Archive Master

What this is about

Where the delivery master answers today's request, the archive answers the one arriving in three years: a new language version, a re-edit, a shot needed for another film. That means storing more than the finished file — project data, graphics with their source files, the mix stems, the camera originals worth keeping, and a short text explaining the structure. Formats should be open and widely supported rather than tied to one program version. Two copies in different places, plus a periodic check that the files still read, is the usual minimum.

A term only helps when everyone on set means the same thing by it — so what follows is how it is used, not a dictionary definition.

What runs differently here

In planning terms, that means:

• Archive more than the film: project data, graphics sources, audio stems and a short structure note
• Store two copies in different physical locations and verify periodically that they still read
• Prefer open, widely supported formats over anything tied to one software version

With TillyGen

A project documented in TillyGen still carries its decisions and approvals years later, which is exactly the context an archived file cannot supply by itself.

Change one constraint and the consequences travel through the whole plan: affected shots are flagged, the call sheet is regenerated, and nobody keeps working from yesterday's version.