Agreeing a realistic event-video delivery schedule

Do not start with the event date. Start with the day the video will be played, posted or sent, then count backwards through approval, review and editing. What is left is your real delivery date.

Why work backwards from the use date?

A video is usually needed for something: a dinner invitation, a staff briefing, a school assembly, a family gathering. That day does not move. The edit has to fit before it.

If you only ask “how long does editing take?”, you miss the longest part, which is waiting for people to watch the draft and agree. Our guide on what happens after an event is filmed explains each stage. Here we focus on putting dates against them.

What sits between the event and the use date?

Leave a buffer after final approval. Files that play well on an editor’s computer can fail on a venue projector or an old laptop.

Who approves, and when are they free?

List every person whose yes is needed: a director, a head of department, a school principal, a parent, a sponsor. Then ask each for the dates they can actually watch the draft.

Three habits prevent most delays:

• Name one person who gives the editor a single list of changes.
• Name a backup approver for anyone who travels or is often in meetings.
• Decide who has the final word if two approvers disagree. The video decisions and approvals planner can help you write this down.

An example of back-planning

This is an illustration, not a fixed timetable. Say a company needs a short recap video for a town hall on a Friday morning.

1. Friday morning: video plays on the meeting-room screen.
2. The day before: playback test on that screen, using the final file.
3. Before that: final approval from the department head.
4. Before that: one revision round after the combined comments.
5. Before that: a review window where three managers each watch the draft.
6. Before that: the first draft, which depends on when footage reaches the editor.

Each step gets a real date once you know your approvers’ diaries. If the dates do not fit, you have three honest choices: move the use date, shorten the video, or reduce the number of versions.

What changes the schedule?

• Length and number of versions. A long film, a short social cut and a second language are separate pieces of work.
• Captions and translation. Text must be checked by someone fluent. See checking subtitles and translations.
• Footage that arrives late or in mixed formats. Editing cannot finish before everything is in.
• Music and graphics. Names, titles and logos need confirming before export.
• Speed. For tight deadlines, a same-day edit is available on request, confirmed for each event.

What we confirm for your event

1. What we need from you, and by when, to keep to the date.
2. How many review rounds the quote includes.
3. What happens to the schedule if your comments arrive late.
4. Which version you receive first if the deadline is tight.
5. How files are delivered, and how long the links stay active.

The video delivery and approval timeline planner turns these answers into a simple calendar. If a date slips later, handling a late delivery constructively helps you ask the right questions.

If you have raw footage and need a schedule agreed before the work starts, see editing your event footage.