> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://nytshift.gitbook.io/nytshift-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://nytshift.gitbook.io/nytshift-docs/release-and-readiness/flagship-film.md).

# Flagship film intake

Status: dormant until a separate final master and manifest pass every gate.

The approved V3 animatic is a creative-direction reference only. Its SHA-256, `61a95d25d2298be4eb5008504cdfb887d25d0e49e452be399892818a49d0b7b5`, is explicitly refused by the website as a production master.

## Required final package

The film owner supplies:

* a final 16:9 MP4 master using H.264 video and AAC audio;
* a 16:9 AVIF, WebP, PNG or JPEG poster;
* English WebVTT captions and an exact Markdown or plain-text transcript when available;
* an exact `nytshift_flagship_film_v1` JSON manifest with `stage` set to `final-master`;
* exact SHA-256 and byte count for every asset;
* duration, dimensions, codec/container and audio-presence evidence.

Every asset path must be absolute, regular and non-symlinked. The application hashes the manifest and every asset before rendering the frame or serving a byte. A missing, partial, mismatched, unsupported or animatic package renders nothing and every media endpoint returns 404.

Example manifest shape:

```json
{
  "schema": "nytshift_flagship_film_v1",
  "stage": "final-master",
  "title": "NYTSHIFT — control before capital",
  "master": {
    "path": "D:\\NYTSHIFT\\film\\nytshift-final.mp4",
    "sha256": "<64 lowercase hex>",
    "bytes": 123456789,
    "container": "mp4",
    "videoCodec": "h264",
    "audioCodec": "aac",
    "width": 1920,
    "height": 1080,
    "durationMs": 72000,
    "hasAudio": true
  },
  "poster": {
    "path": "D:\\NYTSHIFT\\film\\nytshift-final.webp",
    "sha256": "<64 lowercase hex>",
    "bytes": 123456,
    "width": 1920,
    "height": 1080
  },
  "captions": {
    "path": "D:\\NYTSHIFT\\film\\nytshift-final.vtt",
    "sha256": "<64 lowercase hex>",
    "bytes": 1234,
    "language": "en"
  },
  "transcript": {
    "path": "D:\\NYTSHIFT\\film\\nytshift-final.md",
    "sha256": "<64 lowercase hex>",
    "bytes": 1234
  }
}
```

## Intake and release gate

1. Independently calculate SHA-256 for the manifest and every asset.
2. Use `ffprobe` to verify actual MP4/H.264/AAC streams, dimensions, duration, audio presence, frame rate and no unexpected data/attachment streams.
3. Review the complete film for claims, captions, loudness, flashes and the canonical NYTSHIFT identity.
4. Set the private service environment:

   ```
   NIGHTSHIFT_FLAGSHIP_FILM_ENABLED=true
   NIGHTSHIFT_FLAGSHIP_FILM_MANIFEST_PATH=<absolute manifest path>
   NIGHTSHIFT_FLAGSHIP_FILM_MANIFEST_SHA256=<exact manifest sha256>
   ```
5. Build the exact immutable product commit with the final assets mounted at the manifest paths. A build without a ready manifest must contain no visible film frame.
6. Test inline playback, audible audio after user activation, seek, captions, fullscreen, keyboard controls, poster, failure fallback and download.
7. Verify `HEAD`, ordinary `GET`, suffix/open/closed byte ranges, 206/416 behavior, ETag/304, immutable caching, content types and disposition.
8. Browser-test 1280×720, tablet and 390×844, reduced motion, touch and keyboard. Confirm no layout shift, clipping, autoplay audio or competition with the separate first-visit intro.
9. Add privacy-safe playback analytics only after a consented analytics system is separately selected. The current implementation emits none.
10. Promote only the exact verified release with rollback preserved.


---

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