Deliverables, explained in plain English.

The first time most filmmakers receive a distributor's delivery list, it's written as if they already know what everything means. Nobody teaches it, and by the time a filmmaker learns what a particular file is, the person who could have made it cheaply has moved on to another job.

Indie Greenlight closes that gap: plain-language pages covering what each deliverable is, why it's required, and — most valuably — when and where each is cheapest and easiest to create. A filmmaker who reads these pages while their editing and sound sessions are still open can save thousands of dollars just by knowing what to ask their team for today.

A DCP (Digital Cinema Package) is the standard file format most theater projection systems play. Some theaters require one; others can play a regular video file or disc. Every venue's profile states which, so you always know before accepting a booking whether a DCP is needed. Commercial DCP services charge $500–900 per film, but the conversion can be done with free, professional-grade software. When the time comes, there are three honest paths:

• Do it yourself, free. The full guide is live: which free software to use, the correct export settings, our quality checklist — with the required venue test-play before every show as the safety net.
• Automated service, honestly priced. In development Upload your master; it's checked, converted, and verified at a modest flat rate — payable upfront or rolled into your first greenlit payout. Not yet available.
• Premium service, for complex cases. In development Surround remixes, subtitled or encrypted versions go to a vetted professional partner at their pricing. Not yet available.

However it's made, you own your DCP outright — it's your master, not our leverage. This page is also a statement of who we are: we tell filmmakers the cheapest correct path, including when it isn't ours.

The guides are written and free: the DCP, closed captions, audio stems, the artwork package, chain of title, E&O insurance, and music cue sheets — each in plain English, each with the money-saving moment flagged. Education is a launch feature, not an afterthought.