Review and approval
Send picture lock to your composer.
A file for the DAW, not a stream.
A composer scores against a reference file loaded into their session, frame for frame. So the handoff is a download behind a password, with timecode burned in, and a deliberate plan for the day the cut changes after lock.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated September 2026
The short answer
Host the reference as a file,
behind a password, with the download on.
A composer does not score in a browser tab. They import the reference into their DAW, line it up with the session, and write to it. What they need from you is a file they can trust, a way to get it that does not leak the cut, and a clear signal when that file changes.
On uncompressed.io that means three settings on one film. Set the visibility to password (available on every plan). Switch on the original download, so the watch page shows a Download original button. Leave feedback on if you want the composer to pin questions to a moment in the cut, which are stored as timecoded notes. The file they download is the file you uploaded; nothing is re-encoded on the way.
The password step is covered in detail in password protect a video link. One caution: a password-protected film does not play in an embed, so send the watch link, not an iframe on a private page.
Export the reference
A browser-friendly H.264 file with timecode and a slate burned in, plus the guide mix. Name it with the project, the lock date and a version number.
Upload and lock it down
Set the film to password and switch on the original download. Send the link and the password through two different messages.
Send the paperwork
Start timecode, frame rate, the audio layout of the guide track, and the EDL or change list, in the same message as the link.
Confirm sync
Ask the composer to check the burned-in timecode against their session at the start and at the last frame before they write a note of music.
The picture-lock handoff
Six things to settle
before the composer opens the session.
None of these are product features. They are the craft side of the handoff, and each one prevents a specific, expensive misunderstanding.
Burned-in timecode
Render the record timecode into the picture, somewhere it will not sit on top of the action. When the composer writes "the hit at the door slam", you both read the same number off the same frame, whatever their player shows.
Start timecode
Write down the exact timecode of the first frame of the timeline, and of the first frame of picture if there is a leader or slate before it. A reference that starts at a different value from the session is the most common reason cues land in the wrong place.
Frame rate, and drop or non-drop
State the frame rate precisely, and for a 29.97 project say whether the timecode is drop-frame or non-drop-frame. If the composer's session is set the other way, the numbers on their screen will not match yours, so settle it before the first cue.
Audio guide track
Include a guide mix of dialogue and temp effects, and say whether temp music is in it or stripped out. Tell the composer the channel layout so they know what they are hearing in each channel.
EDL or change list
Export an EDL from the locked timeline and send it with the reference. After lock, send a written change list with every revised conform: what moved, by how much, and from which timecode onward.
One version number, everywhere
Put the same version in the file name, the slate, the film title and your message. When the composer asks about v3, nobody should have to guess which file that is.
A habit that saves a cue
When the cut changes after lock
Replace the file,
or start a new film. Decide on purpose.
Locks move. A trim for a festival cut, a shot swapped for clearance, a reel rebalanced. The question is whether the composer keeps one link that always points at the latest conform, or keeps every conform they ever scored against.
Product behaviour as verified in the uncompressed.io code on 16 September 2026.
Replacing is the convenient path, and the mechanics are covered in replace a video without changing the link. The link, the password and the download setting stay as they were, and so do the notes and approvals. That last part is the trap for music. Notes are stored by time, in seconds. If you took four seconds out of a scene, a note that sat on the door slam in the old conform now sits four seconds later in the story, on something else. An approval recorded against the old file also still shows, even though nobody approved the new one.
So if you replace, do three things: send the change list with the new file, go through the open notes against the new conform and mark the stale ones done, and ask for a fresh sign-off where timing moved. And keep your own copy of the previous reference, because it is not kept as a version you can return to.
If the change moves any music, uploading the new conform as its own film is the safer choice. Each film keeps its own reference file, its own notes and its own approvals, so the composer can still pull the exact file a finished cue was written to. Name the films with the version and the date so the two links cannot be confused. For comparing two versions side by side with an approval against each, see compare two versions for client approval.
What this does not do
The host carries the file;
the rest is your paperwork.
A hosting page does not replace the change list, the cue sheet or the conversation with your composer. It does not check that your reference matches your timeline, and it does not know which conform a cue was written to unless you name the films that way. A password stops casual access to the link; it cannot stop someone who has the password from passing the downloaded file on. If a cut is under strict embargo, treat the download as the moment the file leaves your control.
If your composer already works inside a review tool your production pays for, and the change lists travel with it, there is no reason to move just for this handoff. What this page describes is the lighter setup: one password link, the file you exported, and notes that stay with the film.
Questions
Frequently asked
Should the composer stream the cut or download it?
Download it. Scoring happens against a file imported into the composer's DAW, where it has to stay in sync with the session. A streamed watch page is useful for a first look and for notes, but the working copy is the file. On uncompressed.io the watch page shows a Download original button only when you switch that setting on for the film.
Does the composer need an account?
No. They open the link and type the password you sent them. The password check happens on the server, and repeated wrong guesses are rate-limited. If you prefer, a film can instead be restricted to one reviewer's email address, which suits a single composer.
If I replace the file after lock, do the old notes disappear?
No. Replacing the file keeps the same link and keeps the timecoded notes and approvals on the film. That is convenient, but a note left at a given time on the old conform now points at whatever sits at that time in the new one. Check the notes against the new cut, and ask for a fresh approval if the timing moved.
Can I get the previous reference back after replacing it?
Do not count on it. The previous playable file is removed once the replacement is saved, and it is not kept as a version you can return to. Keep your own copy of every conform you send, or upload each new conform as its own film.
Will a password-protected reference play in an embed?
No. A password-protected film shows "This video is unavailable" in an embed. Send the composer the watch link itself.
Does this cost anything?
The password gate and the download switch have no plan restriction, so they work on the free plan (5 GB, one film at a time). Keeping several conforms side by side as separate films needs a paid plan; see the pricing page for the current storage on each.
One link for the composer, one record of the cut
Put the locked reference behind a password, switch on the original download, and keep the notes on the film. Password and download settings are available on every plan, the free one included.
Sources
- 1.uncompressed.io review room (product page, verified)
- 2.uncompressed.io pricing (product page, verified)