diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index b0441ef..1c70936 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -61,6 +61,15 @@ async fn safe_move_file(from: PathBuf, to: PathBuf) -> Result<(), UploadError> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+async fn safe_create_parent(path: PathBuf) -> Result<(), UploadError> {
+    if let Some(path) = path.parent() {
+        debug!("Creating directory {:?}", path);
+        actix_fs::create_dir_all(path.to_owned()).await?;
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 // Try writing to a file
 #[instrument(skip(bytes))]
 async fn safe_save_file(path: PathBuf, bytes: bytes::Bytes) -> Result<(), UploadError> {
diff --git a/src/processor.rs b/src/processor.rs
index 8c8fd25..2b91f03 100644
--- a/src/processor.rs
+++ b/src/processor.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use actix_web::web;
 use bytes::Bytes;
 use magick_rust::MagickWand;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
-use tracing::{debug, instrument, Span};
+use tracing::{debug, instrument, Span, error};
 
 pub(crate) trait Processor {
     fn name() -> &'static str
@@ -231,6 +231,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn prepare_image(
         let orig_path = original_path_str.clone();
 
         let tmpfile = crate::tmp_file();
+        crate::safe_create_parent(tmpfile.clone()).await?;
         let tmpfile2 = tmpfile.clone();
 
         let res = web::block(move || {
@@ -241,6 +242,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn prepare_image(
         .await;
 
         if let Err(e) = res {
+            error!("transcode error: {:?}", e);
             actix_fs::remove_file(tmpfile2).await?;
             return Err(e.into());
         }
diff --git a/src/validate/mod.rs b/src/validate/mod.rs
index c59ecb6..7f86c74 100644
--- a/src/validate/mod.rs
+++ b/src/validate/mod.rs
@@ -88,6 +88,13 @@ fn validate_format(file: &str, format: &str) -> Result<(), UploadError> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+fn safe_create_parent(path: &PathBuf) -> Result<(), UploadError> {
+    if let Some(path) = path.parent() {
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(path)?;
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 // import & export image using the image crate
 #[instrument]
 pub(crate) async fn validate_image(
@@ -105,6 +112,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn validate_image(
         let content_type = match (prescribed_format, meta.get_media_type()?) {
             (_, MediaType::Gif) => {
                 let newfile = tmp_file();
+                safe_create_parent(&newfile)?;
                 validate_frames(&tmpfile, &newfile)?;
 
                 video_mp4()
@@ -129,6 +137,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn validate_image(
                 if webp == "image/webp" =>
             {
                 let newfile = tmp_file();
+                safe_create_parent(&newfile)?;
                 let newfile_str = ptos(&newfile)?;
                 // clean metadata by writing new webp, since exiv2 doesn't support webp yet
                 {
@@ -153,6 +162,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn validate_image(
             }
             (Some(format), _) => {
                 let newfile = tmp_file();
+                safe_create_parent(&newfile)?;
                 let newfile_str = ptos(&newfile)?;
                 {
                     let mut wand = MagickWand::new();
@@ -175,6 +185,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn validate_image(
             }
             (_, MediaType::Other(mp4)) if mp4 == "video/mp4" || mp4 == "video/quicktime" => {
                 let newfile = tmp_file();
+                safe_create_parent(&newfile)?;
                 validate_frames(&tmpfile, &newfile)?;
 
                 video_mp4()
diff --git a/src/validate/transcode.rs b/src/validate/transcode.rs
index 708bdb6..6d02ad5 100644
--- a/src/validate/transcode.rs
+++ b/src/validate/transcode.rs
@@ -249,9 +249,9 @@ fn transcoder(
 
     Ok(Transcoder {
         stream: input.index(),
-        filter: filter,
-        decoder: decoder,
-        encoder: encoder,
+        filter,
+        decoder,
+        encoder,
     })
 }