What Two Feedback Rounds Add to Your Final Highlights Project
A look at how the final project works: one labelled sample project, two rounds of instructor feedback, and what you can expect to change between your first cut and the version you export.
Daniel Ortiz · · 5 minutes to read
How the final project is set up
The last module of the course is built around one labelled sample project. You receive a set of authorised recordings from a sample event, a short brief describing the audience and the target length, and a list of what the finished video should achieve. Nothing in the project is a real client job, so you can make decisions freely and see what they cost you.
Your task is to turn that material into a concise highlights video. You select clips, sequence them, tighten the pacing, add captions and titles, and export the version the brief asks for. Everything you learned in the earlier modules gets used at once, which is exactly why the final project tends to show what still needs practice.
I run the feedback side of the course, so I read every submission myself. That means the comments you get come from one person looking at your edit with the brief open beside it, rather than a generic checklist applied to everyone.
What the first round looks at
The first round is about the shape of the video. I watch your cut from start to finish before reading any notes you attached, because that is how a viewer meets it. Then I compare what I understood with what the brief asked for: does the opening tell me what event this is, does the middle hold attention, and does the ending land somewhere.
Most first cuts are a little too long and a little too polite to the footage. Learners keep a clip because it was well shot, not because it earns its place. My comments usually point to two or three moments to remove and one or two places where a cut could come earlier.
I also check that anything a speaker said still means what the speaker meant. If a trimmed sentence changes the sense, I mark it and explain how to restore the context without losing the pace.
- Opening: does it say what the event is within a few seconds
- Selection: which clips carry the message and which only decorate it
- Context: are spoken comments still faithful to the original
Revising between rounds
After the first round you get time to revise before sending the second version. This gap matters more than any single comment. It is where you decide which advice you agree with, test a different order of clips, and notice problems I did not mention.
I suggest working through the notes one at a time instead of rebuilding the whole timeline. Fix the structural points first, such as removed clips and a new opening. Then return to the smaller details: a caption that runs too long, a transition that draws attention to itself, an audio level that jumps between shots.
Keep a copy of your first cut. Comparing the two versions side by side is one of the quickest ways to see how much tighter the edit has become, and it gives you something concrete to point to when you describe your own process later.
What the second round checks
The second round is narrower. By now the structure should be settled, so I look at finish: caption wording against the spoken words, line breaks that suit a small screen, titles that stay on screen long enough to read, and whether the exported file matches the format named in the brief.
Because the course covers horizontal, square and vertical delivery, I may ask how your chosen format changed your framing. A shot that works wide can lose its subject when cropped, and that is worth catching before you export.
If something still does not work, I say so plainly and say why. Honest feedback is one of the values the course runs on, and a comment that only reassures you is not much use when you open a blank timeline on your next project.
- Captions: accuracy, length and readability on a phone
- Titles: timing and placement
- Export: format, file size and sound levels
What to prepare before you submit
A few habits make the rounds more useful. Write two or three sentences about what you were trying to do: who the video is for, which moment you consider its centre, and where you were unsure. I read those notes after watching the cut, and they tell me where to look more closely.
Watch your own export once on a phone and once on a larger screen before sending it. Many problems, such as unreadable text or a quiet voice, only appear on the device your viewers will use.
Finally, check that you used only the footage supplied with the project. The course teaches respect for the source, and that starts with working strictly inside what you are authorised to use.
What you can realistically take from it
Finishing the project does not turn you into a professional editor, and I would be wary of any course that promised that. What it gives you is one complete highlights video that you made from raw material, revised twice with specific guidance, and can explain decision by decision.
Learners often say the most useful change is in how they watch their own work. After two rounds you start asking the questions I would ask before anyone else sees the cut, which is the habit that carries over to the next event you edit.
The project is also a clear starting point if you work with a small event team. You can show how you choose clips, handle spoken comments and prepare formats, and you can do it with a finished example in front of you.
The final project is where the course comes together: one labelled sample project, two rounds of feedback, and a revised highlights video you can stand behind. If you are weighing whether the course suits you, the feedback rounds are the part to look at closely, because they turn what you have read into edits you have actually tested and improved.