Create a media contact sheet

---
name: create-a-media-contact-sheet
category: media
description: Create a labeled media contact sheet for visual review, selection, continuity, and source tracing. Use when many images or clips need a fast shared index without opening each original.
---

# create-a-media-contact-sheet

Make every thumbnail traceable to its source.

## When to use

- Use for footage, photography, scans, archives, selects, or continuity review.
- Keep restricted media out of broadly shared sheets and preserve access controls.

## Procedure

1. Define review purpose, audience, access, source set, sort order, and thumbnail interval or selection rule.
2. Preserve originals and generate thumbnails from managed derivatives.
3. Label each image with stable source ID, filename, timecode or frame, date, and relevant rights or sensitivity marker.
4. Use consistent crop, orientation, color handling, size, and page order without hiding meaningful context.
5. Add legend, project, version, creator, generation date, and source location.
6. Export a readable document or image set with selectable identifiers where possible.
7. Sample labels against originals and verify no restricted or private frame was included accidentally.

## Done

- A contact-sheet file presents consistent labeled thumbnails with source IDs, timing, order, legend, version, and access marking
- Sampled checks verify identifiers, frames, color, orientation, privacy, rights, and links back to managed originals