What DCP-o-Matic Actually Creates
When DCP-o-Matic encodes your film, it creates a top-level project folder and inside it generates both the finished DCP and a collection of working files it used during encoding. Those working files include a log of the encoding session, a metadata file storing your project settings, a video folder containing intermediate encoded frame data, and an audio analysis folder. The result: the working directory is approximately twice the size of the finished DCP. None of those working files are part of the DCP. None of them should be sent to anyone.
Where the Actual DCP Is
The finished DCP lives inside a subfolder within the project directory. That subfolder has a long name using the ISDCF naming convention — something like MyFilm_SHR-1_F_EN-XX_INT_51_2K_20260101_IOP_OV. Open it and you should see MXF files, an ASSETMAP.xml, a VOLINDEX.xml, a PKL file and a CPL file. That folder and only that folder is your DCP. Everything above it stays on your hard drive.
The most common mistake: uploading the entire project folder to Filemail, WeTransfer or Google Drive instead of just the DCP subfolder. This sends roughly twice as much data as necessary, takes twice as long, wastes storage on the receiving end, and means whoever receives your file has to hunt through unfamiliar files to find the actual DCP.
Checking the Naming
Before you upload anything, look at the name of the DCP subfolder. DCP-o-Matic generates it from whatever you typed into the title field and your settings choices. Common problems: abbreviated title (TBITC instead of TheBoyInTheClouds), missing fields, special characters in the title, and not updating the date when you revise a DCP.
Verifying What You Have Made
DCP-o-Matic has a built-in verification function. Use it. After encoding, run the verifier on the DCP subfolder. It will check that all files are present and checksums are correct. This is not a substitute for watching the DCP — it checks technical validity, not whether the picture looks correct, the audio channels are in the right order, or the subtitle timecode is accurate.
Pre-send checklist for DCP-o-Matic users
- I am sending the DCP subfolder — the one with the long technical name — not the whole project directory
- The DCP subfolder contains MXF files, ASSETMAP.xml, VOLINDEX.xml, a PKL and a CPL
- The folder name contains the full title of my film, spelled out — not abbreviated to an acronym
- The folder name includes content type (FTR/SHR/TLR), aspect ratio (F/S), audio (51/20), resolution (2K/4K)
- I have run the DCP-o-Matic verifier and it passed
- If this is a revised version, the date in the name has been updated
- The folder is at the root of the drive or top level of the upload — not buried inside other folders
- If uploading via Google Drive — I have zipped the DCP folder first
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