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Video Mastering Standard

Stage: Produce → Master
Score: 5
Evidence: Internal production data

What It Is

The final video editing pass that takes the rough cut and produces a polished, deliverable-ready master in both horizontal (16:9) and vertical (9:16) formats.

Mastering Checklist

Edit Pass

  • [ ] Trim dead air longer than 3 seconds
  • [ ] Remove false starts or technical interruptions
  • [ ] Verify all layout transitions are clean (no jump cuts, no flickers)
  • [ ] Verify lower thirds appear at correct times with correct information
  • [ ] Check intro and outro sequences play correctly
  • [ ] Confirm no audio/video sync drift

Color Pass

  • [ ] White balance consistent across all participant cameras
  • [ ] Exposure balanced between participants
  • [ ] Skin tones natural and consistent
  • [ ] Brand color elements render correctly
  • [ ] No banding or compression artifacts in gradients

Vertical Pass

  • [ ] Vertical output framing is correct (participants centered, not cropped awkwardly)
  • [ ] Burned-in captions positioned in safe zone (center 80%, away from UI elements)
  • [ ] Caption text is readable at mobile viewing size
  • [ ] Lower thirds and graphics are legible in vertical format

Final Check

  • [ ] Watch the full episode at 1.5x speed end-to-end
  • [ ] Listen for audio pops, clicks, or level jumps
  • [ ] Verify total runtime is correct
  • [ ] Confirm thumbnail frame is usable

Quality Bar

  • No visible compression artifacts
  • Color-consistent across all cameras
  • All transitions smooth and intentional
  • Captions burned in on vertical version
  • Audio/video sync within 1 frame tolerance