To send a video for review: upload the cut once to a review workspace, share a single no-login link with the right access controls, ask reviewers to comment on exact frames, resolve their notes, publish the revision as the next version, and close with a recorded approval. Seven steps below - plus the mistakes that quietly add a week to every cycle.
Step 1: Pick the cut - and freeze it
Export one review cut and stop editing. Sending a link while still tweaking the timeline guarantees the client comments on a version that no longer exists. If the review is a checkpoint (rough cut, fine cut, near-final), say so in the note - reviewers calibrate their feedback to the stage.
Step 2: Upload once, to one place
Upload the cut to your review workspace as the next version in the project - not as an attachment, not as a fresh file in a folder. One upload, one canonical copy. Chunked upload tools like Frooty handle multi-GB 4K exports without restarting from zero when a connection drops.
Step 3: Configure the link for this audience
Set access controls deliberately instead of leaving defaults:
- No password for routine reviews - friction is the enemy of feedback.
- Password for unreleased campaigns or confidential footage.
- Expiry set a little past the review deadline, so stale links die on their own.
- Watermark on for pre-release rough cuts; downloads off until final delivery.
The full anatomy of these controls is in our guide to video review links.
Step 4: Ask for the feedback you can act on
The note you send with the link decides the quality of the feedback. Include three things:
- What stage this cut is ("rough cut - structure feedback welcome, not color notes").
- How to comment ("pause on the exact frame and leave the note there - drawing on the frame helps for anything visual").
- When you need it ("by Thursday so we can turn v2 around Friday").
Frame-accurate comments are the difference between "the intro feels slow" and "the b-roll from 0:12 to 0:18 runs long" - the second one is fixable in five minutes, the first one costs a phone call. More on collecting client video feedback.
Step 5: Watch notes land, then resolve them
As comments arrive, work through them and mark each one resolved, discussed, or scheduled for the next version. The open-comment list is your revision to-do list - it should live in the review tool, not in your memory. If two reviewers contradict each other, reply in the thread and settle it there, in context.
Step 6: Publish the revision as the next version
Upload the revised cut as v2 in the same project. Reviewers see what changed, verify their notes were addressed, and comment only on what is new. Re-reviewing the entire edit from scratch is the single biggest time sink in client video work - version history with attached feedback is what prevents it. The full mechanics are in our complete guide to video versioning.
Step 7: Close with an explicit approval
Do not treat silence as approval. Ask the decision maker to mark the cut approved in the review tool. That one click gives you a dated record that protects you weeks later when "I never approved this" surfaces - and it gives the client a clean end to the process.
The mistakes that add a week
Sending multiple files ("here's v4, and also v4-new"), letting feedback scatter into WhatsApp, skipping the "how to comment" note, and shipping revisions without an approval step. All four are workflow problems, not client problems.
A review-request note you can copy
Hi [name] - the fine cut is ready: [link]. You can watch and comment right in the browser, no login. If something needs changing, pause on the exact moment and drop the note there (drawing on the frame helps for visual stuff). We need comments by Thursday EOD to make your Friday delivery. Thanks!
Frooty handles this whole loop - upload, no-login links with password/expiry/watermark controls, frame-accurate comments, version history, and recorded approvals. If your reviews currently run through storage links or email, our comparison of Frooty vs Frame.io is an honest starting point.
Frequently asked questions
What file format should a review cut be?
Whatever plays smoothly in a browser at review quality - an H.264/H.265 MP4 at 1080p is usually right for review; keep the master safe in the NLE. Reviewers need to see the edit, not the pixels.
Should I send a WeTransfer link instead?
Transfer links deliver a file, not a review. The client downloads a copy, watches it wherever, and sends notes in email - you lose version context, threaded discussion, and any record of approval. Use transfer for delivery, review links for feedback.
How do I handle a client who reviews on their phone?
Make sure the review link works on mobile - pause, comment, and reply should all work on a small screen. Most senior stakeholders do their first pass on a phone in a taxi; the desk review comes later.
How many reviewers is too many?
There is no technical limit - the practical limit is decision clarity. Give everyone the link, but name one person whose approval counts. Unlimited reviewers with one decision maker beats three reviewers with three opinions.