Chapter 36 — Quiz

Twenty-five questions to check that you can walk any finished timeline out the door correctly. Mix of multiple choice, true/false-with-justification, short answer, and "what's wrong with this delivery?" diagnosis. Answer from memory first; the key and a review map are at the end.

Remember throughout: every specific bitrate, loudness, or platform number in this chapter is typical, at the time of writing. The quiz tests whether you understand the shape and the rules — not whether you memorized a figure that changes.

Multiple choice

1. To export (or render) a timeline means to: - A) Save the project file so you can reopen it later - B) Perform every instruction in the timeline and write the result as one new, self-contained video file - C) Upload the timeline to a platform - D) Compress the original camera files

2. You are delivering a finished piece to a client via a download link and want it to "just play on anything." The safest container + codec pair is: - A) .mov + ProRes - B) .mxf + DNxHR - C) .mp4 + H.264 - D) .avi + uncompressed

3. Your timeline is 1080p at 24 fps. In the export dialog, resolution and frame rate should be set to: - A) The platform's maximum, to be safe - B) 1080p at 24 fps — matched to the timeline - C) 4K at 60 fps, to "future-proof" it - D) Whatever the last preset used

4. Why upload a higher-bitrate file to YouTube than the platform will ultimately stream? - A) The platform stores your exact file forever - B) A higher bitrate disables the platform's re-encode - C) The platform re-encodes your upload, and its result can only be as good as the source you give it - D) It makes the video load faster for viewers

5. A master is best described as: - A) The version you upload to your biggest platform - B) The highest-quality self-contained export you keep and derive all other deliverables from - C) The project file plus its media - D) The first rough cut

6. For a vertical video destined for TikTok/Reels/Shorts, captions are usually: - A) Delivered as a sidecar .srt the viewer toggles on - B) Burned into the picture - C) Left off, since the platform adds them - D) Only in the master

7. Streaming platforms typically normalize loudness toward roughly: - A) 0 dBFS - B) -6 LUFS - C) -14 LUFS - D) -60 LUFS

8. Broadcast delivery loudness standards (e.g., EBU R128 / ATSC A/85) sit around: - A) The same -14 LUFS as streaming - B) Louder than streaming, near 0 LUFS - C) Quieter and tighter — around -23 LUFS / -24 LKFS - D) There is no broadcast loudness standard

9. Which best captures the difference between a delivery codec and an editing codec at export? - A) Delivery codecs (H.264/H.265) make small universal files to ship; editing codecs (ProRes/DNxHR) make large near-lossless files for the master - B) Editing codecs are for phones; delivery codecs are for cinema - C) They are the same thing with different names - D) Delivery codecs are always higher quality

10. Two-pass VBR encoding differs from one-pass because it: - A) Exports the file twice into two folders - B) Analyzes the whole video first, then spends its bitrate budget on the hard parts - C) Doubles the resolution - D) Is always required for social media

11. The single most common silent quality killer in an export is: - A) Choosing H.264 instead of H.265 - B) A resolution or frame-rate mismatch between the export and the timeline - C) Exporting as .mp4 - D) Using stereo audio

12. Making the Instagram cut by exporting it from your already-finished YouTube file causes: - A) Better quality, since the file is already optimized - B) Generation loss — compressing an already-compressed file compounds the damage - C) Nothing; it is the recommended workflow - D) A change of frame rate only

True / False — and say why

For each, mark true or false and give the one-sentence reason.

13. The file extension (.mp4, .mov) reliably tells you which codec is inside.

14. You should watch the exported file, not just trust your memory of the timeline, before delivering.

15. A master file should have the captions burned into it so they are never lost.

16. Because the platform re-encodes everything anyway, the bitrate you export at doesn't matter.

17. Uncorrected auto-generated captions are an acceptable final deliverable if you're short on time.

18. Exporting at a higher frame rate than your timeline makes motion smoother.

Short answer

19. In one sentence each, define delivery codec, delivery bitrate, and wrapper (container) as used on the delivery side.

20. Give the one-sentence rule for choosing container + codec that "covers most of your career."

21. Name the two ways captions can attach to a delivered video, and give the destination you'd use each for.

22. Why does this book refuse to give you a fixed table of platform bitrates and loudness numbers to memorize? What should you do instead?

What's wrong with this delivery?

23. A creator cut a piece at 24 fps, but the exported file judders on playback. The image is otherwise sharp and correct. Name the single most likely cause and the fix.

24. A client opens the "final" file and it looks noticeably softer and more blocky than the version they were shown in the review session. The editor exported at a very low bitrate to make the file "easy to email." Explain what went wrong and what should have been done — including how to handle a client who genuinely needs a small file.

25. A finished 5-minute film is delivered as one file with burned-in English captions. A week later the client asks for a version with no captions (for a trade show) and a French-subtitled version. The editor discovers this is now a lot of extra work. What master-and-caption decision, made at delivery time, would have made both requests trivial?

More questions (mixed)

26. (MC) The best reason to encode a master in ProRes or DNxHR rather than H.264 is: - A) ProRes files are smaller and easier to email - B) H.264 won't play on professional systems - C) An editing codec is near-lossless, so the master keeps almost everything for deriving future deliverables - D) Masters must legally be ProRes

27. (MC) A .srt file contains: - A) The compressed video and audio - B) Lines of caption text, each with a start and end timecode - C) A backup of your project - D) The color grade

28. (True/False, say why) H.265 (HEVC) is always the better delivery choice than H.264 because its files are smaller.

29. (Short answer) Name the four phases of the delivery checklist, in order, in a few words each.

30. (What's wrong?) A creator delivers a 4K ProRes master — a 40 GB file — to a client who asked for "a video for our Instagram." The client can't upload it and is annoyed. What did the creator misunderstand, and what should they have delivered (while still keeping the ProRes file)?

Answer Key

Reveal answers and explanations **1. B.** Export/render performs the timeline's instructions and writes a new self-contained file that plays without your software or original clips. (A is *saving the project*; those are different.) — §36.1 **2. C.** `.mp4` + H.264 is the universal "it will just play" delivery pair. ProRes/`.mov` is for masters; `.mxf`/DNxHR is broadcast; uncompressed `.avi` is huge and non-universal. — §36.2 **3. B.** Match the timeline — 1080p/24 fps. Mismatches force scaling (softness) or frame conversion (judder). — §36.1 **4. C.** The platform re-encodes your upload; a clean, generous source survives the re-encode, a starved one compounds its damage. — §36.2 **5. B.** The master is the highest-quality self-contained export you keep and derive everything from. — §36.4 **6. B.** Burned-in, because vertical social is watched sound-off and a sidecar caption the viewer must enable is one nobody enables. — §36.3, §36.5 **7. C.** Around -14 LUFS for most streaming and social (Chapter 33). — §36.3 **8. C.** Broadcast runs quieter and tighter: ~-23 LUFS (EBU R128) or ~-24 LKFS (ATSC A/85). — §36.3 **9. A.** Delivery codecs (H.264/H.265) = small, universal, for shipping; editing codecs (ProRes/DNxHR) = large, near-lossless, for the master. — §36.2 **10. B.** Two-pass analyzes the whole video, then encodes spending its budget on the hard parts — better quality at a given size, for doubled render time. — §36.2 Tech **11. B.** A resolution/frame-rate mismatch silently softens or judders the export; it's the most common "why does my export look worse?" cause. — §36.1 **12. B.** Generation loss — a second lossy compression on an already-compressed file. Derive from the master or timeline instead. — §36.4 **13. False.** The extension names the *container* (the box), not the codec inside; a `.mov` or `.mp4` can hold several different codecs (Chapter 3's box-vs-contents point). — §36.2 **14. True.** The exported file is the actual deliverable and can differ from the timeline (glitches, unattached captions, judder, wrong loudness); QC the file, on a phone and a big screen. — §36.6 **15. False.** A master is kept *clean* (no burned-in captions) so it can serve any future purpose — a different platform, a corrected or translated caption set, a re-edit; captions go on deliverables or as sidecar files. — §36.4, §36.5 **16. False.** The re-encode can only work from the quality you give it; a low-bitrate upload arrives already damaged and the re-encode compounds it. Export generous. — §36.2 **17. False.** Auto-captions mangle names, numbers, and noisy speech; shipping them uncorrected gives deaf/hard-of-hearing viewers an inaccurate version and signals you didn't take the audience seriously. Always correct by hand. — §36.5 **18. False.** The frame rate should match the timeline; exporting at a higher rate just duplicates frames and can introduce judder — it does not add real smoothness (which comes from how it was *shot*, Chapter 2). — §36.1 **19.** *Delivery codec* — the codec you encode your finished export into for its destination (H.264 to ship, ProRes for a master). *Delivery bitrate* — how much data, in Mb/s, the export spends per second of the finished video. *Wrapper/container* — the file type (named by extension: `.mp4`, `.mov`) that packages the encoded video, audio, and metadata. — §36.2 **20.** H.264 in an `.mp4` to deliver to people and platforms; ProRes (or DNxHR) in a `.mov` for the master you keep. — §36.2 **21.** Burned-in (open) captions — for sound-off vertical social; sidecar (closed) captions in an `.srt`/`.vtt` — for YouTube, broadcast, client work, and the archived master. — §36.5 **22.** Because platform specs — bitrates, loudness, aspect ratios, codecs — change constantly and without notice, so any memorized number goes stale. Instead, know that a spec exists, treat the book's figures as "typical," and look up the current value in Appendix H or the platform's own help pages before a real delivery. — §36.3 **23.** A frame-rate mismatch: the export was rendered at a different fps than the 24 fps timeline, so frames were added/dropped and motion judders. Fix: re-export with the frame rate matched to the timeline (24 fps). — §36.1 **24.** The editor's low delivery bitrate baked in compression damage (softness, blocking), and if it was then uploaded, the platform's re-encode compounded it. The review version looked better because it wasn't starved. Fix: export at a generous bitrate. For a client who truly needs a small file, still derive it from the master, use an efficient approach (H.265 or a sensible constant-quality setting) to hit a small size with the least damage, and *tell them* the size/quality trade — never silently ship a mangled file. — §36.2, §36.4 **25.** Render a clean master with **no burned-in captions**, and deliver captions as **sidecar files**. Then the no-caption trade-show version is just the master (or a fresh clean deliverable), and the French version is a second sidecar `.srt` — no re-render needed. Burning English captions into the only deliverable is what made both requests expensive. — §36.4, §36.5 **26. C.** An editing codec (ProRes/DNxHR) is near-lossless, so the master retains almost everything and every deliverable derived from it starts from pristine quality. (A is false — ProRes files are *large*; masters are big on purpose.) — §36.2, §36.4 **27. B.** A `.srt` is a sidecar caption file: a list of numbered cues, each a start/end timecode and the caption text. It holds no video, audio, or project data — just timed text. — §36.5 **28. False.** H.265 gives ~half the file size for the same quality, but it's heavier for devices to decode and less universally supported, and since platforms re-encode uploads anyway, H.264's universal compatibility is often the safer delivery choice. Reach for H.265 when file size is a real constraint (e.g., 4K), not by default. — §36.2 **29.** Before you export (is the timeline done?); the export settings (do they match the destination?); after you export (QC the file, not the timeline); before you send (name, right version, archive the master, include captions/notes). — §36.6 **30.** The creator confused a **master** with a deliverable. A 40 GB ProRes master is the archive copy, not something a client uploads to Instagram. They should have derived a small **9:16 H.264 `.mp4`** (1080×1920, generous but sane bitrate, burned-in captions, subject in the safe zone) *from* the master — and kept the ProRes master for themselves. The master is what you keep; the deliverable is what you send. — §36.3, §36.4

Topics to review by question

  • Q1, 3, 11, 18, 23 — the export dialog and matching the timeline (§36.1)
  • Q2, 4, 9, 10, 16, 24 — delivery codecs, wrappers, and bitrate (§36.2)
  • Q7, 8, 22 — platform delivery specs and loudness (§36.3; loudness → Ch.33)
  • Q5, 12, 14, 15, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30 — masters vs deliverables, the checklist, and QC (§36.4, §36.6)
  • Q6, 17, 21, 27 — captions and accessibility on export (§36.5)
  • Q13, 19, 28 — the codec/container distinction and H.264/H.265, built on Chapter 3 (§36.2; Ch.3 §3.1)