Score Delivery and Stems
Delivery is more than one stereo file; stem naming and loudness standards are part of the hand-off.
Related
The problem
Directors, editors and re-recording mixers need to change things after the music arrives: duck a loud passage, drop an instrument, extend an ending. Handing over a single stereo mix closes all those doors. Delivery quality decides how much room post-production still has.
How it works
Stems split a mix into functional groups, commonly strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and synth or effects layers. Summed together they must equal the full mix, or later changes will not line up. Stems start at the same time zero, share sample rate and bit depth, and carry clear names. Loudness follows the delivery platform standard, usually with headroom left for the final mix. Delivery also includes the score, MIDI, session files and a licence statement.
Settings and practice
Agree the list first: stereo mix, stems, instrumental version, short edits, score and stem notes. Start stems at the same zero point and keep equal lengths, with file names giving title, cue, version and date. Unify sample rate and bit depth rather than mixing them. Set loudness to the platform target and leave true-peak headroom. Check each stem alone for clipping and all stems together against the original mix. Attach a document describing usage rights and limits.
What to listen for
In the symphony stems, whether strings, woodwinds and brass stand alone and still sum correctly; in the quartet, whether four parts stay aligned after splitting; in the quiet passage, whether dynamics survive. A well-delivered project leaves post-production with almost no questions to ask.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 影视与游戏配乐的分轨交付惯例，依后期制作公开资料核对，未抄原文
- 响度与真峰值的交付标准，依流媒体与广播规范说明核对，未抄文本
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.