01
Turn it on and send the link.
On the video's Notes tab, tick Notes from viewers, and Approval if you want a sign-off. Both save as you tick them. Send the share link as you normally would.
Video review and approval: Send the cut. Get notes back. Get it signed off.
Turn on client review and the video's share page takes notes, each pinned to the second it refers to. Your client needs no account: a name and a note is enough. You work through the notes in the console, resolve them as you fix them, and the client approves the cut on the same page. Every plan.
How video review works
02
They leave notes as they watch.
Typing a note pauses the video and pins the note to that moment. Each note shows its timecode, and clicking it takes the video back to that moment.
03
Resolve, then sign off.
Mark each note resolved as you fix it. When the cut is right, the client presses Approve this video and you have a record of who approved it and when.
Client review works on the share page, so the share page has to be on. It is the same page your viewers already get, with a notes column beside the player on a wide screen.
Timestamped video feedback, no account needed
A name and a note
The first time, a reviewer gives a name, and an email if they like. The page remembers them after that, and a Not you? link changes the name.
Pinned to the second
Open notes are marked on the progress bar, and the list follows the video as it plays. Scroll away to read, and a Jump to button brings you back. A note can also be general, with no timecode.
Replies keep the thread
You reply from the console, and anyone on the page can reply too, one level deep, so a question and its answer stay together. A reviewer can delete their own note. If it had replies, it leaves a Note removed line so they keep their context.
Resolved notes fold away
A note you resolve leaves the open list and folds under Resolved on the share page, so a second round of review starts from what is still open.
Working through the notes in the console
Notes land on the video's Notes tab as they arrive, with the reviewer's name, their email if they gave one, and the timecode. Reply answers a note from there: your reply shows on the share page under your name, marked Owner. Resolve marks a note done and Reopen brings it back. Delete removes it.
Copy notes copies every open note as plain text, one line each, timecoded notes first and in time order, ready to paste into an edit list or an email.
You do not have to watch the tab. Notes are gathered into one email a quarter of an hour after the first arrives, so a burst of feedback is one message, not ten. It goes to the account owner and to admins and editors, and links straight to the Notes tab.
Video approval and client sign-off
Tick Approval and the share page gets an Approve this video button. Approving asks for a name and an email, even from someone who has already left notes, because a sign-off should be deliberate and you want to know who gave it.
An approval emails you straight away rather than waiting for a digest. The video page lists each one as Approved by a name, with the email and the date. The same browser cannot approve twice. Clear approvals wipes the sign-off record and keeps the notes, for when a new cut needs a new yes.
Approval works on its own too. Leave Notes from viewers off, and the page carries just the button.
Keep client review private
Put a password on the page
Anyone who can open the share page can read and leave notes, so the console suggests a password for client work. A protected page takes notes only from someone who has entered it. How private sharing works.
Notes stay on the share page
Notes and the approve button appear on the share page and in the console, and nowhere else. They never show in an embed on your site or on a channel page.
Reviewer emails are yours
An email a reviewer gives is shown only to you, in the console, and never on the page. The note form tells them so, and that they will not be sent anything.
Comments and reactions: the other mode
Client review is for a cut that is still changing. For a finished video you want a conversation under, a video can take comments instead. On the Comments tab, tick Comments and reactions, and anyone who opens the share page can leave a comment tied to the moment they were watching, and one of six reactions. New comments reach you in an email digest, and you can delete any of them. Every plan.
A video takes notes or comments, not both. To switch, turn the other one off first. A recording starts with Allow comments and reactions ticked, so untick it before you record, or turn comments off later, if the recording is going to a client for review.
Which plans have client review
Client review and approval are on every plan, Solo included, and so is the share page password that keeps a review private. On the account, the Notes tab is for admins and editors; a viewer seat does not get one. See pricing, or compare the plans side by side.
For the whole loop, from the first cut to the sign-off and the file afterwards, read Video proofing: how to get a client to sign off on a cut.
What it is not
Notes are text pinned to a second of the video. There is no drawing on the frame, no frame-accurate annotation, and no live session where you and a client watch together. Replies go one level deep. Reviewers are not notified of replies; they see them when they open the page again. Notes live on the share page, so a video with its share page off cannot be reviewed.
If review is the main job and hosting is secondary, a dedicated review tool may suit you better. Stillhaven vs FrameRate sets out where that line falls.
Questions people ask
Does my client need an account to leave notes?
No. They open the share page, type their name and a note, and post. An email address is optional on a note. Nobody signs up and nobody is sent anything.
How do timestamped notes work?
When a reviewer starts typing, the video pauses and the note is pinned to that moment. On the share page each note has a timecode that jumps the video back to it, and open notes are marked on the progress bar. A reviewer can clear the timecode to leave a general note.
How does a client approve a video?
Turn on Approval and the share page gets an Approve this video button. The client gives a name and an email and approves. You get an email straight away, and the approval is listed on the video page with the name, email and date.
Who can see the notes?
Anyone who can open the share page can read the notes on it, so for client work put a password on the page. Notes never appear in an embed or on a channel page. A reviewer's email is shown only to you, in the console.
How am I told about new notes?
By email. Notes are gathered into one digest a quarter of an hour after the first one arrives, so a client leaving ten notes in a few minutes sends one email. It goes to the account owner and to admins and editors.
Can a video have comments and client review at once?
No. A video takes notes and approval, or comments and reactions, not both. To switch, turn the other one off first.
Which plans include client review?
Every plan, Solo included. Comments and reactions are on every plan too.
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