Written by Reece Mawhinney

Reece is a Film and Creative Industries Tutor
And has submitted feedback for 20 films with Feedbackity
 

1. Remember that these are Independent Films

From that heading you’re probably thinking, “Duh! I’m not stupid. Of course, I know that, you fool.” And to you, very naturally-sounding person, I say, bear with me. In your mind, it can be difficult to separate the film you’re giving feedback on from the last blockbuster you saw. You might not be expecting top-notch CGI or a globe-trotting adventure, but there are plenty of elements we take as a benchmark. A bare minimum for what we expect a film to achieve. The reality is, for some filmmakers, this isn’t possible.  

You might notice how the film you’re giving feedback on takes place all in one location. Just with different set dressing. Or the camera work will feel weak to you, because the cinematographer clearly didn’t use any different lens or rigs for their shots. The films you will be writing feedback for have a limited budget and limited resources.  

Even if you’re a massive fan of indie films, the likelihood is, you’ve mostly only seen indie films at festivals before signing up with Feedbackity. You’ve seen the best made by the best. The films you’ll be watching feature the work of people who are still learning their craft. They’re desperate for feedback they can use to improve their abilities.  

So, the question you have to ask yourself is, do I comment on these things while giving feedback?  

I’m not saying to never critique these things. Just that it’s important to pick your battles. You might decide that it was entirely within the filmmaker’s ability to find a creative solution to their budgetary issues. Perhaps the answer the filmmaker chose, to you, felt uninspired or lazy. That’s worth telling them about. When you feel compelled to share your mind, you should do it. And true, that’s the easy part.
The hard part is when you don’t feel like you have anything to say. About that…

2. You’re not as apathetic as you think you are

You’re asked to answer whilst filling out feedback and nothing comes to mind. We’ve all been there. (It’s worth noting that this doesn’t normally happen with films you like, though you might be worried about repeating yourself; don’t be.) During times like this, it’s the same situation as when you’re struggling for what to write for a test or a report. And the advice is the same as well. Skip to the next question or take a break. Do something else that engages a different part of your brain and then come back and see what you can come up with.  

If you’re still struggling, it might be a matter of perspective. It’s your opinions we’re hoping to coax out of you here, and you might think you don’t have any about the film you watched. You’re wrong. If you’re feeling apathetic towards a film, it’s because one of two things is happening.  

The first is you’re not noticing anything different from what you see all the time. Nothing’s standing out. This indie film’s production has reached the base standard that we talked about before. And as such, it’s completely gone over your head. Remember, it’s far more difficult for an independent filmmaker to achieve the same level as a fully-forced production company. It’s worth telling them in your feedback that you’ve noticed the effort they’ve put in. Telling an up-and-coming filmmaker that you thought their work was on par with that of established professionals is a massive compliment. It’s a good way of putting positive feedback onto a film that you thought was just fine.  

Contrary to the first, the second thing that might be causing your apathy is that you think the film is not up to par. Maybe not even “bad”, but for a reason you can’t put your finger on, you’re sure that the film is not good. Express that. Tell the filmmaker that it didn’t make you feel anything and you think it won’t perform well. That’s a good starting point. In general, it’s best practice to go as in-depth as possible in your feedback and explain your point. But it’s okay to start off simple. The trick here is that it’s easier to keep writing when you’ve already started. Whatever comes to mind about the why, write it down. It doesn’t have to be refined, so long as it’s out of your head. There’s plenty of time for clean up later. But when you are writing, remember one thing…

3. You’re a feedbacker, not a critic

If you’re here, you love film. Enough so to want the chance to watch all different kinds from a variety of filmmakers. Many of you will have your own film blogs or at least regularly jump into discussions on social media. Something that it’s important to realize is that what you’re writing here isn’t a critics review. You’re giving constructive feedback. This might be a difficult separation if reviews and critical study are the only film discourse you’ve read. These are useful teaching tools for sharpening your sense for what makes a good film. They shouldn’t, however, become your feedback bibles. The key differences are in the style and purpose. Reviews and critiques are directed at the film-goer. Reviews are entertainment with suggestions. They’re designed to drive traffic to whatever site or magazine they’re hosted on. They’re designed to keep the reader engaged, which requires the use of active language and a performative style. Very rarely are reviews ever directed at the cast and crew and meant to be taken by them as genuine feedback. No, instead, that’s your job.  

Rather than thinking of yourself as a film critic, picture yourself as an editor of a novel. Sure, like a critic, it’s your job to find what works and what doesn’t. But there’s no need for showmanship here. Your writing isn’t for attracting people, it’s for helping, and your style needs to reflect that. Make sure you’re showing an understanding of the film, but also that you’re getting to the point. Keep asking yourself, “Is what I just wrote helpful?” If what you’re writing isn’t going to benefit the filmmaker once they get your feedback, get rid of it.  

Sometimes it could be that what you wrote is as if you’re telling the filmmaker how their own film works. They already know, they made it. Make sure you’re giving compliments on what worked rather than only relaying to them how it worked. 

Or it could be that you’re ripping into a film. That’s fine but remember that there’s someone on the other end who has paid for this service. I don’t what to presume what you’re into, but generally, most people don’t enjoy paying to be berated. You can be critical but don’t overdo it. There’s no audience to impress here. Pick out the one or two weakest parts, explaining what you think went wrong and how they could improve, and leave it at that.  

To reiterate, you do need to constantly be asking yourself “Is this helpful?” This isn’t meant to make you worried. There’s no need to get trapped in your own head, fretting over whether you’re doing a good job or not. There are only two things you need to do to succeed in feedbacking…

4 & 5. Watch the film and engage

The most important thing for giving feedback is to watch the film. Everyone’s brains still in their skulls? Great. You all know that a film gets shot out of order and then edited together in such a way that watching it through tells you a story. Skipping around a film or barely watching it means you will miss out on how that story is being told. Not just what happens in certain scenes but how scenes transition from one to the other. How certain events were foreshadowed in little ways earlier on that you missed out on. Don’t bother going into a film, knowing that you’re not going to commit to watching it. You’re only setting yourself up to give poor feedback. And it will be obvious.  
Having said that, obviously, this isn’t always a case of lack of interest/laziness. If you’re the type of person who can just sit down and watch a film from start to finish, without problem, awesome. However, not everyone’s like that. Some people don’t have the attention span, others don’t have the time. Neither should stop you from giving good feedback. So long as you submit your feedback before the deadline, there’s nothing to say you can’t watch the film in parts.  

This isn’t ideal, as anyone who witnessed the arguments earlier this year about The Irishman will have been made well aware of. Even today, most films aren’t designed with the pause button in mind. Best practice for this is to make sure you’re watching until the end of the scene you’re currently on. A scene should always have a purpose. Something that it adds into the overall story and thematic direction of the film as a whole. Watching a scene in parts, it can be easy to lose track of what’s going on and how it fits into the rest of the film, holistically. Stay until you’ve got a sense for that purpose and decide how well you think the film achieves that goal. Once you’ve reached that point in your head, you can take a break and come back to it later.  

Two things you need to be wary of though, if you’re thinking about employing this method:

Firstly, don’t lose track of time. If you’re going to split up your watching and feedback writing, make sure you’ve allotted yourself ample time for it. And make sure you stick to it, so that you don’t find yourself scrambling at the last minute to get your feedback in. It will be rushed and you’re more likely to feel tempted to skip over scenes. Possibly missing out important parts of the film.  

Secondly, a scene’s purpose may only be obvious after revelations in a later scene. If you’re watching in parts and find yourself confused, it might be because you’ve missed or forgotten something. If you’ve been back and forth over a film and you’re still confused, that’s fine. It’s the filmmaker who has missed the mark. But if you criticise the filmmaker before going back to try to find the details you missed, your feedback might be used to try to fix problems that never existed. A subtle and well-crafted twist might be edited into a thorough beating over the head because you couldn’t be bothered to watch the film properly. Always second check.  

For many of the films submitted to Feedbackity, you’ll be one of the first people to ever watch it. Your opinion and feedback can have a massive impact on what the filmmaker chooses to do next with their work. This could be for the better, but also, for the worse. When you choose to give feedback on a film, you take on a responsibility to the filmmaker. It’s your job to give your honest opinion and help present how their film will be reacted to by an audience at large.  

Engage with the film. If you have strong feelings about what you’ve watched, let them out! Connect to it. Find what you relate to in its story. Find what impressed you in its production. Find what disappointed you. Find what you hated. All your feelings have worth when you’re giving feedback, except for when they come from a lack of engagement. If you’ve watched the film properly, you will not be apathetic towards it.
If you reach the end and you have no thoughts whatsoever, ask yourself honestly, “Did I give the film the attention it deserved?” If the answer is no, then you owe it to the filmmaker to give it another shot. If you can’t do that, you should do the right thing and take yourself off the job.  

Not every film you watch will be good. Some might not interest you and some might confuse you. Regardless, the filmmaker has still put in the work to create something and had the bravery to put it out into the world for public scrutiny. The least you can do for them is to face it head on and match their effort when you write their feedback.