Let a client see a film and give notes

What goes wrong with feedback

Most feedback on a film goes wrong in the same two ways. The client watches a compressed copy in an email and comments on problems that are not in the real file. Or the notes arrive as "the middle feels slow", and nobody knows which middle. Both cost a round of changes that did not need to happen.

The cure is simple: let the client see the real film, and let every note carry its moment.

A review link for one version of one film

On your film's page, and in the chamber, there is a button called Share for review. It makes one private link for one version of your film: the version your film shows now, or the film as it was made if you have not saved one. If your latest changes in the chamber are not saved, it tells you to save them first, so the link shows what you meant it to.

You choose how long the link works: No end date, 7 days or 30 days. Press Make the link, then Copy link, and send it to your client in your own message. For your safety the link can be copied again on this device only. You can switch a link off at any time, and then it opens nothing.

What your client sees

• The film and nothing else. No account and no password. The link shows the film's title and its versions, never your studio, your other films or a price.
• A note at the moment. They pause where something should change, write it, and press Add the note. The note is pinned to that moment in the film.
• A spot in the picture, if they like. Point at a spot marks the place the note is about.
• Their name, so you know who wrote it.
• An answer on the version. A comment on the film as a whole, and Approved or Changes needed. They can answer again, and the newest answer is the one that counts.

Good notes still take a little care. How to give notes on a film is worth sending along with the link.

When the notes come back

The notes arrive on your film's page and in the chamber, each at its moment in the film, with your client's answer above them. Mark each one done as you deal with it.

Most notes are about how the film looks and plays, and you fix those yourself in the chamber at no cost: colours, pace, the frame, the size of the words, the music, and where the film starts and ends. When a note points at one part of the film, Change it yourself takes you straight to that part. Save, and make a new link for the new version if your client should see it.

For the notes you would rather hand over, press Send the notes to Nine. Nine makes a new version of your film from the open notes, each at its moment, with your client's overall comment, and keeps the version you have. The price in credits is shown before you send. When the new version is ready, your client sees it on the same review link, next to the old one.

Or bring the client into your studio

If a client should see every film you make for them, you can invite them instead. In Settings, under Your team, invite their email address as Viewer: watches films. A viewer watches the films in your studio and changes nothing. They sign in with six digits sent to that address, with no password, and the invitation works for seven days, only for the address it was sent to.

Seats count. Everybody in a studio takes a place, viewers included, and so does an invitation that is still open. The Film plan is for one person, so there is no room to invite anybody. Film + Transparent holds 3 people and Production 10. A review link needs no place at all, which is why it is usually the better way to show a client one film.

How to do it in Nine

1. Open your film from Your films. If you changed it in the chamber, press Save first.
2. Press Share for review, choose how long the link works, and press Make the link.
3. Press Copy link and send it to your client in your own message.
4. Your client watches, adds notes at their moments, and answers Approved or Changes needed.
5. Fix what you can in the chamber and mark those notes done. For the rest, press Send the notes to Nine, read the price, and send.