You’ve written a killer script.

You’ve cast an excellent cast.

You’re shooting with an HD camera.

But have you planned out your full workflow? For instance, how are you going to show your film to your audience?

If your answer is, “On the Internet,” then carry on and use whatever compression format Youtube or Vimeo recommends.

However, if your answer is, “In theatres and at film festivals,” carry on reading.

Keep your digital intermediate (your DI) at a sufficiently high quality so that you don’t sacrifice anything as you edit.

When it’s time to deliver for exhibition, things can get tricky fast. Do you need a DCP? Can you get by with one Blu-ray disk?

Luckily, The Independent’s Guide to Film Exhibition & Delivery 2013 has is all figured out.

Their conclusion:

“Given the volatility of the current delivery landscape, it may be actually best to NOT commit to any particular exhibition format, and instead finish your film in a digital (hard-drive) format that you can keep as a master at a trusted lab for future needs down the road. It is advisable to have your film in the most flexible format possible, until you are forced by circumstance to deliver a specific format for a specific purpose. The most flexible and useful format to initiate most exhibition/delivery formats at the moment is the Apple ProRes 422 digital file.”

My take: Well worth the read, if only for the assertion that, “DCPs were invented to put independents out of business.”