How to Run a Parallel Review for Edit and Color When Both Departments Are Working Simultaneously

Running edit and color in parallel is one of those post-production decisions that looks risky until you do it right, and then it looks obvious. The traditional linear workflow, picture lock then color, is safe and predictable. It is also slow. On projects with tight delivery windows, overlapping editorial and color saves real time.

The catch is that a parallel review for edit and color when both departments are working simultaneously requires a disciplined version management system. Without it, the colorist grades a shot that gets cut, the editor changes a scene that was already color-approved, and you end up doing everything twice.

Here is the approach that works.

Why Parallel Edit and Color Is Actually Viable Now

For most of post-production history, running editorial and color simultaneously was a logistical nightmare because the two departments used incompatible systems and the color department needed a stable, locked sequence to grade efficiently. Reconnecting a grade to a renegotiated cut was painful and time-consuming.

Modern tools have changed this. Roundtrip workflows between Resolve and Premiere or Avid are reliable enough that editorial changes can be pushed to the color suite without starting from scratch. The workflow is not frictionless, but it is manageable if you have a clear communication protocol between departments.

The Scene-by-Scene Lock Protocol

The foundation of parallel edit and color is partial locking. Instead of waiting for a full picture lock, you lock scenes or acts as they are editorially stable and release them to color. The rule is strict: nothing goes to color until the editorial team has signed off on it as locked for this pass.

In practice:

• Act one is locked and handed to color on week three of the edit.
• Act two follows on week four.
• Act three is still being cut while color is grading act one.
• Editorial changes to act two are communicated to color before they affect any graded material.

The failure mode is when an editor makes a change to a scene that is already being graded and does not tell the colorist. The colorist grades to the old cut. The grade has to be redone on the new cut. That is the inefficiency the protocol is designed to prevent.

Setting Up the Review Structure

For the parallel review itself, the challenge is that editorial and color are producing outputs simultaneously and stakeholders need to review both without confusing which notes apply to which department.

I set up two separate PlayPause projects for a parallel workflow: one for editorial review and one for color review. They share the same stakeholders, but the notes stay separate. A director's note about a performance choice goes into the editorial project. A note about the grade on the exterior day scenes goes into the color project. Nobody has to sort mixed feedback to figure out who should act on it.

Communicating Between Editorial and Color

The protocol I recommend is a daily department status note shared between the editorial coordinator and the color coordinator. It does not need to be elaborate: a one-paragraph update on what is locked, what is moving to color today, and any editorial changes made to scenes currently in the grade.

This daily note prevents surprises. The colorist knows at the start of each day exactly which scenes are safe to grade and which scenes might be touched by editorial. If editorial made a trim to a scene that is already partially graded, the colorist knows before they open the project.

For productions where the post supervisor is managing both editorial and color handoffs, this daily note is often their primary tool for keeping the two departments from colliding.

Managing Stakeholder Reviews in a Parallel Workflow

The stakeholder management piece is genuinely tricky. A director watching act one in color while act two is still being cut can easily leave color notes on material that is about to be re-edited. Or they can leave editorial notes in the color review project, which confuses the colorist.

I handle this with a clear brief to all reviewers before the parallel review starts. The brief explains which project is for which type of feedback, and it explicitly states that they should not expect act two to be graded yet because it is still in editorial. Setting that expectation upfront prevents confused notes.

For clients or stakeholders who are not familiar with parallel post workflows, the analogy I use is this: imagine building a house and having the electricians wire the rooms as soon as the walls are framed, rather than waiting until the whole structure is complete. The work overlaps, but only in rooms where the structure is stable. Color is the electrician. The locked act is the framed room.

The Approval Flow at the End

For editorial context on how color review fits into the broader sign-off process, see how to run a remote color grading review session with your director and preventing version confusion during the color grading approval stage.

Even in a parallel workflow, there should be a single unified approval moment before anything leaves the building. Once both editorial and color have completed their work on all locked scenes, run a final review pass that combines both outputs. The director and producer watch the graded, edited cut in full. This is the approval lock moment, and it should result in a timestamped sign-off on the complete version.

Using PlayPause for this final approval means the sign-off is documented and linked to the specific version that was approved. If anyone questions later whether the director approved the graded cut versus an earlier editorial cut, the record is clear.

• Confirm NLE-to-Resolve roundtrip is tested before parallel work begins
• Lock each act or scene formally before releasing to color
• Brief all stakeholders on which review project receives which note type
• Send a daily status note between editorial and color coordinators
• Run a unified final approval pass before anything leaves post
• Lock the final approved version with a timestamped sign-off in PlayPause

For post houses juggling multiple active projects alongside this kind of parallel workflow, the media management strategy for post houses handling 10-plus active projects is worth reading alongside this one.

Start PlayPause free and set up your first parallel review structure. The Agency plan at $19 per month gives you unlimited projects, which is exactly what you need when editorial and color are running separate review tracks simultaneously.