Original content delivery specifications

Original content for distribution consists of a set of master files to be published on the OTT platform and displayed on end devices.

The main format for content distribution is 4K HDR video and 5.1 audio.

Submitting master files for publication means that all creative decisions related to editing, graphics, sound, and color design have been agreed upon between the Contractor and the Customer.

Technical requirements must be provided to and understood by all project participants. All pipelines must take these technical requirements into account. All considerations that are known in advance or may go beyond the technical requirements must be specified by the Contractor and agreed upon with the Customer at the pre-production stage. If questions or problems arise during the project that may lead to a violation of these technical requirements, the Contractor must contact the project manager on the Customer’s side.

The set of master files includes:

• SDR video master file
• HDR video master file
• HDR10 metadata file
• Dolby Vision metadata file
• Audio master file in stereo, bleeped out or no swear words
• Audio master file in stereo, uncensored swear words
• Audio master file in 5.1 surround sound, bleeped out or no swear words
• Audio master file in 5.1 surround sound, uncensored swear words
• Subtitles

If the list of master files needs to be amended or reduced, contact the project manager on the Customer’s side.

All master file names must follow the template.

File names can only contain English letters, underscores, and a full stop that separates the file name from the extension. Any special characters or spaces are prohibited.

File names for series or films cannot be changed during a project.

Any additional information to be included in the name must be approved by the Customer in advance.

Video file name template includes the following fixed sequence of elements:

• Project name matching the project’s root folder name
• Only for TV series: season and episode number in the following format: s00_e00
• Image format: SDR or HDR
• Creation date in the following format: YYYY_MM_DD
• Special designations, if necessary: e.g., v2, v3, etc.
• File extension

Examples:

Metadata file name template includes the following fixed sequence of elements:

• Name of the video master file the metadata refers to
• Suffix for the metadata type (“analysis” or “frames” for HDR10, “dv” for Dolby Vision)
• File extension: hdr10 (for DaVinci) or xml (for Baselight or Dolby Vision)

Examples:

Audio file name template includes the following fixed sequence of elements:

• Project name matching the project’s root folder name
• Only for TV series: season and episode number in the following format: s00_e00
• Audio format (w/o full stops): 20 (for stereo) or 51 (for 5.1)
• Censorship level: cens—bleeped out or no swear words, uncens—uncensored swear words
• Creation date in the following format: YYYY_MM_DD
• Tag of the film language (only for dialogue master files) as per ISO 639-2
• Special designations, if necessary: e.g., v2, v3, etc.

Examples:

Subtitle file name template includes the following fixed sequence of elements:

• Project name matching the project’s root folder name
• Season and episode number (TV series only) in the following format: s00_e00
• Creation date in the following format: YYYY_MM_DD
• Language tag as per ISO 639-2
• Special designations, if necessary

Example:

• Container: MOV
• Codec: ProRes 4444 XQ
• Frame rate: 25
• Scan: Progressive
• Resolution: horizontally 3,840 pixels, vertically—a multiple of 2, at least 1,600 pixels
• Aspect ratio: from 16:9 to 2.4:1. Using narrow aspect ratios or letterboxing is allowed only with the prior approval of each scene by the Customer
• Color space: Rec.709
• Gamma: BT.1886 (2.4)
• Color subsampling: 4:4:4, no alpha channel
• Color depth: from 10 bit
• Range of signal presentation for export: Auto (Legal Range)
• A video container can only have a video track and timecode
• Timecode starts at 01:00:00:00

• Container: MOV
• Codec: ProRes 4444 XQ
• Frame rate: 25
• Scan: Progressive
• Resolution: horizontally 3,840 pixels, vertically—a multiple of 2, at least 1,600 pixels
• Aspect ratio: from 16:9 to 2.4:1. Using narrow aspect ratios or letterboxing is allowed only with the prior approval of each scene by the Customer
• Color space: Rec.2020
• Gamma: ST.2084 (PQ)
• Color subsampling: 4:4:4, no alpha channel
• Color depth: from 10 bit
• Range of signal presentation for export: Auto (Legal Range)
• Diffuse white level for SDR and graphics content: about 203 nit
• A video container can only have a video track and timecode
• Timecode starts at 01:00:00:00
• HDR10 metadata should be provided as a separate file, not embedded in the container

Technical specifications for HDR10 metadata file

• File type: hdr10 or xml
• Export format: HDR10+ for DaVinci or MaxCLL / MaxFALL Analysis / Frames for Baselight

Mastering display default specifications:

• White point: D65
• Minimum brightness: 0.0001 nit
• Maximum brightness: 1,000 nit

If mastering display specifications differ from these references, they must be approved by the project manager on the Customer’s side.

• File type: XML
• Metadata version: 4.0

• Container: Wave or Broadcast Wave
• Codec: PCM
• All audio channels are combined into one file
• Channel sequence: L, R
• Sample rate: 48 kHz
• Bit rate: 24 bit
• Duration: all audio master files must have the same duration as the video with the native frame rate (accurate down to milliseconds)
• Integrated loudness (EBU R128): -23 LUFS +/-0.5 LU
• Loudness range (LRA): not more than 18 LU
• Peak signal (True Peak): not exceeding -2 dBTP
• Timecode: if timecode is embedded in BWAV, it must start at 01:00:00:00

• Container: Wave or Broadcast Wave
• Codec: PCM
• All audio channels are combined into one file
• Channel sequence: L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs (SMPTE)
• Sample rate: 48 kHz
• Bit rate: 24 bit
• Duration: all audio master files must have the same duration as the video with the native frame rate (accurate down to milliseconds)
• Integrated loudness (EBU R128): -23 LUFS +/-0.5 LU
• Loudness range (LRA): not more than 18 LU
• Peak signal (True Peak): not exceeding -2 dBTP
• Timecode: if timecode is embedded in BWAV, it must start at 01:00:00:00

• File format: SRT
• Subtitle and dialogue timings must match
• One subtitle line should not exceed 42 characters
• Subtitles shorter than 42 characters should fit on one line, except for dialogue
• Maximum 2 lines per screen
• Maximum 20 characters per second
• Minimum display time—0.833 seconds, maximum—7 seconds
• Minimum gap between subtitles—2 frames (80 ms for 25 fps)
• Subtitle file encoding: UTF8 with BOM

• Logo and bumper video:
• The Customer’s logo and bumper video cannot have their color, size, or duration changed without the Customer’s written consent. This does not apply to cropping performed to match the film aspect ratio.
• Compatibility:
• Footage must be synced for SDR and HDR and audio tracks.
• SDR and HDR footage must be visually comparable in terms of frame content.
• Diffuse white level for SDR and graphics content should be about 203 nit, especially for white flash transitions and titles.
• Black level:
• For black flash transitions and subtitles with a black background, the black level must be RGB 000.
• Safe area:
• Text and important graphical elements must be placed at least 5% from the Title Safe Area.

• Source content:
• The original footage must be obtained using a pre-approved set of recording equipment and recording format that meet requirements for shooting in 4K HDR and must contain content suitable for further production stages. Detailed requirements are discussed during technical justification of the project. Minimum thresholds:
• Effective number of image sensor photodiodes in the active frame area: at least 3,840 horizontally (for spherical lenses)
• Frame rate: output format of 25 fps or multiples of it (50 fps, 75 fps, etc.)
• Recording format: RAW with or without a pre-approved compression rate or ProRes 4444 XQ
• Color system: camera native (AWG4 D65 LogC4, S-Gamut3.Cine SLog3, REDWideGamutRGB Log3G10, etc.)
• Color depth: at least 10 bit
• Exposure: no frame clipping or underexposure
• Syncing: embedded timecode
• The footage must not include:
• Letterboxing (the actual ratio of the visible area’s sides must be the same throughout the entire footage)
• Visible digital noise (any deviations from the approved texture—when shooting at the image sensor sensitivity limit or applying inappropriate film grain)
• High noise level not specified and approved during pre-production (using VHS, drone, action camera, mobile phone footage as the source)
• Compression artifacts
• Artifact dots, lines, blots (bad pixels of the image sensor, dirt, or optical unit damage, rendering or data transmission artifacts, optical unit flares that are not creative decisions)
• Clipping (loss of information at black or white range limits that is shown as border artifacts at sharp tone transitions or frame areas without color information)
• Coarse tone transitions (solarization or banding, lack of color information in the original footage due to compression)
• Coarse cuts not specified during pre-production (fast-pace editing and jump cuts must be justified by the film’s content and context)
• Strobe effect (mismatching speed of movement of the camera and objects in the frame relative to camera settings and visual set-up)
• Prominent chromatic aberrations not specified as a creative technique during pre-production
• Loss of information in part of or the entire frame (image tearing due to recording issues, flash frames during editing)
• Duplicated frames (freeze frames, editing errors, inappropriate frame rate of the original footage)
• Wrong frame sequence (editing or rendering errors)
• Service text (embedded timecode, metadata, watermarks)
• Camera jerking and shaking not specified as a creative technique during pre-production or which differs from the specified handheld or stabilized shots
• Image blurring in the frame without context (focus shift, digital zoom, upscale)
• Foreign objects out of context (camera crew or equipment, foreign items or captions that don’t correspond to the film’s time period or place)
• Visible artifacts from graphic processing, plugins, effects, masks

Creative techniques that are outside these requirements must be declared and agreed upon by the Contractor and Customer in advance for each scene at the pre-production stage.

• It is prohibited to upscale the resolution or any other attributes of non-full-frame computer graphics (that do not cover 100% of the frame’s width and height).
• Resolution of full-frame computer graphics (that cover 100% of the frame’s width and height) can be upscaled only with the Customer’s approval. Upscaling any other computer graphics attributes (except for the resolution) is prohibited.
• Upscaling footage in scenes with full-frame graphics is prohibited.
• VFX must not degrade the original footage in any way. The original footage resolution cannot be less than 4K at any production stage.

Creative techniques that are outside these requirements must be declared and agreed upon by the Contractor and Customer in advance for each scene at the pre-production stage.

• Source content:
• PCM soundtracks obtained by decoding compressed formats (both lossy or lossless) are prohibited.
• Bumper video:
• The Customer’s bumper video soundtrack cannot be changed without written approval.
• Compatibility:
• All versions must be synced (if played simultaneously, no chorus, flanger, or tripping effect should occur).
• All versions must include all soundtrack elements. This does not apply to bleeping out swear words in censored versions.
• To avoid issues with playing 5.1 sound on some user devices, automatic downmix from 5.1 to stereo must be controlled using the following settings:
• Center channel attenuation: -3 dB
• Surround channel attenuation: -3 dB
• Downmix does not include LFE
• Authenticity of the sound space:
• The sound space must match the frame’s visual content. This means proper selection of soundtrack elements (especially noises) and their spatial, frequency-based and dynamic processing. Dramaturgically unjustified changes in timber, reverberation, or soundtrack element panning are prohibited.
• Synchronicity:
• Voice, music, and emphasized noises must be synced with the visual content.
• Changing the source lines of characters is highly undesirable. If it is absolutely necessary, a new line is made that syncs with the actor’s lip movements as much as possible or the scene must be re-edited so that the lips are not visible.
• Speech audibility and sound balance:
• Any speech in the soundtrack must be audible both in terms of actor articulation and sound balance. All noises and music louder than speech or each other must serve a dramatic purpose.
• Bleeping out swear words:
• When bleeping out swear words, cover up the entire word root, not just the stressed vowel. Masking sound effects must not make the line inaudible.
• Phasing channels:
• All channels must be phased with each other. If correlometer readings are below zero for a significant length of time, it is considered a defect.
• The soundtrack must not include:
• Micropauses
• Dramaturgically unjustified foreign interference that prevents the sound from being heard, such as:
• Recording artifacts: hissing, saliva, excessively loud sound of closing/opening lips
• Foreign sounds that don’t correspond to the image
• Parasitic noises, crackling, clicking
• Electrical interference, background noises
• Audible non-linear distortion
• Distortion caused by triggered limiters and compressors
• Editing defects (e.g., cutting off word endings, noises, unjustified abrupt ending of music, etc.)
• Dramaturgically unjustified lack of any sound, including in bumper videos and the end credits

Creative techniques that are outside these requirements must be declared and agreed upon by the Contractor and Customer in advance for each scene at the pre-production stage.