Why hours get rejected
Nearly every rejected hour comes from a short list of causes: a camera in the wrong place or aimed wrong, a picture that drifts or goes dark, work that is not real, the wrong task, or something private in view. Each one has a quick fix.
On this page
The reasons you will hear
When a video is turned down, the review gives a short reason. These are the ones seen most so far, in the words the review uses:
| Reason given | What the video usually shows | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Incorrect camera setup | The camera aimed ahead at the room or up at the ceiling, hands missing most of the time; sometimes sideways or upside down. | Tip the phone down until both hands are in the middle. Run the 10-second test. |
| Chest / neck camera | A low view from the chest, a mop or broom handle across the picture, often dark and wobbly. | Wear the phone on the head strap only. |
| Camera Image | A picture that is too dark, blocked or smeared, or the recorder's own shirt filling the view. | Wipe the lens, turn on the lights, and check the clip is not covering the camera. |
| Not following task selected | Work that does not match the task picked in the app. | Pick the task that matches the work before starting. |
| Inauthentic task execution | Work that is not real: going through the motions, redoing a clean surface, stretching a job out. | Record only work that needs doing, at a normal pace. |
Colby also checks videos and flags ones that cannot be used, with one plain line about what the camera showed, like Camera aimed at the room; hands rarely in view. The owner sees these under the recorder's name in the company's portal.
Problems that start on day one
These show up in a crew's first videos. They are the easiest to catch, because the first 10 seconds of video already show them.
Phone tipped too high, or aimed straight ahead
What it looks like: the room, the far wall, ceiling lights or a long row of equipment, with the hands only now and then at the bottom edge. Why: the recorder pointed the phone where their eyes look, or set the angle standing up straight, so the hands drop out as soon as they bend to work. The fix: stand the way you work, hands out in front, and tip the phone down until both hands are in the middle. Tighten the knob and run the 10-second test.
Camera on the chest or neck
What it looks like: a low view, a mop or broom handle across the picture, often dark and wobbly. Why: the strap did not fit, or nobody told the recorder the rule. The fix: the head strap, every time. If the strap does not fit someone, the owner tells Colby. No chest harness, lanyard or shirt pocket.
Picture sideways or upside down
Why: the phone went into the clip the wrong way round. The fix: check on the phone screen that the picture is right side up before the strap goes on. Upside down alone is not always rejected, but it usually comes with the hands out of view.
Tipped too low, or off to one side
Only feet and floor: tip the phone up a little. Hands always at one edge: center the mount on the forehead.
Problems that build slowly during a shift
These are harder to spot. The first video of the night looks fine, and the later ones do not.
A strap that slowly slips
Bending, reaching and sweat loosen a strap over a shift. The aim creeps toward the room or the feet until the hands are gone. A slipping mount is one of the most common first notes a new crew gets. The fix: pull the strap snug, then shake your head and bend over; if anything moves, tighten more. Put tape across the joint by the knob so the recorder can see if the angle moved, and check the picture at every break.
The angle is lost when the phone comes out
If a recorder loosens the knob to take the phone out for charging or upload, the angle is gone. The fix: open the clip's jaws instead, put the phone back the same way, centered, and check the tape still lines up.
Shake and blur
Crews have reported phones shaking on the head mount. Some movement is normal; heavy blur from a loose clip is not. The fix: tighten both screws, on the back of the holder and on the side of the arm, and keep the strap snug.
Light, battery and storage
Moving from a lit room into a dark storeroom or back hall turns the end of a video dark: turn on the lights in each area, and skip any area that stays too dark. A dead phone or a broken file does not count: charge the phone and battery pack before every shift and upload before the phone fills up.
Problems with the work itself
These have nothing to do with the camera. A perfect picture of work that is not real is still turned down.
| Problem | What it looks like | What to tell the crew |
|---|---|---|
| Idle time | Standing around, barely moving, or the phone set down on the floor or a cart | Stop recording when you stop working. Start a new video when you start again. |
| Recording through breaks | A meal, a rest or a drive between sites with the camera running | Stop before the break. Never record while driving. |
| Pretend or slow work | Wiping a clean counter over and over, sweeping a floor with no dirt, a job stretched out | Record work that needs doing, at your normal pace. Never redo a job to add time. |
| Wrong task | The app says one kind of work and the video shows another | Pick the task that matches the work before you start. |
Strikes and account holds
The recording app keeps a record on each recorder's account. When a review turns down a group of a recorder's videos, it can add a strike. Enough strikes turn the account off. Strikes clear after a few months.
- One review often turns down several of a recorder's videos at once, so rejected hours tend to land in a block.
- Some problems skip the strikes. Not working while recording, or a chest camera again after a warning, can turn an account off at once.
- A recorder turned off for camera placement cannot come back under a new account. A new account on the same phone looks like the same person returning, and is removed.
- A second account for the same person, or an account made with a work or company email, can get the phone itself blocked.
If the app says a recorder's account is on hold, the recorder stops recording and the owner calls Colby. Never fix a held or closed account by making a new one.
Find the pattern
Before you suggest a fix, look at where the rejected hours came from. The pattern usually points at the cause.
| Pattern | Likely cause | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Most rejected hours from one recorder, on one or two nights | Setup: the aim, the mount or the picture's orientation | That recorder runs the 10-second test with the owner or crew lead looking |
| Early videos fine, later ones rejected | A strap that slips, or an angle lost when the phone came out | Tape on the joint, open the jaws instead of the knob, check at each break |
| Rejections spread across a whole crew on night work | Light | Lights on in every area, and skip areas that stay dark |
| Good camera work, still rejected | The work itself or the task picked | Talk about idle time, breaks and picking the right task |
Example
A first week, counted in hours
A company's three recorders upload about 40 hours in their first week.
About 12 of those hours are rejected. Nearly all of them come from one recorder's first two nights, with the phone aimed ahead at the room.
That is 12 hours times $2.00 per accepted hour that did not count for you, and 12 hours the company was not paid for.
The fix takes five minutes: tip the phone down, run the 10-second test, tape the joint.
Questions
Can a crew record the same work again to make up rejected hours?
No. Redoing work to add time is itself a reason hours are turned down. Fix the cause and record the next real shift.
Why was one upside-down video accepted and another rejected?
Upside down is not the deciding thing. When both hands are still in view, upside-down video has been accepted. When the hands are missing too, it is turned down. Reviewers are people, and calls on borderline video can differ.
How soon do we find out a video was rejected?
When review finishes. Colby has not set a review time. Today shows hours in review and rejected hours, so look there once a day while a new crew starts.
Should a recorder delete a bad video from the phone?
No. Tell the owner, and the owner tells Colby. Colby decides what happens to videos already uploaded.