What Files Should You Get From a Video Production Company?

The core package: master file vs. web file

The master is the highest-quality export of the final edit, typically a 4K (3840×2160) file in a high-bitrate editing format such as Apple ProRes. It's large (several gigabytes per minute), and you won't upload it anywhere. It's for event screens, broadcast, future re-exports and your archive.

The web file is a compressed MP4 (H.264 or H.265) at 1080p or 4K. This is what goes on YouTube, Wistia, Vimeo, LinkedIn and your website.

Which versions and cutdowns should you ask for?

Every platform you plan to post on needs its own version. Plan these at kickoff, because the crew has to frame for them on the day.

• 16:9 (horizontal): YouTube, your website, LinkedIn, presentations and event screens.

• 9:16 (vertical): Instagram Reels and Stories, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn's mobile feed.

• 4:5 (portrait feed): Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn feeds, where it takes up more of the phone screen than 16:9.

• 1:1 (square): still supported almost everywhere and required for some formats, such as LinkedIn carousel ads, but no longer the default.

A proper vertical version is re-framed and re-designed, not just cropped: titles, lower thirds and captions are moved so they don't sit under each app's buttons.

HOT TIP - plan for this in the shoot. If you know we’re going to use these on socials, we can frame footage so that they can be cropped to 9x16 without looking inorganic.

Our social media video specs guide has the exact sizes and safe zones per platform.

Length cutdowns are just as useful as shape versions. A common set for one interview-driven video is a 2-minute hero cut, a 60-second version, a 30-second version and 15-second or 6-second social and ad edits. We like to think of the smaller pieces like bread crumbs that lead you to the full meal - the 2 minute cut

Accessibility and search files: captions, transcripts and thumbnails

• SRT caption file: plain, timecoded text that nearly every platform accepts, including YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook. If you only get one caption file, get this one. This allows you to turn subtitles on or off in nearly any platform and can be provided in any language you’ve translated the video to.

• VTT (WebVTT) caption file: the web standard used by HTML5 video players. It works like SRT but also supports caption positioning and styling. Many website players accept either format.

• Burned-in (open) captions: captions rendered into the picture. Social feeds autoplay on mute, so social cutdowns often have them. These give you the most flexibility with style, look, pacing etc, but can’t be toggled on or off.

• Transcript: a text document of everything said. Use it for compliance review, blog posts, quotes for sales decks and on-page text that helps search engines and AI assistants understand the video. Some people prefer to do a paper cut - here’s why we dont recommend that

• Audio descriptions: narrated audio tracks that describe key visual elements, actions, and onscreen text during natural pauses in dialogue for blind or visually impaired viewers.

Raw footage, project files and archiving: what's included?

Raw footage is everything the cameras and microphones recorded. At Lightswitch we keep all raw footage and audio for a minimum of two years, and clients can receive everything captured during our time working with them. What we advise against is reviewing it before the first cut. Our post on why you don't really want to see the raw footage explains why that slows projects down. Most video production companies (including ours) charge a small fee to package these up and pass them along. This is to 1. Cover the time necessary to put it together and 2. Recoup future revenue lost because it usually means the client is editing the remainder in house.

Project files (the Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve edit itself) are less useful than they sound. They depend on the editor's fonts, plug-ins, licensed music and graphics templates, so they rarely open cleanly on another editor's system. If you need them, say so in the contract. Much like providing raw files, most firms will charge to provide these.

Archiving is where the real long-term value sits. We recently re-cut an interview filmed in 2024 into new content in 2026 with no reshoot, because the footage was still in our library. Freelancers often clear their drives after a few months, and once footage is gone, the only way to get a new edit is a new shoot. We guarantee we’ll have it for 2 years, but we’ve got things going back as much as 10 years

Why one production partner makes the deliverables better

A local videographer hired for a single shoot usually delivers one or two MP4s and keeps the footage on a personal drive. That's fine for a one-off. It breaks down when you need 9:16 cutdowns next month, a Spanish version next quarter and the same look from offices in four cities.

Lightswitch runs every project through one in-house post-production team of full-time, US-based editors. Every file type, aspect ratio and graphics package goes through the same QA check before it reaches you, whether the footage came from a crew in Chicago or one in Tulsa. Because the same producer and editors work with you project after project, your deliverables list, brand templates and archive build up over time instead of starting from zero with each new vendor.

Planning a video and want the full deliverables list scoped from day one? Talk to a Lightswitch producer about your next shoot.