One of my favorite parts of the creative process is the review process. And one type of creative project I love reviewing is a video project.

*Lots of minds on the project | Created by Jay W. Austin & DALL•E*

I’ve developed a 3-step review process for video productions that works well for all parties involved, especially the creators. Take it, copy it, remix it. Here’s how it goes.

You'll go through the video a total of three times for each version of the video, and you'll take notes on different aspects of the content in each pass (except on the first one).

Listen without watching, don't take notes. Suspend your internal editor and focus on the overall story arc, rhythm, etc.

We listen here without taking notes because we shouldn’t be critics and creatives at the same time, an old axiom supported by research into the brain activity of jazz artists and classically trained musicians.
The goal here is to just experience it as it is...use your mind's eye...see if the storyteller closes any open loops before jumping in.
Keep in mind that you’re engaging with a messy product, so give it room to be messy.

Listen and watch, focusing your notes on things listed above as well as anything that doesn't feel right, fact checking, questions, ideas for additions and subtractions, etc.

Now it’s time to be the editor...the school teacher with the red marker.
Finish your notes.
And if you’re reviewing this with others, I find it useful here to talk with the other people reviewers. Maybe this is a team of people, or maybe it’s just you and the director. This allows their thoughts to inform yours during the final pass.

Listen and watch one last time, stopping and starting at sports in the video where people have notes to share.
- At this point, start compiling all notes into one document.

At this stage, the decision-makers need to take the notes back and make some decisions. Not all feedback is acceptable.

What I’ve listed above is a process you can go through with each version—each draft—of a production.

I’ve worked on projects where we’ve gone through almost a dozen versions/drafts. Those projects came out flat. Every single one of them. There are diminishing returns on revisions on most projects.

My recommended number of versions for any project with a budget less than $100K is 2-3. 1 is not enough, and 2 might be just enough. 3 is often just right. More than 3 can still be useful, but we rapidly lose usefulness (and usually creative risktaking) with each version moving forward.

Aye, I’m Jay. You’re on my personal site where I post things I make about interrupting mass incarceration, protecting migration, environmental justice & sustainability, language, communications, storytelling, creativity, and tech.

Learn about my ventures here, check out my non-profit initiative here, or explore my consultant services here.