Using the old Client Review Player

We've discussed how to create and manage a Client Review, including sharing with guests, review security, and exporting and transferring feedback.

In this article, we will discuss active Client Review features such as Review playback, syncing, creating feedback, and annotation tools.

The Client Review interface

The Client review interface mainly consists of four main elements:

• Media player - the viewing window of your versions which supports video, images, and PDFs. [The New Client Review Player also supports audio-only files.]
• Feedback window - where you can enter new notes 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, approvals, file information, playlist, review sharing, and session settings.

Image: The Client Review Player - click to enlarge.

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 thumbnail of the version you wish to play in the horizontal playlist or the version list item from the vertical playlist to display it in the media player.

Image: Horizontal playlist along the bottom of the interface.

Image: Vertical playlist in the vertical menu's Playlist tab.

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: Use the following keyboard shortcuts found 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, whether you are reviewing solo, or in a sync session.

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.

Using feedback

Feedback can be created in the Client Review 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 leave: only a note, only an annotation, or both a note and annotation on the same frame/ timecode of the selected version being displayed in the media player window.

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.

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

 

View your notes and annotations

Annotations made on a frame will automatically be attached as a file to any notes/feedback upon Post. You can tell which notes in the Feedback tab have annotations vs. those that don't by the presence of a brush icon beside the timestamp.

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: Clicking on the purple timestamp link will 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: Clicking on the purple timestamp link will 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: Clicking on the purple timestamp link will 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.

Approvals & interactions

A review participant can mark the selected version as either approved or requiring changes by toggling the relevant status buttons in the feedback window.

Please note: Each participant has their own "stamp of approval" for each version in the timeline. The approval of a version in a Client Review is independent of the Status attribute of a version.

 

Image: Review approval tools in the lower feedback window.

The Approvals & interactions tab in the vertical menu gives you a summary of the users that have approved or require changes to the selected version, as well as those who have seen or not seen the selected version.

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 or upload new versions, while the horizontal playlist is always accessible.

Click image to enlarge.

Sort your playlist

You can reorganize your playlist in the vertical Playlist tab by dragging and dropping the versions in the desired order.

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.

If in Sync with other participants, they will also see the same two files in Side by side mode.

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. This mode is also accessible in a sync review.

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.

 

Syncing a Review

An open review session can be synced to any invitee, allowing all users to see the same session simultaneously. Any version change, playback action, annotations left, zoom or pan etc. can be seen in real time as it happens, keeping all participants creatively aligned.

Collaborators that have joined the session also have the ability to control playback and add their own feedback.

1. Share the Review - To make the most out of a synced review, you must first share your review with your guests. This can be done in the vertical menu under the Share this review tab.
   • You can learn more about managing a review and its invitees here.
2. Set a time - schedule a time to meet your guests in the open review session. They can enter the review by their email invite or share link.
3. Start Sync - To begin a synced review session, click the Start Sync button in the top bar.

4. Join Sync - Starting a sync will notify your collaborators the sync is active with a Join Sync pop-up dialog and they can click the Join button -OR- they can also join by clicking Join Sync in the top bar.

  -OR - 

Once the remote collaborator(s) 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.)

When someone starts to type in a note, the sync session will temporarily pause for that collaborator. Once they post the note, the collaborator will return to sync. Other users in the sync will not see the note as it's being typed, but they will be able to view it in the Feedback tab after it is posted.

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

Mute All allows logged-in users to quickly mute any playing audio if reviewing with a large group. You can find the Mute All button beside the Sync button.

It will only appear in synced 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!

Leave Sync

When a collaborator is finished with a sync session, they can click the Leave Sync button in the top bar to safely exit the review.