You always have to be open to criticism and not fight it. If you're resistant to feedback and changes, then you're slowing down the process. You might disagree with the direction of the shot and the changes that you are being asked to make, but at the end of the day you are doing work for hire. You are being paid to bring someone else's vision to life. So you have to leave your ego at home when you go to work. That, to me, is the bottom line. You don't want to be the guy that goes, "That's stupid feedback, I'm not going to do that."
It's important to remember that it is not YOUR portfolio you're working on, but the DIRECTOR's portfolio (or whoever is calling the shots), but it's really not a common thing to go back to your desk after dailies cursing at your notes. And sometimes you disagree with the feedback but then when you watch the movie, you realize that in the grand scheme of things it was the right choice. It's easy to just focus on your shot and not think about the sequence or the whole movie, but the person in charge has the overview and he or she is more aware of how the whole thing plays out. So you also have to trust the director.
You can absolutely disagree with someone's critique and as long as you bring it up in a polite and constructive way I think it's okay. I wouldn't just say no to the feedback, of course. Try to bring another idea to the table. Try to find another solution instead of just disagreeing.
You should also be aware of the production schedule. If you start a movie, then there is enough time to talk about shots and brainstorm. But if you get a change during crunch time and you're in the final stretch, then it's not really the right moment to start a discussion. Everybody might know that the feedback is not the best, but it's about finishing the movie at that time, so you have to put your thoughts on the backseat. Pick your battles. :)
Guest Blogger Jean-Denis Haas
11 comments:
thanks for the sharing! JD
Awesome JD
I understand that when you're working for someone, the bottom line is that you need to deliver what they want. My problem is when trying to get feedback on personal work.
I feel that whenever I get feedback on that sort of thing, I have often thought through everything so specifically, that when someone else sees it and critiques it they are coming from a completely different viewpoint or with a different sensibility for style (cartoony/realistic/etc).
Is it then a matter of compromising what you were trying to do to hit those types of notes or does that simply mean I'm not doing my job right as an animator and giving a clear idea?
The problem gets bigger when you show it to a lot of different people with varying degrees of experience in animation (and even none) and they start to conflict. Do you just say 'oh yes, that's a great point' to everyone, then go back and take the comments with a grain of salt depending on who it's from? My typical response is to explain what I was doing with hopes of getting down to something that may be a bigger problem, but I think I often come off as defensive instead.
To make a long question short, how would you recommend fielding critique when you feel you and the person critiquing are looking at it from different angles?
Pandalope, that's a great question and I've been there.
When you have final say and are looking for feedback I consider a few things and maybe it can help you.
First, make sure that you are completely clear about the story point(s) that you want to present in your shot or sequence.
If the audience (ranging from experienced animator to random guy off the street) doesn't get it, and if the majority of the audience doesn't get, then it's not a question about different angles, but clear story telling.
But if you get a wide range of comments, it can get tricky. If I hear multiple comments addressing the same things, then it's definitely worth investigating.
Some comments just come down to different angles and opinions and tastes, like you said. Then it comes down to how strongly do you feel about your ideas.
One caveat: because you HAVE thought through everything, it can get difficult to keep a neutral eye, so first impressions by a cold audience is very important (at least to me).
Hope that makes sense and helps! :)
Thanks JD. So in that case would you say it's better to just take down the note and say thanks and not explain why you did something the way you did? I mean, I always take everyone's comments really seriously no matter how much they go against what I would like to do and have quite often reworked whole sections or shots based on what that cold read was, but my first reaction is usually to try and explain(slash I guess defend) my decisions to see how their impressions change after hearing it.
That all depends who you're talking to. If it's your friends, a discussion about it is okay and fun, and totally up to you. If it is a professional environment then "defending" a shot is not always appropriate, because of time issues, directions, budgets, etc. There is always room for discussions, but you don't want to be the guy who always questions/defends/discusses feedback, because at the end, why do you even ask? :)
i think this good article
Thanks!
Thanks Pandalope and Jean-Denis! Your side conversation is something I was pondering about myself!
This is really helpful thanks. I guess these are things i kind of always knew but its good to be reminded. At uni i find that a lot of us need to remember to take criticism better from each other and work on how to give it better also.
Glad you liked it!
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