This page is the vocabulary of video review in one place - the twenty terms that decide whether a feedback round works, grouped the way they show up in a real project: the review loop, the edit ladder, delivery, and the library. Each definition is two sentences; the terms that deserve a full guide link to one.
The review loop
- Review link. A URL that opens a video for playback and commenting in any browser - with controls like password, expiry, watermark, and download on/off set by the sender. Reviewers open it without an account; the full mechanics are in what is a video review link.
- Proofing. The stage of checking a work against its brief before approval - in video, usually a named round with pinned comments. Proofing vs review vs approval disambiguation: what is video proofing.
- Online proofing. Running that check-in-a-browser instead of in-person viewings or emailed files - the term covers video, design, and documents alike; see what is online proofing.
- Frame-accurate comment. A comment attached to one exact frame, not a rough second - the precision that makes animation and caption notes fixable; defined in depth in what is frame-accurate review.
- Annotation. A drawing on a video frame - circle, arrow, box - anchored to the moment it describes; words fail, arrows do not. Compared with plain timecoded comments in timecoded comments vs frame-accurate annotations.
- Version stack. The rounds of one video (v1, v2, v3) stored as a single stack with each round's comments and approvals - instead of a folder of
final_FINAL_v3files; the discipline is in the video versioning guide. - Reviewer lane. A scoped audience for feedback - brand, legal, sponsor, client lead - so each group reviews its own dimension without drowning the others; the workflow that uses lanes is in the approval workflow guide.
- Explicit approval. A recorded statement - who, when, on which exact version - that a cut is done, as opposed to silence or a hallway "looks good"; the chain pattern is in the approval workflow guide.
The edit ladder
- Dailies. The raw footage from each shoot day, reviewed the same night while reshoots are still cheap; see what is dailies review.
- Selects reel. A stringout of the takes worth building from - a working tool, not a deliverable; see what is a selects reel.
- Rough cut. The first watchable, end-to-end version - still loose, temp sound and graphics, and the cheapest place for structural feedback; see what is a rough cut.
- Fine cut. The tightened pre-lock version where timing is frame-precise and compliance reviewers take their pass - one rung of the full ladder in the edit ladder guide.
- Picture lock. The moment timing is frozen - after which new structural notes are budget events, not feedback; see what is picture lock.
- Conform. Rebuilding the locked cut at full quality for finishing - the handoff file that describes it is next.
- EDL (edit decision list). A plain-text file (usually CMX 3600) listing every cut event - the classic handoff from offline edit to color and finishing; see what is an edit decision list.
Delivery and formats
- Proxy. A lightweight stand-in for heavy source media - editing runs fast on the proxy, finishing uses the original; the tradeoffs are in what is proxy workflow.
- Screener. A controlled pre-release copy sent to festivals, press, or buyers - watermarked, expiring, traceable; see what is a screener.
- Cutdown. A shorter edit derived from an approved master - a 6-second from a 30-second, a vertical from a 16:9; campaign-scale cutdown management is in the marketing teams workflow.
- Burned-in captions. Captions rendered into the picture itself - always visible, part of the look; the caption QA pass that must precede them is in the caption review workflow.
- Sidecar captions. A separate caption file (SRT/VTT) that travels with the video and lets players render text themselves - the delivery-format split is in what format to export for client review.
The library
- MAM (media asset management). The system of record for in-production media - projects, versions, review history - as opposed to finished-asset DAMs; see what is media asset management.
- Custom fields. Project-defined metadata on each asset - client, campaign, status, rights expiry - that turns "find everything approved for spring" into a filter; the practice is in video asset management best practices.
- Watermark. A subtle overlay on review playback that identifies whose link leaked without ruining the frame - the reasoning is in why watermark video reviews.
FAQ
What is the difference between review and approval?
Review is the feedback stage - comments, annotations, rounds; approval is the recorded decision that a specific version is done. Teams that blur them get rounds with no ending - the full disambiguation is in video proofing vs review vs approval.
What do you call a video sent to a client for feedback?
A review cut, delivered as a review link - a protected URL that streams the cut with frame-pinned commenting, rather than an emailed file. The mechanics and controls are in what is a video review link.
Which terms matter first for a new review process?
Five: review link (how work is shared), version stack (how rounds are organized), frame-accurate comment (how notes land), reviewer lane (who sees what), and explicit approval (how rounds end). Get those five right and the rest of the vocabulary attaches naturally.
Is there one word for comments plus drawings on a video?
Vendors use "annotations" for both, or split "comments" (text pinned to a moment) from "annotations" (drawings pinned to a frame). The practical difference - and when each is the better tool - is in timecoded comments vs frame-accurate annotations.