Videos are an important communication tool for business. This medium has many uses: product promotion, education and training, sharing important news and information, documenting the antics of pets and so many other completely valid reasons deserving of video evidence. Whether it’s full of sweeping visuals or hard-hitting facts, before you can put it in front of the masses it needs to be perfect by the standards of your client. Video proofing software helps you automate processes that take up valuable time, allowing you to receive constructive feedback and keep you and your team organized.
Feedback on videos is different from proofing a static document such as an image or PDF. There are lots of moving parts – hah! Get it? – and that’s before you factor in the audio component. When it comes to commenting, you’re left with, what? Writing down the timestamp of your edit and trying to say what exactly needs to be changed without the visual reference? And let’s be totally honest – that’s a reviewer going above and beyond. You’re much more likely to receive feedback that sounds more like, “You know at that part where the person is being interviewed? Can we show a clip from this other part of the video?” Um, what?
There are ways to make video proofing just as easy as image proofing though, and it relies on a good proofing software.
Video Proofing Tools You Need
Obviously your chosen software needs to be able to support video files, but there’s more to it than that. Video proofing isn’t the same as static image proofing, and the tools need to fit the file.
Timestamps
We’ll start with the most important tools first. The biggest tool you need when video proofing is timestamping. How is this different from just writing down the timestamp yourself, you may ask? What’s different is that, in Ashore, your reviewers can leave a comment directly on the video itself (eliminating a lot of confusion), and that comment will be tied to a specific point on the video timeline. All you need to do is select the comment your reviewer left and Ashore will take you to the exact point in the video it was created.
Markup Tools
Videos are made up of two things: audio and visuals. Timestamping helps approvers indicate when in time they have a comment, but not necessarily where. Markup tools such as arrows and squares help approvers designate where in the moment in time they visually see an issue with the video. Timestamping in combination with markup tools gives each comment in Ashore exacting specificity and erases any confusion. You’ll know where, when and how something is amiss making it much easier to fix. This reduces the number of revisions you’ll need to achieve perfection.
Workflows
If you have a structured review process, automated workflows is the saving grace your process has been missing. You’re able to create as many stages as you need complete with all the approvers you need. Once you hit send, Ashore will automatically propel the video forward through the stages as it receives approvals. Rather than worry where your proof is in your workflow and frantically dig through emails, you can just check the proof timeline on Ashore. Need to add someone to your workflow? That’s easy, too. Workflows are flexible yet structured.
Linkshare
For all those situations where creating automated workflows is unnecessary or simply not possible, linksharing is a fast and easy way to get your video in front of your approvers all at once. Linkshare is built for dropping review links off to all and sundry through slack, text or email – whatever form of communication you prefer to keep in contact with your team or clients.
Anyone with the link can access the proofing page to review the video in question. Before they get started, Ashore prompts them to provide their identity so you can keep everyone’s comments in order.
Reminders
Your clients may need their video yesterday, but that doesn’t mean they’re always going to remember to comment or make a decision. That’s where automatic reminders come in. You can personalize settings to each approver – they’ll receive an email the days and times you set, complete with a link to the proof just to make it easy on them (and give them no excuse). We do the follow up for you so that you can focus on your own work.
Helpful Techniques for Video Proofing
It’s not just about the tools you use, it’s how you use them. Building good habits into your video proofing process, even before you send it out for comment, is key to make your process more efficient and effective.
Separate Audio and Visual
Video proofing can be more complex than proofing a single static image. Each second of the audio and video needs the same level of attention as a single static proof. When audio and visuals are combined, it will surely become overwhelming for approvers. They may be hung up more on one than the other and miss something important. Not only do imagery and audio need to be reviewed together, isolating these components helps approvers focus on one thing at a time. Ashore supports both video and audio proofing on our Enterprise plan, allowing you to pull the audio into a separate file and review as its own proof.
Collaborate
You’re only one person, so getting feedback is important, whether that’s internally with your team or externally with your clients. You know exactly what you’re trying to say and what the video looks like in your head, but your audience may be seeing a different picture. With our linksharing and workflow features, Ashore makes sure collaboration is productive and helpful while remaining organized. Your collaborators are welcomed to make their comments and reply to others’, fostering a solutions-oriented environment that leads to the best possible end product.
Keep it Organized
With all these jobs you have going at once, comments, feedback and revisions pile up and can quickly overwhelm, especially if you’re currently proofing via email or a software ill-suited for video. You need an organization system equipped to handle whatever you have going on. Ashore offers a proof archive, where all of your jobs are stored and color-coded based on current status (approved, not approved, overdue, etc.). Need more personalized organization? We’ve got that covered, too, with our tagging system; you can add tags for client names, projects, or the color of underwear you were wearing that day (although, you may want to run that last one by HR first). We also store files for up to two years, allowing you to keep long-term track of your work.
Revise, Revise, Revise
As you get that beautiful contextual feedback from your approvers and start making changes to your video, that doesn’t mark the end of your video proofing journey! It starts again with a new version. To keep a record of your video proofing journey, Ashore stacks versions. You, and your approvers, are able to view previous versions of your video, complete with comments to see how far things have come.
There are a lot of ways video proofing can be done wrong, but one of the few ways to do it right is on Ashore. Check us out today to not only revise videos but revise your entire proofing process.
