The Vertical Drama Commission Checklist: Everything a Business Needs Before Signing a Production Agreement

The production agreement is not the beginning of the production process. It is the formalisation of a set of decisions, specifications, and confirmations that should exist before any legal instrument is executed. A business that signs a vertical drama production agreement without the items on this checklist has not entered a production relationship. It has entered a negotiation about what the production will actually be, conducted retroactively, under contract, with revision costs that the budget did not account for.

The right partner needs to connect story, production, testing, localisation and platform economics in one workflow. That connection is only possible when the commissioning party has made the decisions that each element of the workflow depends on before the workflow begins. The checklist below is the decision and documentation set that should exist before the production agreement is signed.

Section 1: Commercial Objective Confirmed

The commercial objective is the single sentence that describes what the series must achieve commercially for the commission to be considered successful. Not the creative vision. Not the genre. The commercial outcome.

Confirm before signing:

The commercial objective is one of three types: reach and awareness (measured by total views and media impact value), audience engagement and brand affinity (measured by return visit rate and brand recall lift), or direct conversion (measured by conversion rate from viewers to purchasers or subscribers). A commission without a confirmed commercial objective type cannot be evaluated as successful or unsuccessful after distribution.

The target platform is confirmed and its acquisition requirements are understood. A commission whose target platform has not been confirmed is a commission whose delivery specifications, exclusivity provisions, and acquisition timeline are all unknown variables at the time of signing.

The budget is confirmed at the correct tier for the target platform's acquisition standard. A commission budgeted below the target platform's production quality floor is a commission whose delivery will not meet the acquisition requirement regardless of how well the production is executed.

Section 2: The Brief Is Complete

The production brief is the document that the production partner executes against. A production agreement signed without a complete brief is a production agreement that authorises the production partner to make assumptions about every unspecified element of the production.

Confirm before signing:

The genre thesis is specified as a narrative and character configuration sentence rather than as a genre label. Not CEO romance. The specific power dynamic, character configuration, and central tension that the protagonist and controlled alpha occupy from episode one.

The episode count and average runtime are confirmed. 70 episodes at 90 seconds and 40 episodes at 90 seconds are structurally different commissions. Both numbers must be locked before scripting begins.

The paywall episode position is confirmed. The arc map is built around the paywall position. A paywall position specified after scripting is underway requires script revision proportionate to the number of episodes that assumed the wrong paywall position.

The delivery technical specifications are confirmed in writing from the target platform or distribution channel before signing. A delivery specification discovered after post-production is complete requires remediation that the production timeline did not account for.

The visual register is specified with sufficient precision to build a character reference pack. Not a mood board. Specific colour temperature descriptions, lighting direction specifications, and environment category descriptions that a generation operator can translate into generation parameters.

Section 3: Rights and IP Structure Is Agreed

The IP ownership provisions in the production agreement are the commercial decisions whose consequences are longest-lasting and most difficult to reverse after signing. Every IP question should be resolved before the agreement is executed.

Confirm before signing:

The commissioning party owns all IP produced under the commission including characters, story world, scripts, and generated visual content. If any element of the commission involves third-party IP, the adaptation rights agreement is executed before the production agreement is signed. A production agreement that assumes IP rights will be sorted out during production is a production agreement that creates a chain of title problem before the first episode is generated.

The exclusivity territory and term are specified. Worldwide exclusivity versus territory-limited exclusivity has different downstream implications for secondary licensing. Both parties confirm the exclusivity scope before signing.

The sequel rights provision is confirmed. The commissioning party's right to commission sequels using the established characters and story world, and the production partner's right of first negotiation on sequel commissions, are specified in the production agreement rather than left for future negotiation.

The AI tool usage documentation provision is confirmed. The production agreement specifies that the production partner will include AI tool usage documentation in the delivery package as part of the chain of title documentation. This provision is not negotiable for platform delivery requiring E&O coverage.

Section 4: The Production Partner's Capability Is Verified

The due diligence checklist post covers the six capability domains in full. Before signing a production agreement, the commissioning party confirms at minimum three of the six domains through specific evidence rather than through the production partner's claims.

Confirm before signing:

Character consistency documentation. A sample of three to five episodes from a prior production provided by the production partner, evaluated on a consumer phone at arm's length, confirms whether the character's visual identity holds across sessions. A production partner who cannot provide this sample does not have a production track record.

Prior platform acquisition confirmation. The production partner names at least one platform that has acquired their content and can provide acquisition confirmation documentation. A production company without any platform acquisition history has not validated its production at commercial distribution standard.

E&O coverage confirmation. The production partner confirms they carry E&O insurance covering AI-generated content claims and provides a broker cover note confirming the coverage scope. A production partner without AI-specific E&O coverage cannot deliver the E&O certificate that platform distribution requires.

Section 5: The Review Schedule Is Agreed

The review schedule specifies when the commissioning party reviews what during the production and what approval means at each stage. A production agreement without an agreed review schedule produces a production where the commissioning party either reviews everything at delivery (too late to prevent costly revisions) or attempts to review continuously without agreed approval gates (too slow for the production timeline).

Confirm before signing:

Arc map approval is confirmed as a pre-scripting gate. The commissioning party approves the arc map before any scripts are commissioned. Arc map changes after scripting begins generate revision costs proportionate to the number of episodes affected.

Generation sample review is confirmed as a mid-production gate. The commissioning party reviews a generation sample of three to five episodes from the first batch before the remaining batches are generated. The generation sample review catches visual quality and character consistency problems before they propagate across the full episode run.

Delivery acceptance is confirmed as the final gate with a defined acceptance window. A delivery package accepted without a defined acceptance window creates an open-ended acceptance liability. A delivery package with a 10-business-day acceptance window gives the commissioning party structured review time without creating an indefinite liability for the production partner.

Section 6: Payment Structure Is Confirmed

The payment structure specifies when payments are made, against what milestones, and what happens if a milestone is not met on schedule.

Confirm before signing:

The payment structure follows the 30/30/40 milestone model: 30% on production commencement, 30% on arc map and script approval at the series midpoint, 40% on delivery acceptance. This structure protects the commissioning party from paying for production that does not deliver and protects the production partner from completing delivery without payment.

The revision policy is specified. How many revision rounds are included in the commission fee. What constitutes a revision (a change to an approved generation) versus a scope change (a change to the brief's specifications). The cost per additional revision round above the included rounds.

The kill fee provision is confirmed. If the commissioning party cancels the production after commencement, the kill fee covers the production partner's sunk costs at the cancellation point. A production agreement without a kill fee provision exposes the commissioning party to full payment obligation regardless of the reason for cancellation.

Section 7: Delivery Package Contents Are Confirmed

The delivery package is not only the video files. It is the complete set of deliverables that the production agreement specifies and that platform distribution requires. A commissioning party who has not confirmed the delivery package contents before signing may discover at delivery that the package is missing documentation that the target platform requires.

Confirm before signing:

The video master files are specified at the correct codec, resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate, and colour space for the target platform.

The audio stems are specified for delivery alongside the combined stereo master. Audio stems are required for localisation and for platform-level audio remediation.

The subtitle files are specified at the target platform's required format and language.

The chain of title documentation set is confirmed: work-for-hire agreements for all writers, AI tool usage documentation, IP clearance report, and performer releases.

The E&O certificate coverage scope is confirmed before the production agreement is signed, not after delivery. A commissioning party who discovers at delivery that the E&O certificate does not cover AI-generated content has a delivery default before distribution can begin.

Axis AI Studios Perspective

The pre-signing checklist is the commercial preparation that the brief development session produces. At Axis AI Studios, the brief development session with a new commissioning party covers all seven checklist sections before any production agreement is drafted. The commercial objective, the brief specifications, the IP structure, the capability evidence, the review schedule, the payment structure, and the delivery package contents are all confirmed before the production agreement is proposed.

A commissioning party who arrives at the production agreement with all seven checklist sections confirmed is a commissioning party whose production will proceed without the retroactive negotiation that under-prepared commissions generate. The brief development session is the investment that the checklist represents.

For businesses who want to work through the pre-signing checklist with a production partner who handles brief development alongside production and delivery, reach out at business@axisaistudios.com.

FAQ

How Long Does It Take to Complete the Pre-Signing Checklist?

The pre-signing checklist typically takes one to two weeks to complete for a commissioning party approaching their first vertical drama commission. The longest lead-time item is the target platform's delivery specification confirmation, which requires outreach to the platform's technical delivery team or review of the platform's publicly available delivery requirements. The IP structure decisions and commercial objective confirmation can typically be completed in one to two business days.

Can a Production Agreement Be Signed Before the Brief Is Complete?

Technically yes. Commercially no. A production agreement signed before the brief is complete authorises the production partner to begin pre-production without the specifications the pre-production requires. The pre-production work that begins without a complete brief produces assumptions that become revision costs when the brief is eventually completed. The brief completion should be a condition precedent to production commencement rather than a parallel process.

What Happens if the Checklist Reveals a Problem With the Commission?

The checklist's commercial function is to identify problems before the production agreement is signed rather than after. A commissioning party who discovers through the checklist that the target platform's delivery specifications require E&O coverage their production partner cannot provide has discovered a potentially deal-breaking problem at the right moment: before the agreement is signed. The correct response is to resolve the problem before signing, not to sign and address it during production.

Further Reading

For the brief document that Section 2 of this checklist requires, the guide to how to brief an AI-native production partner covers every section the brief must contain and what happens when each section is under-specified.

For the capability verification that Section 4 of this checklist requires, the guide to what to look for in an AI vertical drama production partner covers all six capability domains with specific evidence requirements and red flags.

For the delivery package contents that Section 7 of this checklist specifies, the guide to what vertical drama data rooms look like covers the complete documentation package that platform distribution requires.