Unlimited revisions · Video
Unlimited revisions in video: what is normal
Video revisions are costly to produce, so 1-2 rounds per stage is the healthy cap; unlimited changes are a serious red flag.
Typical range
1 to 2 rounds at each defined stage (for example, one round on the offline edit, one on the online edit). Further changes, or changes to a locked stage, are billed.
Off-market
Unlimited revisions across the whole edit, or the ability to reopen a signed-off stage. Re-editing after picture lock can mean redoing color, sound, and graphics work.
One-line fix
"Each stage includes 1 round of revisions. Once a stage is approved it is locked; reopening it is billed at [rate]. Changes to the agreed brief are a new scope."
What we see
Revisions are more expensive in video than in almost any other creative discipline because changes cascade. A note that seems small at the edit stage can force color grading, sound mixing, and motion graphics to be redone downstream. That is why video work is structured in stages that lock as they are approved.
The healthy pattern is a small number of revision rounds at each defined stage and a firm rule that an approved stage is locked. One round on the offline (story) edit and one on the online (finishing) edit is common. Reopening a locked stage is not a revision; it is rework, and it is billed as such.
Unlimited-revision language is especially dangerous in video because it invites clients to keep changing their minds after picture lock, when every change is most expensive. A staged, lock-as-you-go structure protects the freelancer's costs and, just as importantly, forces the decisive feedback that actually gets a project finished.
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