The email lands in your inbox. Subject: “First Video Draft Ready for Review”. You click play, filled with anticipation. But what you see on screen is… a bit rough. The pacing feels off, the sound is a bit fuzzy, and it’s missing some of the polish you expected. This is where video review feedback becomes crucial to refine and improve the final product.

What now? It can be tricky to know what video review feedback is helpful and what’s just noise, especially in the early stages.

This guide will give you a universal playbook for reviewing any first video draft. It’s designed to help you give clear, constructive feedback that your creative partners can actually use, leading to a smoother process and a final video you’re completely chuffed with.

Part 1: Your Pre-Flight Checklist (Do This Before You Press Play)

Giving great video review feedback starts before you even watch the video. A few minutes of prep will focus your thoughts and make your review infinitely more valuable.

Re-read the Original Brief

First, dig out that initial creative video brief. What were the core objectives? Who is the target audience? What is the single most important thing you want them to feel or do? Refreshing your memory is like calibrating your compass – it ensures your video review feedback is anchored to the project’s strategic goals.

Channel Your Audience & Their Context

Next, and this is the big one, put your personal preferences aside. This video likely isn’t for you; it’s for your customer. Think from their perspective.

Crucially, don’t forget where and when they’ll be watching. Is this a 9:16 portrait video for a fast-scrolling social media feed, or a widescreen epic for a captive audience at a live event? The context is king. Here’s a top tip: when giving video review feedback, try to replicate the viewing experience. If it’s for social media, watch the draft on your phone, maybe with the sound off initially. If it’s for an event, imagine the core message having to compete with the chatter in the room. Does the story still land?

Part 2: The Big Picture (What to Focus On In An Early Video Draft)

Early drafts are about structure, not sparkle. Your goal is to check the foundations are solid before the decorators arrive.

Focus your attention on these core elements:

• The Story and Message: Is the main point clear? Does the narrative flow logically? Is anything confusing or missing?
• The Tone and Pacing: Does the video feel right for your brand? Is the energy level appropriate? Does it move too quickly or drag its feet in places?
• The Key Performers: If there are interviews, does the person on screen come across as authentic and clear? Is their message compelling and on-brand?

Try to look past temporary imperfections in your video review feedback like basic colour, placeholder graphics, or slightly rough audio. These will absolutley be addressed before the video gets ditributed, but its almost always the last thing to be polished.

If post-production time is spent on the look, sound and polish now, but then it turns out, the story isn’t right, all that effort would be wasted when everything has to be reworked.

Part 3: The Nuts and Bolts of Giving Video Draft Feedback

You know what to look for, so what’s the best way to deliver your notes?

• Hold a Video Review Feedback Session: Having the core creative team and key stakeholders all in a room, virtual or otherwise, is so much more valuable than an email chain listing changes. It allows for real discussions and creative problem solving, as well as instant clarifications and explanation for a creative choice. Of course, you don’t need to go over every single detail or have a feedback session everytime you have feedback. But you will have a much more positive experience by attending these sessions as a creative cabal rather than isolated voices.
• Use Timecodes: This is a total game-changer. Instead of “I’m not sure about the bit in the middle,” try “At 01:22, the interviewee’s point could be clearer.” It lets the editor pinpoint the exact spot instantly.
• Explain the ‘Why’: Briefly explain why something isn’t working for the target audience. For example, “At 02:10, the term used is internal jargon; our customers won’t understand it.” This context is golden. Simply stating “remove this section” is not helpful in a collaborative environment.
• Try the Feedback Sandwich: If you can, start with something you like, provide the constructive criticism, then finish with another positive point. This helps the creative team understand what’s working well, not just what needs changing.

Part 4: Managing Your Team’s Video Draft Feedback

In large organisations, wrangling video review feedback can be the hardest part.

• Fewer Cooks, Better Broth: In an ideal world, your feedback committee is small and decisive. If you can, establish a core group of essential stakeholders at the start of a project to keep the feedback loop tight and focused.
• Nominate a Champion: If you have a wider group, nominate one person to be the feedback champion. Their job is to collect all the notes, resolve any internal contradictions, and deliver one clear, consolidated document to the production team. This avoids confusion and delay.
• The CEO’s Feedback: If your organisation is big enough that your CEO or founder is not directly involved in this video project, then that’s absolutley fine. We’d recommend that they give the green light to the final Video Brief (before we begin pre-production) and then the final polished version of the video. The fact that they gave the thumbs up to the video brief should mean that they shouldn’t need to be involved in the post-production feedback stage and shouldn’t be surprised by anything featured in the final video(s).

How We Do It Differently: The Film Division ‘Narrative Video Draft Feedback’

The advice above is the playbook for reviewing almost any video draft feedback. But here at Film Division, we’ve refined the process to make this crucial stage even more focused and efficient for our clients.

We call it the Narrative Draft.

Instead of sending you a rough assembly of shots, we strip the first draft right back to its absolute core: the story. Often, this means you’ll receive just the audio of the main narrative (the interview or voiceover) laid over a simple still image or title card.

Why do we do this? It deliberately removes all visual distractions. There’s no jumpy editing, no temporary music, and no placeholder shots to pull your focus. It forces everyone reviewing the video to concentrate on one thing and one thing only: is the message right?

By getting the story 100% signed off before we even start building the visual edit, we save a huge amount of time and ensure the final video is built on a rock-solid foundation that we’ve all agreed on.

So, What Happens Next With Us?

Once you’ve approved our Narrative Draft, the journey is incredibly smooth:

1. Assembly Edit: We’ll build the full visual sequence with all the key cutaway shots, knowing the story is already perfect.
2. Fine Cut & Polish: This is where we perfect the pacing and add graphics, music, and sound design.
3. Final Review: You’ll receive a nearly finished version for final tweaks, colour grading, and the final audio mix.

We’re Here to Help Make It Easy

We know that even with the best process, reviewing video drafts work can be tough. If getting everyone to write down their feedback on our Narrative Draft feels like herding cats, we’ve got you.

We’re always happy to schedule thate creative video review feedback session to go through the draft together as a team. It’s a brilliant way to make sure nothing gets lost in translation. And hey, if you listen to the Narrative Draft and think, “That’s brilliant, the message is spot on!” – just let us know! We can move straight on to adding the gloss and glamour.

Ready to create a video with a process designed for clarity and efficiency? Get in touch with our team today, and let’s start the conversation.