In short: Netflix publishes production guidance in its partner help centre, split by topic, and points productions to a full production manual for the detail. The guidance it publishes names the crew roles, sets out a timeline from scoping to dailies, asks for weights and permits early, shares file specifications before the shoot and calls for a run-through before filming. A small shoot can borrow that pattern without the manual.
Netflix's detailed production documents are long, but the working pattern in its public guidance is short. Name the roles, put the work on a timeline, send the paperwork early, and check the first output before the shoot is over. A small shoot can use the same pattern without the manual.
What the guidance says
Netflix is the clearest example to learn from, because much of its guidance is public. Its Partner Help Center is split by department, with sections for delivery, visual effects, dubbed audio and animation. The article used here, on production context for in-camera visual effects, points productions to the Netflix Production Manual for the detailed requirements and describes itself as a guide only. The full manual is not on the public pages, so this page works from the public articles.
The article's crew list shows the roles that matter on a virtual production: a supervisor who runs the stage, an operator for the media server, and a technician for the LED wall. A small shoot may combine these roles, but the same jobs still need an owner.
The timeline
The article sets out a timeline in stages: scope assessment, kickoff, the content, technical and stage recces, permits and weight approvals, ingestion and organisation, a run-through, the shoot, then dailies, quality control and review. Timelines vary by production, so treat the order as the working pattern rather than a fixed schedule.
What a small shoot can borrow
| Stage in the pattern | What the guidance asks for | What a small shoot can do |
|---|---|---|
| Roles | Named roles for each job | Write one name against each job, even if one person holds several |
| Permits and weights | Vehicle make, model and weight, and rig weights, submitted early | Send these to whoever signs the permit before the day |
| File specifications | Codec and file naming shared well before the shoot | Agree the export settings and file names in writing a week before |
| Run-through | A run-through held before filming | Walk the set and check the camera, lights and any screen before the first take |
| Ingest and dailies | Media ingested and organised on a set schedule, with dailies checked | Copy the cards the same day and check the first dailies for faults, not at the end of the week |
The guidance describes the run-through as essential, and it describes checking dailies for faults as good practice. Both are cheap to do on a small shoot and both catch problems early.
Where the pattern stops
Some of the pattern is for large productions only, such as the transport team and the full permit process. Some of it, such as rigging and weights, is safety work. This page is general guidance, and a competent person must assess the actual rig, the loads, the vehicle and the site.
For the delivery side of the same process, broadcast delivery: DPP AS-11 explained covers what a UK broadcaster asks for, and our film crew hire page describes the crew we can provide for a shoot that needs the roles above.
Sources
- Netflix Partner Help Center, Production Context, read 5 November 2026
- Netflix Partner Help Center, home page, read 5 November 2026
Related guides
Questions we get asked
Where does Netflix publish production requirements?
Netflix publishes guidance through its Partner Help Center, split by topic, and points productions to a Netflix Production Manual for the detailed requirements.
Can a small shoot use a streamer's production guide?
Not the full document, which is written for large productions with the streamer's contracts behind it. A small shoot can borrow the structure: named roles, a timeline, early submission of files and a run-through before the shoot.
What does a Netflix production guide ask for before a shoot?
Netflix's guidance on one virtual production topic asks for the crew roles to be named, the weights and vehicle details to be submitted for permits and rigging, the file codec and naming to be shared well before the shoot day, and a run-through to be held before filming.
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