Using the ftrack Review Web Player

We've discussed how to create an internal review, including the various ways you can kick one off using the direct Play function and lists.

In this article, we will discuss active Web Player features such as playback options, creating feedback, annotation tools, and playlists.

The Review Web Player interface mainly consists of four main elements:

• Media player - the viewing window of your versions, which supports video, images, and PDFs.[The New Web Player also supports audio-only files.]
• Feedback window - where you can enter new notes/feedback and access annotation tools.
• Horizontal playlist - along the bottom, shows thumbnails of all the versions in the review
• Vertical menu - the right-hand panel includes tabs for feedback, file information, and vertical playlist.

The Web Player

Playback

Versions can be selected for playback from the horizontal playlist at the bottom of the interface or from the vertical playlist found in the vertical menu's Playlist tab.

Click on the version you wish to play in either playlist to get started. The default selection will be the first in your playlist.

Use the on-screen playback controls to play/pause media. The spacebar key will do the same.

Please note: If the item is a still image or PDF, the play button will not appear as the media is not playable.

 

Use the timeline bar below the player window to jump to a specific point by clicking your mouse on the bar or click + dragging your mouse along the bar to scrub through the media.

Tip: Discover keyboard shortcuts under the icon in the toolbar to speed up your work.

 

Playback options

Playback options are accessed by clicking on the gear  icon in the player toolbar on the left.

Speed allows you to set the playback speed - slowing down to 0.25x the original clip rate or speeding up to 2x faster. Loop options allow you to control if the selected version(s) are played once or loop continuously. Playback allows you to select how you would like your versions to be played: Play one - only the selected video clip will be played. Play all - play all video clips in your playlist. Play selection - select which versions to play. When you choose this option, a pop-up appears asking you to select which versions you would like in your playback selection.

 

Setting in and out points

You can focus on specific time spans or sections of your media using in-and-out loop points. Once you set in and out points, only that section of the current version will play, even if you have Play Selection or Play All selected in your Playback options.

To set the in point where you want the playback to begin, press the I key. To set the out point where you want the playback to end, press the O key. Press Play or the spacebar to resume playback between your new IO points.

 

When you are done, you can press the C key to clear the selection and resume your previously set Playback.

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 using the Resolution dropdown in the player toolbar. The resolution can only go as high as the original media uploaded, up to 4K if you have the Review Pro add-on.

Time format

The Time format menu in the player toolbar allows your media's time format to be displayed in the following ways:

• Standard - displays time as mm:ss
• Frames - displays time as current frame / total frames
• Timecode - displays time as hh:mm:ss:frames

More tools in your toolbox

The right-hand side of the toolbar under the media player includes tools that can be used to support your Review.

From left to right, these tools include:

• Compare mode - allows you to compare two versions of the same group.
• Laser - allows you to temporary highlight an area of the frame as you would a laser pointer on a screen.
• Clear annotations - clears all annotations on the current frame.
• Keyboard shortcuts - offers quick hotkey shortcuts to speed up your review process.
• Zoom - allows you to zoom in on the media in the player.
• Pan - allows you to pan around the media when zoomed.
• Fullscreen - the media player takes up the entirety of your screen.
• Download - download the current version if permitted to do so.

Zoom controls

Use zoom when you want to focus on a zoomed in area of your media. When using the zoom tool, the zoom level will be displayed in the lower right of the player interface.

You can use the +/- buttons to zoom in or out and the reset button to return to 100%

You can also use zoom at any time with any other tool selected using your mouse wheel or by using the zoom gesture on your trackpad. The same zoom controls will appear, and will remain while zoomed in, but will disappear automatically when the zoom is reset to 100%.

Using feedback

Feedback can be created in the web player by creating a note and/or annotation using the Feedback window below the media player.

• A note is any written feedback on the media.
• An annotation is any visual or drawn feedback on the media and can be combined with a note.

You can post:

• Only a note
• Only an annotation
• Both a note and annotation

Any Feedback added in the feedback window will appear in the vertical menu's Feedback tab.

At the top of the Feedback tab, you have two feedback sorting options available:

• Order by date - orders your notes by descending date with the newest note at the top.
• Order by timecode - orders your notes by where they fall in the timecode in descending order, with the earliest notes in the timecode at the top and the later notes below.

The All versions checkbox, when checked on,  will show you all feedback for all versions of the same asset (i.e., all versions with the same name_ v1, v2, v3, etc.). This is a handy way to pull up notes on previous versions without navigating to them in the playlist.

When the All versions checkbox is unchecked,  it will only show you feedback for the currently selected version in the media player.

Replying to a note

REPLY in the bottom right corner of every note allows you to directly reply to that specific note, allowing a conversation to be had within each note.

Replies also allow you to @mention a specific user by name, so they will be notified when the reply is posted.

Image: @mention in a note reply as viewed in the Feedback tab.

Note completion

If the note is considered completable, it will have a checkmark icon  that you can click on when the note's contents have been addressed.

Annotation tools

Adding annotations to a version is supported by various annotation tools found in the feedback window by clicking the  icon. This opens up a drawer of supportive tools for making markup.

	Undo	These buttons will undo and redo any annotations you've made on the frame in consecutive order; even if you've made marks on different frames, these buttons will undo/redo them one at a time in the order in which they were made.
	Redo
	Brush size	Gives you the option to choose a variety of brush thicknesses to draw with your chosen tool.
	Annotation tools	Offers different drawing tools to make squares, circles, arrows, a free brush, and an eraser.
	Drawing color	Offers a color palette to change the color of your markup. The icon will display as the currently selected color.
	Hide tools	Click to hide the annotation tools drawer.

 

Create notes and annotations

Notes and annotations can be added using the feedback window under the media player.

A simple note can be added by typing it within the text field and clicking POST. If you want a more detailed note (with or without annotations), follow the steps below.

1. Find the frame you want to add feedback to and pause the playback.
2. Type the note where it says "Leave some feedback...". Use the  mention icon to select a user if you want them to be notified when the note is posted. (The user that created the version is automatically included as a recipient.)
3. Add a label to the note to categorize it by clicking the label icon  and selecting from the dropdown menu.
4. If you want the note to be completable, make sure the complete icon is highlighted .
5. Add an attachment by clicking the  if you have any files you'd like to upload to support the note.
6. For a text-only note, you can now click POST to create the note. If you want to add an annotation to clarify the text note, carry on with the next steps.
7. Display the annotation tools in the "drawer" by clicking the Annotation icon .
8. Click the Annotation tool , now highlighted in purple, to select the drawing tool you wish to use.

9. Draw the markup on the frame as desired.
   • Use the Drawing color icon  if you want to choose a new color.
   • Use the Brush size icon  if you need to change the thickness of the drawing tool.
   • Use the Eraser or Undo/Redo  icons if you make an error.

10. Click POST to create the note with annotation, adding it to the Feedback tab. Annotations made on a frame will automatically be attached as a file to any note upon Post.

Please note: If you prefer, you can draw your annotation first and then add the note text before posting.

 

View your notes and annotations

Go to the vertical menu and click the Feedback tab.

Combinations of notes and annotations will be displayed in the Feedback tab in a few ways:

Text-only note Appears as: Text in note body, but no brush icon in timestamp. View: Click on the purple timestamp link to bring you to the frame the note was made on the timeline.
Annotation-only note Appears as: No text in note body but brush icon in timestamp. View: Click on the purple timestamp link to open a floating window displaying the annotated frame image with the option to download the file if permitted.
Text with annotation note Appears as: Text note in body and brush icon beside timestamp. View: Click on the purple timestamp link to bring you to the frame the note + annotation were made on the timeline.

Please note: The presence of a completable note, as indicated by the , can be on any style of note or annotation if it was highlighted in the feedback window when the note was posted.

 

Feedback on the timeline

As feedback is frame-specific, feedback added to a version is visible as circles on the timeline. Click the circle to jump play to the frame the feedback was created for and to highlight the related note in the Feedback tab. 

• If the circle is fully colored, that indicates a POSTED note or annotation.
• If the circle is a grey outline, that indicates an annotation is a DRAFT, meaning it has been drawn but not posted. If you leave a Review with draft annotations not posted, they will not be saved.

Image: Markers on the timeline indicating where feedback or annotations were made.

Viewing your playlist

The horizontal playlist at the bottom, and the vertical playlist in the right-hand Playlist tab, both display the same information but in different ways. The vertical playlist provides a few more options, including the ability to add new versions, while the horizontal playlist is always accessible.

Click image to enlarge.

Version groups

If there are multiple versions of the shared media loaded into the Review, it is possible to group those versions together in the playlist - including by asset (i.e., the container for versions of the same name), by asset build, by shot, or no grouping at all.

Image: Group drop-down menu in the Playlist tab of the vertical menu.

Within a group, you can easily select which version you need using the dropdown arrow to the right of the asset.  

Image: Group in the vertical playlist.

Grouping will affect both the vertical and the horizontal playlist organization, and the same dropdown version selection is available in each playlist view.

Image: Group in the horizontal playlist.

Compare mode

Compare mode enables a quick comparison of two different versions of media. You can compare any versions within the same group in either Side by Side or Overlay mode.

Side-by-side

In Side by Side mode, the two selected versions of the group are tiled next to each other and can be played together.

Overlay

In Overlay mode, the two files are laid on top of each other, with an opacity slider that allows you to fade between the two files. Overlay mode is an excellent tool for seeing minor differences, especially during playback.

Overlaid versions:

• When the opacity slider is all the way to the right, the right-hand version is 100% visible. 
• When the opacity slider is all the way to the left, the left-hand version is 100% visible.

Compare mode can be dismissed by clicking the  icon on the far right of the Compare controls or by selecting a different clip in the playlist.

Follow the steps below to compare two versions:

1. Before compare mode can be activated, you need to Group your versions in the Playlist tab of the vertical menu (i.e., per asset/shot).

2. Select a version group to compare by clicking on it in the vertical playlist.
   • To know whether your version is solo or in a group, you can look at the (#) beside the version name. If the number is greater than 1, you will have access to compare mode for that group. If the compare button is greyed out when you select a group, that means your group only has one version.

3. Click on the Compare button on the toolbar below the media player.

4. The two versions being compared will be displayed in the player.  Compare settings are shown in the horizontal playlist area - you can choose between Side by side or Overlay mode. By default, the versions being compared in the group will be the latest version (on the left) alongside the previous version (on the right).

5. If your chosen group has more than two versions, and you want to change the versions being compared, you can click the dropdown menu on the far left version in the horizontal playlist to update the version to be displayed on the left, and use the far right version's dropdown menu to select a new version on the right.

Please note: Any notes and annotations made when in compare mode will only be posted to the current version, which is the far-left version displayed in the horizontal playlist.