At my job, we have a new naming convention for both folders and files, made to include all the information we could ever need... However, if we follow that convention to the letter, there is a possibility that Word or Excel will refuse to open the files we have, because the folder path is above 256 characters. So we have to copy files at other places just to be able to open them, which is creating quite a bunch of files placed in random spots and with truncated names.
Sounds like they are doing work for the Federal Government, perhaps under HIPAA rules. Some of the routing tables for places that deal with the Federal Healthcare system would boggle your mind. The more regulations you have, the worse it gets.
Of course the strips are made in advance. The buffer prevents any unexpected delays in case something happens to Scott, and also gives editors and censors plenty of time to review each strip. I'm curious how you found a leak in the buffer, though.