strip out the original dialog while keeping your music and effects intact. That way, the new dialog—say, in Spanish—can be laid in perfectly.
If you just hand over a mixed track with everything blended together, it’s nearly impossible to pull the dialog out cleanly. Yes, there are AI tools that try to do this, but they’re not perfect yet. So if you want real international sales, you need proper DME tracks.
The Long Scary Deliverables List
Here’s where filmmakers panic: you sign the agreement, and you see a deliverables list that’s pages long. Sometimes it includes things like lab access—throwbacks to when we were still delivering canisters of film. These lists often haven’t been updated in decades.
The key is knowing what matters and what doesn’t. Distributors themselves usually understand that these lists are padded. They’d rather ask for everything up front than risk missing something later. But in practice, they focus on the essentials: ProRes 422, DME tracks, stills, captions, trailer, and artwork.
When You Land a Bigger Deal
If you’re lucky enough to lock down a deal with a bigger company, like Lionsgate, expect the deliverables list to get a lot more intense. You’ll need crew and cast contracts, billing blocks, chain of title, certificates of origin, and insurance. That’s why it’s so important to keep your paperwork in order while you’re making the film. Chasing down missing contracts at the eleventh hour is no fun.
Final Thoughts on Film Deliverables
At the end of the day, don’t let the long deliverables lists scare you. Focus on the core items I’ve outlined here. If you get those right from the start—especially the ProRes 422 master and DME tracks—you’ll save yourself a ton of stress later.
And remember, stills are worth the investment. Bring in a photographer if you can, because once the shoot is over, you can’t go back and capture those moments again.
Film deliverables may sound like busywork, but they’re the bridge between your finished movie and a distributor being able to sell it around the world.
