How to give revision notes that can be acted on exactly

Last updated 2026-09-22 · 8 min read

What is the short version?

The first cut is close to right. What remains is a list of adjustments, and the difference between a fast revision round with Vizard Agent and a frustrating one lies entirely in how those adjustments are written down.

1. Give Vizard Agent one change per line.
2. Attach a time or a duration to each.
3. Say what the change is for when the reason matters.

What do you need before you start?

The current cut and a careful viewing of it. Notes are cheap to write and expensive for Vizard Agent to guess at, so it is worth watching the video with the timecode visible and writing down the seconds as you go rather than afterwards.

• The current cut. The version you are commenting on.
• The times. Where each note applies.
• The durations. How much longer or shorter.
• Source references. "Use the sound from 9:54 of the original."
• The constraint. A maximum length, if there is one.

What do you type into Vizard Agent?

Write the notes the way an editor would want to receive them. Lengths as numbers, positions as directions, and sources as timecodes — and where a change has a purpose, say the purpose, because it lets Vizard Agent solve the problem rather than follow the instruction literally.

Prompt

Variants worth knowing:

• "Three seconds shorter." A number, not an impression.
• "From around 9:54 of the original." Points at the source, not the cut.
• "So the fish's face is visible." The purpose, which allows a better solution.

What does Vizard Agent actually do?

Here is a stretch of the Vizard Agent sequence on a fishing video going through a detailed revision round from its owner. Each note on the list becomes its own check against the footage and then its own change to the cut.

1. Confirms the tackle explanation, the whole-fish shot and the closing shot in the actual footage.
2. Checks the continuous fight section that will be used after shortening.
3. Checks the brightness and continuity of that shortened section.
4. Applies the requested duration changes, the whole-fish framing and the new closing shot.
5. Reviews the revised version's composition, length and audio.
6. Checks the final "best day" shot and the whole-fish display specifically.
7. Uploads the revision for viewing and runs a quality check on motion, subtitles and the ending.
8. Finds a wide section usable for the vertical frame on the closing fish.
9. Applies the netting trim, the vertical reframe and the extended ending together.
10. Tries a vertical crop with the fish framed to the right, and checks how it reads.
11. Checks whether the closing shot also works in the vertical frame.
12. Looks for a wider vertical ending that still contains the spoken line.

Step twelve is what the purpose in a note buys you. "Frame it so the fish's face is visible" plus "keep the line where he says it" sent Vizard Agent looking for a different shot that satisfies both, rather than cropping the one it had and losing the audio.

Step three is the check people forget when shortening. Removing three seconds from the middle of a sequence joins two moments that were never adjacent, and the brightness and continuity of that new join have to be looked at.

Step nine shows the efficient shape of a revision round: several notes applied in one pass, then one review, rather than a render per note.

What does the result look like?

A cut where each note has been applied and can be checked off: the durations changed by the amounts you gave, the specified source moments in place, the framing adjusted for the reason you stated, and the whole thing still inside any length limit.

When does this not work well?

Some notes cannot be applied as written. A shot that does not exist in the rushes, a duration change that breaks the music, or two notes that quietly contradict each other all need a conversation with Vizard Agent rather than an edit.

• Contradictory notes. Shorter overall and longer in three places.
• Material that is not there. The shot was never filmed.
• Changes that break the music. A beat-matched cut has less freedom.
• Vague notes mixed in. One "make it punchier" undoes the rest.
• Very long lists. Past a dozen, expect two rounds.

How do you fix a result that came back wrong?

Re-state the one note that was missed, with its time. Vizard Agent treats the list as a checklist rather than a mood, so an unapplied note is a specific thing to go back to rather than a reason to re-cut.

• "Note 3 was not applied." That change is made and shown on its own.
• "It is now over the limit." The durations are rebalanced to fit.
• "The new join looks wrong." The continuity at that point is checked and fixed.
• "I meant the other 9:54." The source reference is corrected.

How does Vizard Agent compare to doing it yourself?

By hand a revision round is the same list applied by a person who also gets to see it. The difference is legibility: an editor reading "shorten the fight" will cut from the end, where you meant the middle, and the only fix for that is a number and a reason.

Common questions

How precise can times be? Vizard Agent works to the second, or to the frame given a frame-accurate timecode.

Can I refer to the source rather than the cut? Yes, and Vizard Agent prefers it — source timecodes never shift.

What if I do not know the time? Describe the moment; Vizard Agent finds it from the transcript or the frames.

Can it show each change separately? Yes. Ask Vizard Agent to confirm each note as it goes.

How many notes in one round? A dozen is comfortable. More than that and expect a second pass.

Should I say why? Yes when the reason lets Vizard Agent find a better solution — it often does.

Can it keep the video under a limit? Yes. Give Vizard Agent the maximum and it rebalances the durations.

What if two notes conflict? Vizard Agent flags the conflict rather than picking one silently.

Can I send notes as a voice message? Yes, though written notes with times are far less ambiguous.

Will it remember earlier notes? Yes, within the job — tell Vizard Agent when an earlier note no longer applies.

Can it mark where it made each change? Yes, ask for a list of the timecodes it touched.

What about notes on the captions? Same format: quote the line and say what it should read.

Can I approve one change before the rest? Yes, though batching them is usually faster.

How do I write a good note? One change, one time, one reason.