How to collect timestamped feedback on a video

To collect timestamped feedback on a video, share a link to a streamable review copy and have reviewers comment directly on the player — each note is then pinned to the exact second it refers to. That’s the whole trick: the comment lives on the frame, not in an email thread where you have to guess what “around the middle” means.

Feedback that isn’t anchored to a timecode is feedback you have to decode. Anchored feedback is a checklist you can work through.

Why timestamps matter more than they sound

A note like “the intro drags” or “fix the audio near the end” forces you to scrub through the cut hunting for the moment the client meant. Multiply that by ten notes across three reviewers and you’ve spent an afternoon translating vague comments back onto your timeline — unpaid.

A timestamped comment removes the guesswork:

“0:14 — cut this shot tighter” points at one frame. No hunting.
Every reviewer sees the same anchored notes, so nobody repeats a comment already made.
You get an ordered list by timecode, which is exactly the order you’d fix them in anyway.

The comment left on the frame is the difference between a review and a paragraph of homework.

The setup that makes it work

Export a review copy, not the master. A 1080p H.264 at ~10–20 Mbps streams cleanly and uploads fast. Keep the ProRes master for delivery — a review doesn’t need it.
Upload once and create a share link. One link, one canonical version. No “final_v3_ACTUAL.mp4” floating around a shared folder.
Send the link — reviewers don’t need an account. On Editlock, clients watch and comment without signing up, and they’re free on every plan. Nothing to install, works on a phone.
Ask for notes on the player, not over chat. This is the habit that saves you. If a client fires notes over WhatsApp, paste them back in against the timecode, or just ask them to drop the comment on the frame next time.

Go beyond the timecode: draw on the frame

Sometimes a timecode isn’t enough — “move that lower-third” still needs a which. That’s where annotating directly on the frame earns its place: the reviewer draws an arrow or a box on the exact pixel, at the exact second. “This logo, here, at 0:22” leaves zero room for interpretation.

For a talking-head or interview edit, timecodes carry most of the load. For motion graphics, titles, or a busy composite, the drawing is what makes the note unambiguous.

Close the loop: approve, then lock

Collecting feedback is half the job. The other half is knowing when you’re done.

Work through the timestamped list, upload the new version onto the same asset, and reviewers can compare it against the previous cut.
When the client is happy, get an explicit approval or request-changes — a recorded sign-off, not a “looks good 👍” buried in a chat.
Lock the approved version so finishing happens against a frozen reference.

The test of a review tool isn’t how many features it has — it’s whether every note tells you exactly where to look.

The point

Timestamped feedback turns a review from “decode this and guess” into “here’s the list, in order.” You stop re-exporting against misread notes, and you get a clean record of what was approved.

Editlock does this on a single link, with unlimited free reviewers and storage-based pricing — so adding every client and stakeholder to the review costs nothing extra. See the plans; the free tier is enough to run a whole job before you pay a rupee.