A client review session is a collection of media on which collaborators can leave their feedback.
Contents
Overview
Client reviews can be created from any collection of versions by selecting the Versions, right-clicking and choosing Add to client review > Create new.
Once created, client reviews can be accessed via the list of Client reviews in the left sidebar of the project.
The review can then be opened in two different ways:
The first way is to simply hover over the review in the list and use the drop-down arrow to select Open.
The second way to open a review is to click on the review in the list, a preview of the review will appear, showing the review content, and also all the review settings in the right-hand menu. You can choose to change any of those settings, edit the content of the review, etc - or you can simply click the Open Session button in the upper right of the interface.
Organizing your Client reviews
An ongoing project can have upwards of 10 or even 100 reviews. To be able to organise your Client reviews more efficiently and to be able to find quickly the ones you are looking for, we’ve introduced drag-and-drop Folders.
To create one, first, go to a project where you would like to create a Folder. Click on the drop-down icon to open the menu and select Folder.
Give the folder a name, for example, Animation, and click Rename.
And then just drag and drop a Client review into your new Folder.
Tip: You can also watch the process in this short video.
Inviting guests to join Client reviews
Guests can be invited to the review in a number of ways:
Firstly, they can be invited from the interface shown above, using the Share review via link checkbox, and Share review via email options in the right-hand menu.
Alternatively, the same options are available from inside the review, using the Share this review menu in the right-hand task bar
The Client review interface
The Client review interface mainly consists of three main elements. There is a player, which supports video, images and PDFs, a horizontal playlist, which shows thumbnails of all the clips in the review, and a vertical menu which includes multiple tabs, for feedback, approvals, file information, playlist, review sharing and session settings.
Playback
Clicking an item in the playlist at the bottom, or in the vertical playlist on the right, will play/display the selected video, image or PDF.
Use the on-screen controls to play/pause media or to jump to a specific time in the currently loaded media.
Tip: Use the following keyboard shortcuts to speed up your work:
Giving feedback
Feedback is added using the feedback entry section under the main player window. Simply type in your feedback and click Post.
Feedback added in the feedback entry section will appear in the right-hand feedback tab.
As feedback is frame-specific, feedback added to a video clip is also visible as clickable coloured circles on the timeline.
Feedback can be added at any time by writing a comment in the text field below the viewer or by annotating the currently displayed video or image using the annotation tools. Display the annotation tools by clicking the brush at the right in the comment field. It's also possible to add attachments to the feedback.
Annotations made on a frame will automatically be attached as a file to any notes/feedback upon Post - attached annotations can be viewed by clicking the purple link on the note in the right-hand feedback tab
A review participant can also mark an item as either approved or requiring changes by toggling the relevant status buttons.
Please note: Each participant has their own approval status for each item in the timeline so no need to worry about disagreements between collaborators!
Playlist
The horizontal playlist and vertical playlist in the right-hand tab, both display the same information, but in different ways. The vertical playlist provides a few more options, including the ability to add or upload new versions, while the horizontal playlist is always accessible.
Choose version
If there are multiple versions of the shared media loaded into the Review it is possible to group those versions in multiple variations in the playlist - including by asset, by asset build, by shot, or no grouping at all
Within a group, you can easily select which version you need, using the drop-down arrow to the right of the asset
Compare mode
Compare mode enables a quick side-by-side comparison of two different versions of media. You can compare any versions within a group.
First, need to choose your grouping in the Playlist (ie per asset/shot) and then click the Compare button.
The two versions being compared are then displayed in the player
Compare settings are shown in the horizontal playlist area - you can choose between Side by side, or Overlay mode
Compare mode can be dismissed by clicking the cross in the far right of the Compare controls, or by selecting a different clip in the playlist
Select playback, rate and loop options
You can change how videos are played by changing the Playback option:
Play one > one video clip will be played.
Play all > play all video clips in your playlist.
Play selection > select what to play.
The loop options allow you to control if the video clip is played once or loops.
And the playback speed allows you to set the rate and you can choose speeds from 0.25x up to 2x.
Setting in and out points
Focus on specific sections of your media using in-and-out loop points. Press I and O to quickly set your loop points and your video will cycle through those timecode locations. Press C to clear the selection
Selecting resolution
Uploading files to ftrack generates multiple proxies so that you can review your media in as high a resolution as possible. You can change the resolution if you wish to.
Synced reviews
Sync sessions in ftrack Review display all actions taken on all participants' screens. Skip forwards, jump to a frame, or make an annotation, and your collaborators see the same changes on their screen in real-time.
Sync sessions keep all participants creatively aligned as collaborators can watch one another's actions and notations, as they occur.
To commence a sync'd review session, click the Start sync button.
Your remote collaborator must then click Join sync on their interface.
Once the remote collaborator joins the sync session, the review session will enter sync mode. In sync mode, every interaction synchronizes, and participants will see interactions occur simultaneously across all screens. (I.e., every media change, frame change, zoom interaction, page change, annotation, etc.)
If anyone uses the annotation tools in a sync review, all participants will see those annotations in real-time. The Laser pointer tool enables you to highlight areas of interest without annotations.
When someone starts to type in a comment, the sync session will temporarily pause for that collaborator. Once they post the note, the collaborator will return to sync.
You can sync with a maximum of two participants. If you wish to sync with up to a maximum of 10 participants, you can upgrade to Review Pro.
Tip: Use your phone or favorite Voice over IP (VOIP) provider to perform live and interactive discussions while in sync.
Limitation: Sync functionality is currently unavailable on mobile devices.
Mute All
We've now added a Mute All function in the Review Participants/Sync area to the upper right of the Player. This function allows logged in users to quickly mute any playing audio if reviewing with a large group.
The Mute All button will appear in Sync reviews - you won't see it if you're not in sync. It will also only affect other users in sync with you and individual participants can still control their own volume if required, but Mute All can be a handy tool when required!