A client approval process for video that keeps the project on schedule
Video projects rarely slip in the edit. They slip in the days between sending a cut and hearing back, and in the round that should have been the last one. Approval is a project stage like any other, and it can be planned.
The short answer
Write the approval stages into the schedule before production starts: script, storyboard or animatic, rough cut, fine cut, final with grade and mix. Name one person on the client side who gives the decision at each stage. Put the number of review rounds per stage in the quote, give each review a date, and record each approval with the version, the name and the date. Later stages build on earlier approvals, so a change to something already approved is a change to the brief, not another round.
Approval is a stage on the plan
Most studios plan the work and leave the approvals as gaps between the work. That is where the time goes. A rough cut that sits with the client for nine days pushes the grade, the mix and the delivery by nine days, and the delivery date in the contract does not move with it.
Treat each approval as its own item on the project plan, with a start date (the day you send), a due date (the day you need an answer) and an owner on the client side. When you build the schedule, put the client's review days in as real days. Two working days per review is a reasonable default for a short film; a brand team with legal review needs more, and you should ask at the kickoff.
The stages that need a yes
Every video job is different, but most pass through the same decision points. Each one locks something the next stage depends on.
| Stage | What the client approves | What is locked after |
|---|---|---|
| Script or brief | The message, the length, the voice | Structure and duration |
| Storyboard or animatic | Shots, order, timing | The edit's shape |
| Rough cut | Story, pacing, selects | Shot choice and order |
| Fine cut | Trims, graphics placement, titles | Picture lock |
| Final | Grade, mix, captions, deliverables | Nothing: it ships |
Tell the client at the start what each stage locks. A note at the fine cut that asks for a different opening shot is reopening the rough cut, and both of you should know that when it happens.
One decision maker per stage
On the client side there are often several people: the marketing lead who briefed you, their manager, a product owner, sometimes legal. All of them can comment. One of them decides.
Ask at the kickoff: "Who gives the final yes at each stage, and who else needs to see it first?" Write the answer down on the project. Then ask for one combined set of notes per round, collected by that person. When two people disagree (the product owner wants the feature list, the brand lead wants it shorter), the conflict goes back to the decision maker before you cut anything.
How notes should arrive
Video notes are only useful with a time attached. "The middle feels slow" costs an hour of guessing. "0:42 to 0:51 feels slow, cut the second product shot" costs five minutes.
Give the client a way to comment at the moment in the video, not in an email. Most review tools do this; even a shared document with a column for the timecode is better than free text. Ask for notes as a list, one change per line, and turn each line into a task the editor can tick off. Vague notes get a reply asking for something concrete, or a suggestion from you that the client confirms, before they go on the list.
Count the rounds
The quote should say how many review rounds each stage includes. A round is one consolidated set of notes on one version, delivered at once. Two rounds at the rough cut and one at the fine cut is common for a short commercial piece; longer or more complex jobs may need more. What matters is that the number is written down and both sides can count.
Name the versions so the count is visible: v1, v2, v3 per stage, and say in your message which round it is. "Rough cut v2, round 2 of 2" tells the client that the next set of notes either approves the cut or starts an extra round. The contract checklists cover the clause, and how many revisions to include in a contract has sample wording.
Recording the approval
An approval is only useful if you can find it later. Record four things: what was approved (the stage and the version), who approved it, when, and anything they attached to the yes ("approved, but fix the typo at 1:12"). An email that says "looks great, go ahead" is evidence, but only if you store it with the version, not in someone's inbox.
When a client approves with conditions, list the conditions as tasks and send the corrected version without starting a new round. That keeps the approval clean and the round count honest.
When the client goes quiet
Silence is the most common delay. Handle it in the plan rather than in the moment:
- Agree at the kickoff what happens if a review is late: the delivery date moves by the same number of days. Put it in the contract.
- Send the version with the due date in the message: "Notes by Thursday 17:00 keep the delivery on the 28th."
- On the due date, send one short reminder that says what is waiting and what it holds up.
- Two working days later, tell the client the new delivery date. Not as a threat, as a fact from the schedule.
Most clients are not ignoring you. They are waiting for someone above them. A clear date and a clear consequence give your contact something to take upstairs.
Extra rounds and changes to approved work
When the included rounds are used up, say so before you do the work: "These notes are round 3 on the fine cut. The quote includes two, so this one is billed at the extra round rate. Shall I go ahead?" The same applies when a note reopens an approved stage: name the stage it reopens and the cost. Most clients say yes; some trim the notes to what matters. Either way, the extra work goes on the invoice as its own line with the stage and the round.
Doing this in OIO
OIO is project management for small studios, so the approval stages live on the project with the rest of the work. Each stage is a ticket with a due date on the timeline, so the client's review days show up next to the edit and the grade. You upload the cut to the ticket; the client plays it from their client space or a ticket link, without an account, and comments at the second, optionally on a spot of the paused frame. Each comment is a numbered marker on the timeline, and the editor resolves it when it is done.
Each round goes up as a new version on the same ticket. When it is right, the client clicks Approve this version, and OIO keeps who approved which version and when. A ticket waiting on the client shows a Needs feedback marker, and the client gets one reminder email a day while it waits, which you can switch off. Freelance editors work from a link to their ticket with no seat. Extra rounds go on the invoice from the same project. Comments sit at the second, not the frame, and there is no drawing on the frame; see OIO vs Frame.io for that comparison, and OIO for video production for the rest.
Questions
What are the approval stages in a video project?
Usually script or brief, storyboard or animatic, rough cut, fine cut and final with grade and mix. Each approval locks something the next stage builds on, so later notes on an approved stage are a change, not a round.
How many review rounds should a video quote include?
Two rounds on the rough cut and one on the fine cut is a common starting point for a short piece. Write the number per stage in the quote, with the price of an extra round.
How do I record a client's approval on a video?
Store the stage, the version, the name of the person and the date with the file, not in an inbox. An email saying go ahead is enough evidence if it is kept with the version it approves.
What do I do when a client does not review the cut on time?
Agree in the contract that the delivery moves by the days the review is late. Send one reminder on the due date, then confirm the new delivery date in writing.
Should several people on the client side give notes?
They can all watch and comment, but one person should collect the notes into one list per round and give the final yes. Conflicting notes go back to that person before any work starts.