Pro9 min

Delivering at Platform Spec and Archiving

The last mile ruins more good videos than bad footage does. Wrong aspect ratio, crushed bitrate, or burned-in captions that get cropped will sink a strong cut. Pro delivery means exporting per platform and keeping a clean archive so you can re-version later.

Step 1: Master once, version per platform

Keep one high-quality master export. From it, produce platform versions: vertical 9:16 for short-form feeds, 16:9 for YouTube, square 1:1 where it still fits. Never re-edit from scratch per platform.

PlatformAspectResolutionNotes
Short-form vertical9:161080x1920Keep text away from edges
YouTube16:91920x1080+Higher bitrate, longer holds
Square feed1:11080x1080Safe for mixed placements

Step 2: Mind the safe zones

Platform interfaces overlay buttons and captions on parts of the frame. Keep titles and key action inside the safe zone so nothing important sits under a like button or a progress bar.

Do not bake captions blindly
If a platform adds its own captions, burned-in captions collide and look broken. Export a clean version plus a separate .srt so you can choose per platform.
ffmpeg - quick platform versions
from one master to a vertical version
$ffmpeg -i master.mp4 -vf scale=1080:1920 -b:v 8M vertical.mp4
vertical.mp4 written (1080x1920, 8 Mbps)
and a square crop
$ffmpeg -i master.mp4 -vf crop=1080:1080 square.mp4
$

Step 3: Archive the project, not just the export

Save the project file, the source clips, the prompts, and the seeds. Six months later, a client wants a small change. With the archive you re-version in minutes. Without it you start over.

Archive structure
project-2026-06/
master.mp4
versions/{vertical,wide,square}.mp4
source-clips/ prompts.md seeds.txt
project.capcut captions.srt
Everything needed to re-version, in one place.

Result: a delivery package that looks right on every platform and an archive that turns a future revision from a rebuild into a five-minute edit. That reliability is what separates a hobbyist from a producer.

Hands-on tasks