How to (Get) Critique(d)

A good friend of mine invited me to a Short Film Workshop that she went to for young, up-and-coming film makers to teach them what *not* to do when trying to make a great short film - the kind that win awards at Film Festivals and later become “Feature Films.” (ex. “A Guide to Recognizing your Saints,” “Primer,” etc.)

One of the many things I learned there was how few of the many “accomplished” filmmakers attending (who rattled off their resume every time they spoke) didn’t have a clue as to how to critique / get critiqued.

See, early on in the workshop, while they were discussing scripts (& where I paid the most attention), a “sample script” was passed around the table and the workshop leader asked what about the script “worked” and what “didn’t work.”

What “worked” about the script was that it was relatable, (it dealt with losing a parent) believable, and had a nice mix of humor and drama. (Answers given by workshop leader)
As to what “didn’t work,” a lot of people replied that they simply “didn’t give a shit about the main character,” but never said why.

…..which is like saying “I hate this. Fix it.”

Now aside from being overly harsh, (Really? You’re going to say ‘shit’ in your critique?) their critiques weren’t exactly helpful. No suggestions were offered as to why they felt it didn’t work; only that they knew it didn’t. But I guess that’s where the workshop came in. Here are a few of more important critique suggestions

• Pick your critics wisely – don’t pick someone who’s just going to give it a “Thumbs Up” / “Thumbs Down,” it’s obviously a work in progress and you’ll need them to be specific & analytical.


• A critique should be about form, not content – make them think about HOW you’re saying something, not WHAT you’re saying. Don’t worry about trying to find your audience because they’re out there and they will find you.


• Get it critiqued it multiple times – one person’s opinion is just one person’s opinion; if they don’t like something, that’s just their taste. But if several people say the same thing about it, *then* you know that something’s wrong.


• Focus your critiques for the critic: Ask them specific questions about things that you’re unsure of, let them know what you want their opinion on specifically and make sure that they fully answer those questions.


• Shut up & listen – if you have to explain afterwards, then you’re not showing it for them.

(There were a lot more lessons, but most of them were catered towards short films)

SIDENOTE - One of the other things I learned in that workshop was why filmmakers are so stigmatized as being ‘pretentious;’ (i.e. always going on about their accomplishments) they spend months (sometimes years) working on something (often alone) that may never be recognized as ‘valuable’ or even ‘worthwhile’ to anyone other than themselves. That’s something I never realized about artists before and will now vow to shut the fuck up whenever one of them starts talking to me about their art.