Leaving feedback on a video can be a minefield! Check out our tips to help, not hinder, your editor!

Providing quality feedback for your corporate video editor can make or break a project.

A few tips based on our experience with hundreds of clients will make your feedback more productive and less costly for you and your production company!

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

The more people who provide feedback, the more confusion results.

Some stakeholders will micro-manage with detailed feedback about items which can’t be changed or are irrelevant.

Other stakeholders will provide nebulous feedback which just leads to confusion.

Some stakeholders won’t respond, leaving you and your editor in limbo.

So to avoid chaos, keep the number of stakeholders providing feedback on a video as small as possible.

Curate the feedback.

It can be tempting when using our online facility to let every stakeholder leave feedback.

This is a surefire way to create confusion in your editor.

Curate all stakeholder feedback into what you want actioned, and then enter that into our online facility.

Provide feedback rapidly.

Your editor is probably busy.

If you delay feedback they likely will be tied up on other work, and your tweaks will need to join a queue.

In addition, your editor may need to re-familiarise themselves with your project, and that adds time and more potential for issues.

So stick to any agreed feedback schedule.

Go from Macro to Micro.

Your first task when reviewing a video should be to look at it on a macro level.

This applies to both stakeholders and content.

So firstly engage with the wider stakeholders to provide broad feedback.

Do they like the video?
Is the music right?
Does the video work?

Seeking wide stakeholder feedback early and incorporating this in the first revisions, avoids editing content that has already been edited, in later revisions.

Once macro issues are dealt with you can move onto the micro, safe in the knowledge that wider stakeholders won’t have any major issues with the final video.

Be specific.

Your editor can’t read your mind.

If you use terminology that is nebulous, they won’t understand what you need.

So avoid words like “Aspirational”.

Don’t change things unless they add value.

There can be a tendency to make change for changes sake.

Always ask, does this change add value to the viewer?

Will changing a shot really make the video so much better it’s worth the extra time or cost?

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t change stuff, just make sure it adds value and makes the video better.

Don’t boil the ocean.

More doesn’t equal better.

Always keep in mind what the actual goals are for a video, does more content help?

Adding more content via graphics or text, can make a video overly complex.

Sometimes adding more content, actually means people understand or see less.

In most cases a video is NOT there to answer every question, but instead to get folks to engage by leaving some questions unanswered.

Finally, more runtime doesn’t equal better value, but does lead to worse bounce rates.

Be realistic.

Don’t ask for stuff which is not possible.

If you have used an actor, don’t ask if there is another actor that can be used, when the video is in post.

We can’t change the season or make a rainy scene a sunny day.

Don’t ask to make the fake ice cubes in a dining room centrepiece “more sparkly”.

(Some of the above we can actually fix with VFX, but be realistic, if we do have to do that it’s going to cost more and it’s never going to be as good as the original.)

Video is NOT a PowerPoint presentation.

Good video combines every aspect of what you see and hear to build messages and emotions greater than the sum of its parts, it can affect people on a physiological basis.

If you stop and start and review scenes out of context, the “flow” of the video, its mood and pace, won’t be obvious and feedback on a section may miss the wider picture.

So watch the video all the way through to understand how the content comes together to build the messages and emotions you want to deliver.

Motion graphics take time to build in, ensure you play them out.

Don’t judge motion graphics by stopping and looking at one particular point on the timeline.

We sometimes see feedback like “text doesn’t align”, when if the viewer had played the motion graphic through, the text would align naturally.

Changing music is a big deal.

Timing of transitions, mood and pace are all determined by the music.

If the music needs to change, the entire video may need to be reworked to ensure transitions and pace markers work with the new track.

If you do need to change the music, change it as early in the editing process as possible and be certain around your alternate pick.

Also, bear in mind that music may be limited by licensing.

Your video editor will have picked music within budget and that is legal to use. If a stakeholder wants to put Bowie’s “Changes” on, you need to nip that in the bud early!

Script changes can be costly.

Substantial script changes will be outside of the revisions process.

They may cost more in the edit than your allowance and may mean re-entering the feedback phase completely.

If you need to change the script, you may need to reschedule and re-cost the project.

So discuss anything major with your editor to ensure you still meet cost and delivery targets.

Don’t ignore expertise.

You’re paying good money for an expert to craft your video, get value from that.

Good editors provide feedback on your feedback.

Seek that out and discuss with them any issues you have to ensure that everyone understands the best course of action.

Take time to acquire expertise.

Before commissioning a video learn a bit about the process and best practice.

Learning the terminology is fun, check out our tips on runtime, get a feel for the costs, think about value for money, and most importantly, know your subject!

A good video production company will do lots of research about your video, they will embrace “Iceberg Theory”.

You need to as well to ensure you understand your product, even if you’re not central to that product or part of the business.

Facts are important and a good editor will check these so you are not left exposed.

If you need help on a project, get in touch!