A Quick Note Before This Week’s Edition:

🎥 How to Provide VIDEO FEEDBACK (Visual Guide)

“The first draft of anything is shit”

When your editor delivers the first version of your video, you're gonna want some changes. However, communicating with them can be tricky.

Today, we’ll break down how to provide feedback on any video - I guarantee this method will help both you and your editor maintain your sanity.

All you really need is a shareable Google Doc. Your editor might have a specific software that will include you in their workflow. Tools like Frame.io allow collaborators to make notes directly on drafts of videos so editors can implement feedback more seamlessly.

But truly, a Google doc is perfectly fine.

For the sake of this example, let’s assume we’re reviewing a short-form talking head video of a CCO by the name of Sharon.

*insert drawing to help me see what you mean.

#1 The Content Cut

The first time you review an edit, you will most likely take note of a wide variety of things.

Odd jumpcuts, font choices, and background music all deserve to be addressed, but the first thing you want to tackle is the substance and accuracy of the content.

In other words, are the things coming out of the subject’s mouth correct, clearly communicated, and in the right order? How is the pacing of the narrative? Does it drag on? Could something be said more simply?

For this first pass, I recommend listening to the video rather than watching. It allows you to focus on the narrative arc of the video without being distracted by visual effects.

If you hear something in the content that needs tweaked, pause the video and add a timestamp to the shared Google doc and make note of the change that needs to be made:

The timestamp highlighted in yellow above is an example of a single cut that can be made. Often used for individual words or dead space in edits.

The timestamp highlighted in green demonstrates a range of time that should be cut, followed by specific notes of aural cues.

Once you have noted all of the content edits and added the appropriate timestamps, you can move onto the next round:

#2 Text, Graphics, & Branding

Watch the video another time through, but this time pay attention to the visual effects your editor used.

Names, titles and captions* should be spell-checked.

Fonts and colors should adhere to your brand guidelines.

Relevant emojis, memes, or pop culture imagery should be included when appropriate.

Add all of these notes to the same Google doc, but in chronological order of where they fall in the video:

The timestamp highlighted in blue is an example of a correction to text.

The timestamps in pink are examples of visual notes.

*It is important to note that often editors add captions to videos last. This is because they want to ensure that the content of the video is correct before adding captions overtop of a video timeline. Once the first round of content cuts are finalized and made, captions will be added. This is much easier for workflow, so you may not see captions on a video until the second round of revision.

#3 Color Correction & Music

These are the final things to address in a first-round edit.

If you have overarching notes about the colors/tones/light in the video, they can be summed up in notes above the timestamps, like so:

When making notes about music/sound effects, you can do that in the notes section and/or in the timestamps, depending on how specific your changes are.

The timestamp in orange is an example of a piece of feedback for sound effects.

When you have made all of your notes, organize your document so that it’s easy for your editor to work from.

Your finished product could look something like this:

Ultra-simple and profoundly clear.

This format will provide your editor exactly what they need to deliver a great final product.

If you found this helpful, share it with someone who is also trying to step up their content game.

Have an ELITE Week,

Hannah

Elite Video of the Week:

Watch this video to learn how to effectively (and ethically) steal content ideas for yourself.