Commenting on your media

Feedback is a huge part of the post-production workflow, and Frame.io offers a great way to write and view feedback alongside your media with the frame accuracy you’re looking for. There are multiple ways to view and comment on your asset.
​

When you’re ready to leave notes on your asset, you can pause the video at the exact timecode of your note and type in the comments box in the bottom right. Hit the “Send“ button or Enter and the comment will be posted as a comment card and comment bubble marking the timecode position. You can also just begin typing in the comments box to auto-pause and send your comment to resume playback.
​
This is a single-frame comment and is a big part of what makes Frame.io so easy to collaborate with your video editors and end clients. This timecode is exactly what the editor needs to be accurate and know where to make edits in the next version of this video. Clicking on the comment card will bring you to the timecode position listed in the comment to preview the exact frame related.
​

When you need to leave feedback notes that cover more than just a single frame, you’ll want to use range-based comments. They’ll be represented by a comment bubble with a long tail at its end, showing a “point A to point B” area the comment is relevant for, such as a full scene or an area where the score is playing.

To create a range-based comment, just begin typing a normal comment at the timecode where you want to start. You’ll notice that before you send the comment out, under the play bar where your comment will settle is a small icon with white brackets on its side. This is just to indicate where the comment bubble will appear for a single-frame comment, but if you grip the brackets before sending the comment, you can extend the range of the comment at any two timecode locations. The colored center is also a grip to reposition the comment if you didn’t hit the exact location of the first point. Once you have the two timecodes set, hit “Send” or Enter to post the comment. You’ll notice now the tail on the comment bubble and two range positions in the comment card showing that it is a range-based comment.
​
You can also do this with “I” and “O” on the keyboard, as “In” and “Out” points of the range. Just type “I” to start the comment and “O” to cap the range, fill out the comment, and hit “Send.”
​
When previewing a range-based comment (by clicking on the comment card), the specific points highlighted in the range will become the new playback window so you can properly watch the selected area. To return to the full playback, just hit ESC on your keyboard.
​

Anchored commenting allows you to simply click on the asset viewer at any point during playback to leave a comment immediately. This also offers the option to point out a specific spot on the viewer as to what your feedback may be referring to. All the same comment options will be available in this format, including range-based comments. A pin icon will be next to the comment when delivered. Click on the card with a pin icon to show the pin and where it’s located on the screen.
​
You can also view your media in full-screen mode and still be able to leave anchored comments while reviewing. In your player settings, you can choose to Show or Hide these anchored comments.

To activate anchored comments, click the white pin icon from the playbar. It will turn purple once activated and your curser will turn into the pin icon. Click on the player wherever you want to leave your anchored comment. Disable anchored commenting by clicking the purple pin icon.

Internal Comments introduces a new private comment system that allows Workspace and Project members to have internal discussions that are never visible to external Share reviewers.

When writing a comment, click the tab next to the Send button to select between Public Comment or Internal Comment. Make sure the selection is chosen before submitting your comment. The comment will show a lock icon if it is internal.

There are additional ways to add more context or information to your post in the comments box as well as the pop-up in anchored comments. The first one on the left is the Annotation tool. This allows you to highlight a specific segment of the frame you’re commenting on to add fuller context to your note. Clicking the annotation icon will give you multiple drawing tools and color options, as well as re-do/un-do functions.

Just write the feedback note you want first and then apply the annotation on the frame itself. You can add an arrow, draw a line, draw a box, or free draw any way you want. Once the annotation is applied, hit Enter to submit the note with the annotation. You can also click the purple back arrow in the comment box to save the annotation and continue editing your note before sending it.
​
Once the comment is sent, you will see the card show an annotation icon right before the written text to indicate it has an annotation attached. Click the card anytime to view the annotation that goes with the note. If you decide to playback the video normally, the annotation will not show; it is only activated when you click on the comment card to view it.

On images or PDFs, you can view all annotated comments left on any single image/page in one view by going to the player settings (cog icon), then View on Asset > Annotation switched on.

If you are in a video, this will work for any video frame with multiple annotated comments as well. As usual, this will not disrupt normal video playback and the annotations will only show when the video is paused.

If you need to add another source or project file to go with your feedback, make sure to use the Attach Files option. As the name states, you can attach any file type (media or otherwise) to your comment, including full videos, images, audio, and PDF files. There can be up to 6 attachments attached per comment. Supported file types (all media formats) can be previewed in our “QuickLook” view. Any non-media file attached (such as a ZIP file, project file, etc.) will not come with a preview.

Use emojis to add a little flair to your own comments, or when words aren’t enough to express your thoughts, you can react to any comment with an emoji. Pick from our full library of emojis via the emoji picker for a quick and fun way to give feedback 😉
​

The option to show or remove the timestamp (or pagestamp for PDF files) with your feedback is available right next to the Send button. While having it enabled will likely be your default, if you ever want to make a more general comment and not have it attached to a specific frame, the option is there to disable it with a simple click.
​

Type the “@” symbol and as you fill in the person’s name, you will see the selectable user to auto-fill. Once sent, this will act as a notification for that user to view your feedback directly, bringing them into the review space if they aren’t already there.

Hashtags can be utilized to organize similar comments. Add a “#” symbol before a key phrase. Use the comment search for the hashtag to help filter your results to only comments featuring the same hashtag. Organize your comments by location, actor, shoot date, or any other metadata tag you need to follow.
​
In your comment filter options, there will be a Hashtag section that will collect all hashtags used on that asset to filter your view.

Additionally, you can also display color hex codes by typing “#” followed by any 6 number-letter combinations. For example, typing “#FF0000” will show the color red that you might want to reference in a comment regarding color correcting.
​

When you need to review images and PDFs, you can navigate around these assets with zoom controls and mini maps to help you better locate key details and drop feedback within the assets. And if you’re looking to fully immerse yourself while reviewing, don’t hesitate to jump into our redesigned full-screen mode that features the same suite of tools you typically use in the standard player for playback, zoom, and commenting.
​
Files from Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator (.psd & .ai) will also be supported by our viewer, as well Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) files!
​

The details panel is where you can view and leave comments on your media from any location inside of Frame.io outside of the asset viewer page. All you need to do is select the media directly from your project view and then populate the details panel (the third panel option). Activate the viewer panel alongside the details panel to be able to view the highlighted media that corresponds to your comments.