A checklist for settling your review version setup before you start

Why decide this before the first edit

Most disagreements about revisions are not really about audio. They come from a gap between what the producer expected to happen after the first listen and what the editor assumed. In these autumn weeks, when several programme segments tend to arrive close together, that gap widens quickly, because everyone is working to a shared calendar and nobody has time to renegotiate.

I teach the review stage as a set of decisions made early, while nothing has been edited yet and every option is still cheap. This checklist is the order I use with learners. You do not need to answer every point perfectly. You need to have looked at each one, written down what you decided, and shared it with the person receiving your files.

Work through it once before the recordings and approved script change hands, then keep the notes beside the project.

What exactly is the review version

Start by naming the thing you will be reviewing. A review version is a copy prepared for listening and commenting, not the finished delivery. It may carry a spoken or on-screen marker, a lower quality file, or a time-stamped sheet, depending on how your team likes to give notes.

Decide whether reviewers hear audio alone or audio against picture. Voice-only passes suit script accuracy and breath handling. Picture passes suit timing and sync questions. Many projects need both, in that order, and it helps to say so plainly so nobody judges rhythm on a version that was never meant to be locked to picture.

Agree the file type and how it will be shared, and confirm that everyone who needs to comment can actually open it on the equipment they have.

• Voice-only or against picture
• File type everyone can open
• How the version is shared
• Whether timecode or a marker is included

Who gives feedback and who has the last word

Feedback from five people with five opinions is the quickest way to lose a week. Before the first version goes out, name one person who collects comments and passes a single consolidated list back. Others may contribute, but they speak through that person.

Then name who signs off. This is often the same person, but not always. A client, a commissioning editor or a contributor may hold the final say on certain points, such as a name pronunciation or a quoted figure. Write down which points belong to whom.

Ask also what happens when two comments conflict. A simple rule, such as the sign-off holder decides, removes an awkward conversation later and keeps the schedule intact.

What counts as a revision and what counts as a new job

Keeping revisions within an agreed scope depends on a shared definition of the word. I separate corrections from changes of mind. A correction fixes something that departs from the approved script or the agreed standard, such as a clipped word, a missed stumble or a level that jumps between speakers.

A change of mind alters what was approved: a rewritten line, a different take preferred, a new music bed, a re-cut segment. Those are reasonable requests, but they are a different kind of work and usually belong in a new round or a fresh estimate.

Settle this wording in writing at the start. Learners are often surprised how much calmer a feedback round feels once both sides can point to a sentence they already agreed.

• Corrections to the approved script
• Changes of mind after approval
• Late script or music changes
• Re-recording a line

How many rounds and how quickly

Choose the number of feedback rounds before you begin, and be honest about it. Two rounds is a common and workable pattern: a first review for substantive notes, then a second to confirm that those notes were handled and to catch anything small that surfaced afterwards.

Decide a reasonable turnaround for comments as well. A round that waits for ten days loses the context of the edit, and the person making the changes has to relearn the project. Agree how long each side has, and what happens if a response is late.

Also decide what a round contains. Is it a full listen, or only the marked passages? Limiting a second round to the flagged areas keeps it quick, but only if everyone accepts that unflagged areas are treated as approved.

Recording the decisions and closing out

Finish the checklist by putting your answers in one short note: the review version format, the person collecting comments, the sign-off holder, the definition of a revision, the number of rounds and the time allowed for each. Send it to everyone involved before work begins and keep a copy with the project files.

At the end, confirm in writing that the final version matches the last approved review, then move on to final delivery. In the course we practise this closing step with a small mock exchange, so that writing a clear sign-off message feels routine rather than awkward.

If your answers change midway, update the note and tell everyone. A review plan that exists only in memory is the one that fails under pressure.

• Format of the review version
• Who collects and who approves
• Definition of a revision
• Rounds and turnaround times