Preparing a project film for a live presentation: a playback checklist

1. Give the film a specific job in the presentation

Write the point you want the audience to understand after watching. Decide what the speaker should explain beforehand and what can be left for the film. An introduction that repeats the whole story can make the screening feel redundant; no introduction can leave an unfamiliar audience guessing why the project matters.

Prepare the sentence that follows the film as well. It might connect a project decision to the subject of the meeting or introduce the next discussion. Keep the connection accurate rather than turning the film into evidence for a claim it does not establish.

• Presentation purpose and audience:
• Question the film will help answer:
• Context the audience needs first:
• Speaker’s introduction:
• Point to return to afterwards:
• Place in the running order:

The audience story-use map can help if the proposed screening serves a different purpose from the film’s original use. A different audience does not automatically require a new edit, but it may expose a context gap.

2. Identify the exact version and playback owner

Use the approved release file, not an edit-review link or a copy whose status is unclear. Ask the organiser or technical contact how they want to receive and play it. Agree the actual playback application or system before assuming that a particular file, embedded slide or online link will work.

Name the person who starts the film, controls its sound and returns to the presentation. If the speaker will operate it, include those actions in rehearsal. Keep the source file and presentation version identifiable so a last-minute replacement does not silently undo a tested arrangement.

• Approved film filename and version:
• Presentation file or running-order version:
• Playback system and responsible person:
• File or link requested by that person:
• Transfer location and delivery deadline:
• Who confirms receipt and successful playback?
• Who is authorised to replace the tested file?

3. Test the audience experience in the actual arrangement

Ask for a test using the equipment and connections intended for the session. Watch the beginning and ending as well as the middle: the transition into the film and the return to the speaker are part of the experience. A file opening successfully is not the same as sound reaching the room.

Check from audience positions, with the planned room lighting where possible. Note whether spoken words can be understood and whether important labels and captions can be read. Give any issue to the person responsible for the relevant system rather than changing equipment settings without agreement.

• Test date, location and people present:
• Playback device and connection tested:
• Picture visible without important detail being cut off:
• Speech and relevant sound audible in the room:
• Text and captions readable from audience positions:
• Start, finish and return to slides checked:
• Issue, owner and retest required:

4. Confirm access requirements with the organiser

W3C’s accessible-events guidance recommends making important text and visuals readable from the back of the room, providing access to audio information and describing relevant visual information. It also advises organisers to ask about accessibility requirements. Use those points to start a specific discussion with the organiser, not as proof that a screening is fully accessible.

Record the agreed arrangement for this audience and destination. Establish who checks it during rehearsal and who resolves a missing requirement. A caption track that exists in the delivery folder still needs to be available in the actual playback setup.

• Organiser or accessibility contact:
• Requirements confirmed for this session:
• Agreed caption, description or text provision:
• Who checks that provision in the playback setup?
• Material needed by relevant support providers:
• Open issue and decision needed before the event:

For production changes or additional outputs, use the accessibility requirements worksheet and agree the work before treating it as included.

5. Rehearse the cue and the return

Agree a simple cue that the presenter and operator both recognise. Then run the sequence: introduction, cue, playback, end and next spoken line. Check who handles the microphone during the film and what the audience sees when playback finishes.

In a fictional rehearsal, the presenter says “here is the project”, but the operator is waiting for the words “roll the film”. They resolve the mismatch by agreeing one cue and practising the handover. The lesson is a shared action, not a more elaborate technical setup. This example is invented, not a report of a Live Images event.

• Presenter’s exact start cue:
• Operator’s action:
• Microphone arrangement during playback:
• What appears when the film ends?
• Speaker’s first line afterwards:
• Who signals a change to the running order?

6. Agree a fallback that preserves the point

Decide what the speaker will do if playback cannot proceed. A useful fallback might be a short verbal explanation supported by an approved still, or continuing the presentation and sharing an authorised viewing destination afterwards. Confirm that any alternative material is suitable for that audience and use.

Agree who decides to stop troubleshooting and move on. Repeated attempts can consume the time intended for the discussion. A spare file or device is only a meaningful alternative if the responsible operator has checked that it can be used in the planned setup.

• Problem that triggers the fallback:
• Person deciding whether to continue or move on:
• Speaker’s alternative explanation:
• Approved supporting material, if any:
• Operator’s action and next presentation item:
• How the audience can access the film later, if appropriate:

Keep the final rehearsal note short: exact film, named operator, agreed cue, checked viewing and sound, open requirements and fallback. Circulate it with the current running order so that the people involved have the same plan.