Sign in Subscribe

A working production team, sharing the playbook we actually use

Final v Final is a filmmaking newsletter built by a Chicago based production team that works across documentary and commercial projects—working on everything from concept to delivery. On any given day we’re shaping treatments, scouting locations, building lighting plans, rolling with crews, or finishing in color and mix. We made Final v Final to publish the references, checklists, and field-tested methods we lean on while doing that work.

Why share it?

  • Because more and more people are getting into filmmaking and content creation, which is great!
  • Because this industry rarely teaches you anything until you’re already responsible for it.

Most of us learned by shipping jobs and surviving mistakes. This site is our attempt to shorten that learning curve, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve got years on set.

What we do (when we’re not writing about it)

  • Documentary: we're a tight crew with tight visions, concepting and capturing stories for brands and for ourselves.
  • Commercial: clear briefs, tight schedules, repeatable lighting, clean approvals, and delivery spec discipline clients trust. (Plus, a whole lot of looking at food but not being able to eat it).
  • End to end: creative development, scripting, preproduction, production, post—plus the business pieces that keep projects friendly and profitable.

All this to say: We’re active. We publish after we try it, not before. (also, if you'd like to work with us, send us at email at partnership@beyondthespecs.com)

What you’ll find here

  • Preproduction — For everyone working before the action. How to's on script breakdowns, boards, lookbooks, schedules, budgets, tech-scout habits, and Plan B playbooks for weather, talent, and gear.
  • Production — For everyone hearing the word action. Discussions on lighting diagrams that scale, exposure talks, grip solutions for travel, audio triage, set communication that actually saves time, and much, much more.
  • Post — For everyone who cuts the action. We talk edit structure, proxy strategies, color pipelines (Log/CST/ACES), review loops clients can follow, delivery specs, QC, and archive recipes.
  • Business & Freelancing — For everyone who needs money to live. We talk rates, scopes, retainers, change orders, invoice language, and client hygiene so the craft pays, for those freelancing or starting their own production company.
  • Free Stuff — For everyone. Templates, calculators, and clean docs you can drop into a project today.
  • Deep Dives — For the longer breakdowns on all the terms we hear on set, and nod along with.

If it doesn’t help you move faster or frame better, it doesn’t make the site.

Our weekly pulse

Final v Final is a weekly newsletter that drops 4-6 articles on any given week, starting with an outlook email every Monday and delivering each article day by day. It should hit your inbox before your call time. You might get two somedays! Depends on how busy we are.

Why we built this (and who it’s for)

We built this for the people who are about to get the job and deserve a fighting chance to do it well—and for the crews who’ve been doing it for years and want cleaner workflows, fewer fire drills, and approvals that stick. If you’re a director planning your first doc, an editor inheriting a messy project, a producer trying to make the day without burning goodwill, or a small brand team trying to post smarter, you’re in the right place.

Tools are tools. We disclose affiliates or sponsorships clearly and only recommend what earned its place on set or in edit. Period.

If it is not good, we will say it is not good. If it is good, it's probably because it saved us time, effort, or money. We’ll show alternatives at different budget tiers and we’ll say when a rental or a workaround is smarter than a purchase.

Credits and community

This site is better when it’s not just us. If you have a reference to share, a technique you want pressure-tested, or a correction we should publish, send it. We’ll credit contributors and keep the library honest.

Work with us

We still make the work. If you need a documentary crew, a small commercial build, or an end-to-end production—from creative to post—get in touch. If we’re not the right team, we’ll point you to someone who is.

Join the roster to get the Monday brief. Then go make the day—and nail the edit.