How many revision rounds are standard in UGC?
Two rounds is standard; one is common on single-video deals. Past that, extra rounds are a paid add-on — "unlimited" isn't a deliverable.
The unit that matters is the round, not the change. A round is one consolidated batch of feedback: every note from every stakeholder, collected into one list, addressed in one new cut. Ten notes sent together is one round. One note sent ten times is ten rounds — the version that eats your week.
Endless revisions are rarely malice. They're the brand's org chart leaking into your timeline: the marketing manager approves, then the founder watches it, then legal wants a claim softened — and each "quick thought" lands as a fresh email. A round system pushes that chaos back where it belongs — inside their team, before feedback reaches you.
What counts as a revision, and what's actually a re-shoot?
A revision changes the edit. A re-shoot changes the footage. Only the first is included in your rate.
The test is one question: can you make the change with footage you already have? If yes, it's a revision:
- trimming, reordering, or tightening the pacing
- swapping in a different take you already filmed
- changing text overlays, captions, or on-screen copy
- new music, adjusted sound levels, color and brightness tweaks
- a one-line voiceover pickup you can record at your desk
If you have to set up and press record again, it's a re-shoot:
- a different location, outfit, or time of day
- a new script or new talking points after filming
- "could you hold the product with the label facing out" — when you didn't
- the product itself changed: new packaging, new shade, new formula
- the brief changed: new angle, new offer, new audience
The gray zone is voiceover: one pickup line is a courtesy revision; a full script re-record is a re-shoot wearing a revision costume.
One honest carve-out: if your footage misses something the brief required — the tagline, the disclaimer, the feature they named — that re-shoot is on you, free and fast. Scope protects you from moving targets, not from your own misses.
How to state a revision policy without sounding difficult
Put one sentence in every offer, before there's a project to argue about:
Includes two rounds of revisions — consolidated feedback within 5 business days of delivery. Changes that require re-filming are quoted separately.
Timing is the whole trick. A policy stated at booking reads as professionalism; the same policy invented on round three reads as retaliation. Brands negotiate deadlines, usage terms, and payment schedules all day — a defined revision scope signals you've done this before.
Then repeat it, warmly, in the delivery email: "This includes two revision rounds — gather everyone's notes into one list and I'll have the next cut back within 48 hours."
If you sell packages, the revision line sits next to the deliverables on your rate sheet — part of the spec, same as dimensions and delivery window. If it isn't written down, it isn't a policy. It's a hope.
What to say when the brand keeps asking for more changes
Say yes to the change and attach the price. Here's the reply for "just one more small change" on round four:
"Happy to make that change. One note — this takes us past the two rounds included in the project, so I'd bill it as an extra round at $X. If anyone else on your team has tweaks coming, fold them into the same list and I'll handle everything in this pass. Want me to go ahead?"
Four things in four sentences: a yes, the policy, the price, and an invitation to consolidate so round five never exists. No apology anywhere — apologizing for your own terms teaches brands the terms are soft.
If they push with "it's a ten-second fix": "Totally get it — it's less about this one change and more that projects drift one small round at a time, so I keep the policy consistent for every client. The extra round is $X and you'll have it back today."
One preemptive move worth stealing — before cutting round two, ask: "Can you confirm this is everyone's combined notes? I'd love this next version to be the one we sign off." That question surfaces the founder's opinion before you edit, not after.
When to charge for extra revisions — and when to let it go
Charge when the change rewrites the deal. Let it go when eating it buys something worth more than the fee.
Charge, without guilt:
- Round three and beyond on a project scoped at two. A flat 15–25% of the project rate per extra round is a fair, sayable number.
- A new direction after approval. "Actually, let's make it funnier" is not a note — it's a second video.
- Re-shoots caused by their side — a changed brief, a changed product, feedback that never came at script stage. Same script and setup again: 50–75% of the original rate. Genuinely new direction: full rate.
Let it go, deliberately:
- Your own miss. Always free, always fast, zero policy recital.
- The two-minute fix — a caption typo, a logo swap — for a client who behaves well.
- A good client's third round, once. But say it out loud: "This round's on me." Comped and named registers as generosity; comped and silent becomes the new baseline.
- A relationship with re-book potential. One eaten round for a brand that pays on time and briefs clearly is cheap goodwill. Watch the pattern, though — a keeper thanks you and consolidates next time; a problem client learns your policy bends and bends it monthly.
The line to hold onto: generosity is a choice you announce, scope creep is a default you drift into. Put the revision sentence in your next offer — before there's anything to argue about.
FAQ
The contract says "unlimited revisions until brand satisfaction." Should I sign? Counter it — two defined rounds, in writing. Uncapped revisions is one of the standard contract terms worth redlining even from legitimate brands (the full list). A brand that refuses any cap is telling you how the project will end.
The brand went silent, then sent notes three weeks after delivery. Do they count? This is why your policy has a feedback window. If the notes are light and the client is good, do them once and restate the window for next time. If they want a re-cut, that's a new invoice — the project closed when the window did.
Does a new hook count as a revision? No. A revision fixes a deliverable they bought; a hook variation is a new deliverable. "Can we try a different opening" after delivery is an add-on with a price, not a note on the existing cut.
Do raw footage deliverables come with revisions? Not meaningfully — there's no edit to revise. When a raw-footage client asks for revisions, they almost always mean a re-shoot, so scope raw clips as delivered-as-filmed and quote any re-filming separately.