What's been added, and what's been updated
To provide an enhanced Review experience, our April 2022 release sees a major update to ftrack Review. This includes various UI changes and a number of new features, for both logged-in users and guests.
UI update
Due to popular demand, we have made several changes to the layout in ftrack Review. There’s a new colour scheme, a larger media window, a new toolbar, a handful of new features, and the redesigned Feedback section, which is no longer under the player area. (Those familiar with Review in ftrack Studio may have already seen some of these updates in the recent release of Studio 4.9)
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The main layout changes see three new tabs added to the right-hand sidebar:
Please note: Review guests have access to 'Approvals & interactions' and 'Playlist' tabs in the sidebar, but only logged-in users have access to the 'Settings' and 'Share this review' tabs. |
| The changes also see the link to 'Manage Review' removed, as it is no longer required, and all Review management is now handled in the Review 'Settings' tab. |
| The asset information section moved to the bottom left as part of the horizontal playlist, and there are some new toolbar additions. |
| We have updated and moved the Compare mode to a dedicated button at the bottom of the toolbar. We’ve added to the tools onscreen Zoom controls, resolution selection, an updated timecode counter, Ghosting, Flip and Flop, new volume control options, and a Mute all functionality, enabling the audio control on video playback for all participants. |
| All the drawing tools have moved under one button, and you’ll find that the brush tool is enabled by default when you start a session. |
| ftrack Review will also remember your preferred tool and keeps it activated when you change media. |
| And PDF output is now accessed via the Review card in the project menu - just select PDF via the ‘3dots’ menu on the upper right of the card. |
Let's look at some of these features in more detail.
Settings
You can access the Review 'Settings' tab from the top right corner of the Review interface.
The 'Settings' tab gives logged-in users access to the functionality previously only accessible via the 'Manage Review' section - now, you can update all the Review settings from inside the Review itself without needing to leave the Review interface.
It includes instantly activating/deactivating passphrase protection, media download permissions and activating/deactivating feedback notifications to your collaborators.
Sharing
From the 'Share this review' tab, users can send email invites, or share the Review via a link, which can be copied to your clipboard with a single click.
Approvals
The ‘Approve’ or ‘Require changes’ buttons can be found at the center of the toolbar, next to the Annotation tools, and are available for all participants in the session.
When you approve or disapprove a shot, you will also see a green or red approval / disapproval sign on the thumbnail of the shot, and the Approval / Require changes icon will remain activated and lit throughout that section.
The Approval summaries for each asset can now be seen in the ‘Approvals and interactions’ tab.
Grouping in the Playlist
Users can now choose to display all assets as a flat list, or to group related versions (where previously related versions were always grouped).
Compare mode
For any shot with more than one version, you can use the Compare tool.
'Compare' is available as a button on the tools menu, and the complete instructions for compare mode can be found here.
Zoom controls
We've added some on-screen zoom controls to allow users to control zoom functionality with ease.
When using the zoom tool, it will be displayed among other Annotation tools in the lower centre of the player interface.
You can use the '+ / -' buttons to zoom in or out and the reset button to return to 100%. Holding down the shift key, you can move around the version and specify the area you would like to zoom in.
The zoom tool is available at all times, regardless of what drawing tool you have selected - you can still zoom using your mouse wheel or by using the zoom gesture on your trackpad. The same zoom controls will appear and remain while zoomed in but will disappear once the zoom is reset back to 100%.
Mute All
We've also added a Mute All function in the Review Participants/Sync area to the upper right of the Player.
This function allows logged-in users to quickly mute any playing audio if reviewing with a large group.
The ‘Mute All’ button will appear in Synced Reviews - and you won't see it if you're not in Sync.
It will also only affect other users in Sync together with you.
| Please note: The individual participants can still control their own volume if required, using the updated Volume control option in the low-right corner of the tools menu. |
Ghosting
Ghost annotation mode is a valuable tool for describing motions, and it allows you to view your annotations on a number of frames behind or ahead of the current frame.
To activate it - you need to select ‘Ghosting’ from the tools menu, which you can find in the lower center of the player interface.
While enabling, you can also define how many frames before and after will be drawn.
Flip and Flop
The Flip and Flop features allow you to Flip and Flop media, invert mirror images or video and compare them in compare mode, and you can enable them in the lower center of the player interface.
Once activated - the indicator icons will remain lit and purple till the tool is deactivated.
This is the media Flipped vertically:
This is the media Flopped horizontally:
Feedback
The Feedback section is no longer under the player area and has been moved into the 'Feedback' tab in the sidebar, which aligns all the feedback elements into one section.
You will now find all of your annotated frames with each note, along with any attachments - simply expand the note to see all of your associated images.
Feedback can be submitted by pressing enter, as well as by clicking the 'Post' button, allowing for faster notes entry.
We’ve also added a little indicator to show every time your notes are being saved, so everyone can be confident that the session is saving regularly.
Every time you post a note, we are now taking a capture of the media window and attaching it to the note, so you’ll see an exact record of any drawings made at the time of the note.
You’ll also see new buttons for jumping to the next/previous note or annotation.
Using these buttons, you can jump through every frame that has feedback or drawings.
This allows you to quickly jump through every frame that has feedback or drawings - and of course, you can still also jump directly to notes by clicking the timeline markers under the video.
Timeline markers
We’ve added new colored timeline pips to enable you to see the most recent feedback at a glance.
The timeline markers are colored based on how recent the comments or drawings are on that frame. For comments under 3 hours old, the markers are red, orange for those under 24 hours, and yellow for older ones.
Drawings
All drawings and sketches are now saved automatically, and there is no longer a need to post them as part of a note.
You can now confidently increase your working speed and be sure that nothing will get lost, as ftrack Review will capture everything.
View notes per Frame or Item
You can now view notes per frame, or as a list for the whole Item.
In per Frame mode, it’s easy to see which frames have notes and which don’t, while in per Item mode, you’ll see all the feedback in a scrolling list.
ftrack Review will remember your preferred view, so you don’t need to choose each time.
Collapsible Sidebar
You can access a full-width Review session and see it in more detail.
A new ‘Hide sidebar’ button allows the sidebar to be collapsible, which further increases the available player area and the media window.
Sync
Sync makes it easier for guests to join, especially for those who haven’t used ftrack Review before.
Now, if the session owner starts Sync, all the attendees will see a prompt invitation to join, and they can jump into the session directly from that message, by clicking the ‘Join’ button.
Resolution
The media resolution can now be set from the ‘Playback options’ menu at the lower-left corner of the player, and you can now choose between 2 resolution settings: 720p and 1080p.
