Filmmakers: Try the Army’s Proven 4-Step Feedback Method

“Alright everyone, great work today. That’s a wrap!”

A very familiar phrase. Without hesitation, the crew is packing the gear. They’re eager to get home and plop into bed from exhaustion. For good reason.

But have you ever heard (or said) this?

“Alright everyone, great work today – that’s a wrap! But don’t forget, department heads, key people, let’s get together and have our usual AAR before we head home.” 

Say what? Everyone is mentally and physically exhausted. Who wants to stay longer than absolutely necessary? I, for one, would prefer to go home and relax.

But it’s also killing your productions.

Why, you ask? Because seeking feedback and implementing continual improvements is the key to being a successful filmmaker. Whether you are a director, producer, cinematographer… it doesn’t matter.

So what is this AAR thing – what can the Army teach you to be a better filmmaker?

A culture of systems and constant improvement

The United States Army is given form through a combination of history, tradition, regulation, and training. These are all systems of behavior and mentalities. They are processes to be followed, whether technical, administrative, or moral.

These things, as much as being well-funded and equipped, are what make the United States armed forces so disciplined and effective.

Even when encountering terrible odds, Soldiers are trained to adapt and overcome. Though filmmakers are facing vastly less adversity and danger than warriors on the battlefield, Soldiers have many principles in common with filmmakers when it comes to completing the mission successfully.

Both ventures require thorough planning, the direction of large groups of people completing specialized tasks, and the placement and usage of specialized equipment to reach a shared goal. All the pieces must move with efficiency and in harmony to create a single desired result, and this is no small feat.

When you add the creative and unscientific results required from film, it gets even more complicated.

So, how does the Army keep things relevant and keep from stagnating or repeating the same errors? When it comes to matters of life and death, Soldiers often don’t get the luxury of making the same error twice.

The subsequent result is the process I’ve been through innumerable times while in the Army, and have applied to my filmmaking as well.

The After Action Review

The after action review (AAR) is a powerful tool that the Army leverages constantly. It’s something we do after any major event, training or otherwise. No matter our mood or exhaustion, we still do it.

So what is this AAR, exactly?

An AAR is an event-focused, results-oriented review that allows you to determine what you should do next time to be more successful.

This is useful and relevant whether your project went well or not, for small events and massive ventures alike.

What does an AAR consist of?

There are four elements to an after action review.

The Goal: what were our goals?

The Result: did we accomplish what we set out to do? If not, which goals did we meet versus fail to meet?

Sustains: what did we do right this time around, or what did we do that worked very well, that we should carry on for the next project? (List as many as you can think of)

Improves: what did we do poorly at, or what did not work very well? For each of those things, what can we do next time to avoid the problem or improve the process?

Okay, those are the elements.

But how does this AAR work, exactly?

An AAR is usually a group activity and can include anyone who may have a useful perspective to contribute to the discussion.

Remember, the goal of this event-oriented review is to improve performance. It has nothing to do with your vanity, and you should hang your ego at the door. Only people who care about getting better will do this, and only people who can put aside their ego will see large leaps of growth as filmmakers.

Applying AARs to real life

‘Yeah, theory is great, Nick. Give me something actionable’.

Will do.

How to run an AAR:

1. Call the meeting. Don’t skip it just because you and your team are tired, but if it comes down to a safety issue, use your best judgment. The key to this tool being effective is consistency over time.

Sure, using it a handful of times will certainly help, but imagine the improvements you can make in the long run if you force yourself to consistently evaluate your performance and apply real feedback. If you just say, ‘oh, let’s not worry about it this time,’ you’ll make it a habit. Being consistent is hard, but it will pay dividends.

2. Make all present at the meeting participate. Naturally, some people will not feel motivated to participate. This is normal. Some are less outspoken than others, really tired, or just don’t feel like it.

By doing this group review, you are combining everyone’s brainpower and perspectives for a short time to create supercharged, actionable notes for the future. Subsequently, if you aren’t getting everyone’s perspective, it’s likely important aspects will be missed.

Sometimes, people have genuinely unique perspectives on an issue that are helpful, while at other times one person may remember something that everyone else simply forgot about.

You should get at least one ‘sustain’ and one ‘improve’ from everyone in the group, if not more. If you don’t have everyone participate, others may follow suit and clam up.

3. Execute to standard, not time. This is a very common saying in the Army. Often there are tasks that simply must be completed properly – to a high standard – before anyone can move on.

You should apply this mindset to your after action review. If you skimp and accelerate the AAR to save a few minutes, you do yourself and your team a disservice because the feedback won’t be nearly as good.

Of course, you should make your AAR a reasonable length. Usually reviewing a day or two’s work in an AAR should take no longer than 20 minutes. The length will scale with the scope of the project you are reviewing.

‘But what if I’m really short on time and–’

Don’t make excuses. Make it happen. A good alternative to a formalized AAR process is the ‘carpool AAR’. Chat with your producer, actors, or whoever may be carpooling with you on the way home from set. If you aren’t carpooling, call up your team members and chat on the way home.

Next time you see their name pop up on Facebook messenger, shoot them a message and pick their brain. Have a group call on Skype or Google Hangouts. The point is to get feedback, so if you absolutely must skip the AAR, find another way.

4. Document everything. This is straightforward. If you don’t document all of the information you gather during the AAR, what good does it do you? Unless you have a perfect memory (actually, even if you do) make sure all of this stuff gets written down.

You can assign a ‘scribe’ at the meeting or take the notes yourself, but you should focus on facilitating the discussion so that you can extract all the important feedback you can.

Sure, if you don’t write it down, it’s better you did it than not. But chances are everyone will forget a lot of what was said, and part of the value of the AAR is its thoroughness.

Your notes will come in handy later and are great to pull up and read before another similar project, or to share with teammates on a service like Google Drive.

5. Actually reference the notes and apply them. If you never look at the notes again once they’ve been written and don’t do anything with the information, what’s the point?

If I’ve piqued your interest and you want to take a deeper look at the Army’s AAR process, this video will help you have a better understanding of how to apply this great tool.

In summary: 4 ways to adapt and overcome

1. Not consistently reviewing your performance and adjusting is killing your productions. Start using some sort of evaluation process, formal or not.

2. Create a culture of constant improvement by accepting critique and encouraging others to provide feedback. Focus on results.

3. Prevent stagnation by implementing the Army’s after-action review (AAR) process.

4. Adapt and overcome! Apply the feedback you gather to make each production more successful than the last.

I’d love to hear from any of you creative hustlers out there. What are your habits like when it comes to seeking feedback?

Have any great stories of adapting and overcoming the challenges of production? Feel free to message me any time.