Timestamped comments
Goal: collect revision feedback from your client at exact moments in a video, and track which comments still need action.
Prerequisites
- A published collection your client has actually viewed — there's nothing to review until a client (or you) leaves a comment.
- Clients leave comments from their own video view; there's no separate action needed on your end to "turn on" commenting.
How a client leaves a timestamped comment
On their video view, when a client clicks into the comment box the video pauses (if it was playing) and the current playback position is captured as a badge, e.g. 1:23. Whatever they type is submitted alongside that captured timestamp — there's no separate step to "set" the timestamp.
Reviewing and replying from the admin side
- Open the video from Videos → [Collection] → [video], which opens its detail page with the video player on the left and the comment list on the right.
- Each comment shows a clickable timestamp button (e.g. 1:23), the author's name (labeled (client) for client comments), and when it was posted.
- Click a comment's timestamp button, or click the comment itself, to seek the player to that exact moment and start playback.
- You can post your own comment the same way the client does: focus the comment box, the player pauses and captures the current timestamp, then type and click Post Comment.
Marking a comment resolved
Each comment has a Mark resolved link. Clicking it flags the comment as resolved and adds a Resolved badge next to it; clicking it again on an already-resolved comment flips it back to unresolved — it's a toggle, not a one-way action.
Per-version comment threads
When a video has multiple versions (see Versioning & approval), each version has its own comment thread. The version switcher above the player loads the correct thread automatically — comments posted on v1 only appear when viewing v1, and vice versa.
Video annotations
Beyond typed comments, you and your clients can draw visual annotations directly on the video frame — circles, arrows, rectangles, or freehand pen strokes — pinned to a specific timestamp. Annotations appear as colored overlays when playback reaches the moment they were drawn, making it impossible to miss the feedback.
Entering draw mode
- While viewing a video (client or admin), click the Draw button next to the comment box.
- The video pauses and a drawing toolbar appears above the player with shape tools, color swatches, an Undo button, and a Clear button.
- The cursor changes to a crosshair over the video — you're now in draw mode.
Shape tools
| Tool | How to draw | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Pen | Click and drag freely | Freehand stroke following your path |
| Circle | Click center, drag outward | Circle outline from center to cursor |
| Arrow | Click start, drag to end | Line with arrowhead at the destination |
| Rectangle | Click one corner, drag to the opposite | Rectangle outline between the two points |
Colors
The toolbar includes a row of color swatches. Click a swatch to change the active drawing color. The current color is highlighted with a border. All shapes in a single comment share the same color — switch colors between shapes to use multiple colors in one annotation.
Undo & clear
- Undo — removes the last shape you drew (does not exit draw mode).
- Clear — removes all pending shapes from the current drawing session.
These only affect shapes that haven't been posted yet. Once a comment with annotations is posted, the shapes are permanent.
Posting an annotation
After drawing your shapes, type a comment in the comment box and click Post Comment. The shapes are submitted alongside the text and timestamp. A small preview thumbnail of the annotation appears next to the comment in the list, labeled Annotated.
How annotations display
When any user watches the video, annotations replay automatically: as playback passes a comment's timestamp, the drawn shapes appear as colored overlays on the video frame for half a second, then fade. On the admin side, clicking a comment's timestamp button seeks to that moment and shows the annotation immediately.
Annotations per version
When a video has multiple versions (see Versioning & approval), each version has its own set of annotated comments. Switching versions loads the correct annotation layer automatically — annotations drawn on v1 only appear when viewing v1, and vice versa.