A scene marketing teams know well: the head of department sees the first cut and asks for three changes. The managing director then says the opening is wrong, and it starts again. Legal says one line can't be used. The chairman, the day before release, would like different music. Each person offered "one small comment", and the video is three weeks late. No single person caused it. The order of review did. Six practices make review predictable.
1. List everyone who will see it, before starting
Including those who will "just have a quick look" later. A typical list: head of marketing, head of product or sales, legal or compliance, PR, the most senior executive. Anyone on it can send the video back. Knowing who they are lets you decide who reviews at which stage.
2. Approve in stages, direction first
The later the stage, the more a change costs. Split approval so each stage deals only with its own questions:
- Script and wording: what is said, in what order, each line, the figures and claims. The senior executive and legal review here.
- Style and storyboard: references, colour, typography, direction of the music. For AI video the storyboard is approved here; see what a storyboard is in AI video production.
- First cut: structure, pace, choice of shots.
- Final cut: subtitle typos, logo, colour, levels.
The most common failure is the senior executive seeing the video for the first time at stage four and raising a stage-one question.
3. One contact, one consolidated reply
Five people messaging the supplier separately will produce "A says the opening is too long, B wants more shots in the opening", and the supplier can't judge whom to follow. One contact gathers the comments, settles contradictions internally and sends a single reply, with timecodes; see how to give revision feedback.
4. Give reviewers a specific question and a deadline
"Any comments?" invites impressions. Ask something specific:
- To legal: "Please confirm the two claims at 0:15 and 0:42 and the notice at the bottom of the frame."
- To the product lead: "Please confirm the specification figures and product shots."
- To the senior executive: "Do you agree with the overall direction and the closing tagline?"
Attach a deadline and a rule that no reply by then counts as no comment. Get that rule agreed by management at the start of the project.
5. Put review time in the schedule
The supplier's working days are usually fixed; the variable is almost always review. Work back from the deadline: days needed per review round, periods when executives travel or are in meetings, the queue at legal. With a fixed event or release date, keep at least a week in reserve.
6. Separate corrections from changes of direction
- Corrections: a typo, a different shot, a level adjustment, a title card held longer. Ordinary revisions.
- Changes of direction: a new script, a new style, a different kind of music, added versions. This is partial remaking and needs time and scope reassessed.
Our work includes one round of minor adjustments, within the scope set out in the quote; see how many revisions are included. AI video is revised differently; see how AI video revisions differ from editing. With staged approval done well, one round usually suffices.
Changes after sign-off
Common later changes: a specification changed, the event date moved, someone who appears has left the company. All can be handled by reopening the project and re-exporting. To make that easier, keep details likely to change on separate title cards and out of complex animation. See re-editing an old video.
Review files and confidentiality
Review versions come as an online link or a compressed file, easy to watch on phone or computer. Limit forwarding of unreleased content; see is footage kept confidential. For what to check at acceptance, see the video delivery acceptance checklist. More on business video is in commercial video editing for businesses.
FAQ
Our executive is too busy for the early stages.
Ask for five minutes at script stage to read the wording and reply with approval. Text is the easiest thing to review and the most important gate.
What if executives' views really can't be reconciled?
The final decision-maker rules, and the reply comes to us after that. We can explain how each option plays on screen, but it isn't for us to set your internal priorities.
Can two versions be made for management to choose from?
Yes; raise it before the quote, since it adds to the scope. Choosing at the style or opening stage is most efficient.
