A Video Review Process That Stops Late Changes
Why changes after picture lock cost so much, and a post-production review process for video teams: rough cut to delivery, with feedback that works.
A Video Review Process That Stops Late Changes
The grade is done. The sound mix is finished. The subtitles are timed. Then the client emails: "Love it! Just one thing. Could we swap the second interview for the one with Dave?"
In their head, that's a small change. In your edit, it's a re-cut, a re-grade of the new shots, a new sound mix for that section and a fresh set of subtitles. It might be a day of work, and you've got a Thursday delivery.
Clients don't ask for this to be difficult. They ask because nobody explained how video gets made. Fixing that is most of what a review process does.
Video Isn't Like Other Creative Work
If a client changes a headline in a design, you change a headline. Video is different, because the stages build on each other. Colour, sound and graphics are all done to a specific edit, with specific timings. Change the edit, and the work built on it may need to be redone.
That's why every post-production workflow has a point called picture lock: the moment when the edit stops changing, and finishing can begin.
Clients don't know that term, so teach it to them early. A line in the first meeting will do: "We'll have several chances to change the edit. Once you've approved it, we lock it and move to colour and sound, and changes after that point cost extra."
The Stages
| Stage | What it is | What to review | Client involved? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingest | Footage backed up and organised | Nothing yet | No |
| Assembly | Rough order of the best takes | Internal only | No |
| Rough cut | Story and structure | Is the story right? | Yes |
| Fine cut | Pacing and detail | Is this the right edit? | Yes |
| Picture lock | Edit approved and frozen | Written sign-off | Yes |
| Colour | Grading | Look and consistency | Lightly |
| Sound | Mix, music and effects | Levels and clarity | Lightly |
| Graphics and captions | Titles, lower thirds and subtitles | Spelling and facts | Yes |
| Final delivery | Exports to spec | Every export | Sign-off |
Ingest: protect the footage first
Nothing else matters if you lose the rushes. (And before any of this, on the shoot itself, the UK's Health and Safety Executive is the place to start on risk assessments.) The old rule of thumb is three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one kept somewhere else. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre makes a similar point about keeping a backup separate from your main copy. Do this before you leave the shoot if you can, and verify that the copies open. If someone tells you they've "got the card", that isn't a backup.
Then log what you've got, and use a consistent folder structure. The editor who picks this up in six months will be grateful, and it might be you.
Rough cut: review the story, not the polish
This is the most valuable review, and also the most misunderstood one. Clients see a rough cut with temp music and no colour, and they comment on the wrong things. So say exactly what you need:
"This is about the story and order. Colour, sound and graphics come later. Is the message right, and is anything missing?"
Getting a structural change now takes minutes. Later, it's the email about Dave.
Fine cut to picture lock: the decision point
At fine cut, you're tuning pacing and choosing between takes. Agree a fixed number of rounds in your scope, commonly two or three, and make sure that the final approver has actually seen the film before you lock. A lot of late changes come from a senior person who first watches it at the end.
Get picture lock approved in writing, in plain language: "You're approving this edit. Changes after this are charged as additional work."
Finishing: colour, sound and graphics
Keep the client's role here narrow. Unless something's wrong, this is your craft. The review that does need the client is on-screen text. Every name, job title and statistic should be proofed by someone who's checked the source. A misspelled executive's name in a lower third is a classic disaster.
Delivery: watch every file
Different platforms want different things, so confirm the specification before you export. YouTube publishes its recommended upload settings, for instance, and other platforms have their own. Agree aspect ratios early too, because a vertical cut for social is really another edit.
Watch each export all the way through. Exports fail in strange ways: a dropped frame, a missing audio channel, a graphic that didn't render. It's boring, and it'll save you one day.
Add captions as well. They help viewers watching with the sound off, and they're essential for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. The W3C has useful guidance on making audio and video accessible.
Getting Feedback You Can Use
Vague feedback is hard enough in print. In video, "the middle part drags" could mean twenty different things. Set up three rules from the beginning.
Use timecodes. Every note should say where: "At 01:32, the graphic is on screen too briefly." Tools such as Frame.io make this easy, as reviewers can comment directly on the frame, but even a numbered email works if it has timecodes.
One voice. The client gathers everyone's views and sends one consolidated list, from one approver. Contradictory notes aren't your job to resolve.
Separate must-change from nice-to-have. Ask the client to mark factual errors separately from preferences. When time is short, you'll know what matters.
When the Late Change Arrives
It'll happen anyway. Here's how to handle it without a fight:
- Say yes to the outcome, and be clear about the cost. "We can do that. It reopens the edit, so colour and sound need redoing for that section. That's an extra day and £X, and it moves delivery to Friday."
- Offer an option. Sometimes there's a cheaper route to what they want.
- Get approval in writing before starting.
You're not being difficult. You're helping them make an informed decision, and they might well decide that Dave can stay out.
The Honest Trade-off
Picture lock is a firm line that real life sometimes crosses. A factual error, a legal issue or a person leaving the client's company can all force changes, and a good partner helps with those, even if they're inconvenient.
A strict process can also be too heavy for fast social content. If you're turning around reactive clips in a day, use a lighter version: one review, one approver, and no formal stages. Save the full process for work where a mistake is expensive.
And keep an eye on how much you're absorbing. If you keep doing free changes because it's easier than the conversation, that's a pricing problem rather than a client problem.
Make It the Way You Work
Sharing this process at the start of a project, with the stages and what each review is for, prevents most of these arguments before they begin.
Build your post-production review SOP, free
Late changes usually aren't unreasonable clients. They're clients who didn't know when the decision was being made. Tell them where the line is before you reach it.
