[Free Film Questionnaire Form] 3 Foolproof Steps to Apply Feedback to Your Film

Clear feedback is key to pulling together an effective final cut of your film.

You just finished the cut of your recent film and are feeling oh-so-competent. Who among your peers have done what you have? You had gone with your genius instincts and can do no wrong. You declare, “it is complete!”. Cackling madly, you hit ‘export’ like the Dr. Frankenstein of auteur directors. You’ve just pieced together a monster.

Deep down in your soul, you shiver slightly. You know what you did is wrong.

A couple of days later, your inner fears are validated when someone comments on the film, which you posted on YouTube.

(Why did you put your feature film on YouTube? …Oh, it was a short? Okay. Well, this information still works for you, too.)

SpinKick74:

“Just really not worth watching. A strange and bad movie all around. 3/10.”

Brutal.

A visual representation of your hopes and dreams after reading the comment on your film.

If only you would have sought out honest, thorough feedback from filmmakers, friends, and strangers! Alas, you did not.

But since you’re reading this, you’ve either learned the error of your ways or know better and want some ideas on how to get great feedback.

Show off the most complete project possible

Before you get started on refining your project, it’s important that you bring it as close to something resembling the final product as possible. Why? Your filmmaking friends may largely understand your intention with the film, already have a general idea of the story, and distinguish from what will be improved and what is being presented in its final form.

These are people you can get feedback from while the film is still under construction or in early stages, and you should seek out their feedback if you can.

However, more ordinary viewers will not necessarily understand or react properly to a film that is not complete in its most important aspects.

Therefore, the closer your project is to being view-ready, the more accurate audience feedback will be.

Some things you can do to make sure feedback will be neutral include:

1. Add basic sound design.

2. Add a simple color grade and some atmospheric sound.

3. Add titles explaining absent visual effects

4. Ensure there are no black frames, missing shots, non-uniform scaling issues, or other distractions.

5. Add anything that is crucial to the viewer to understand the story.

Know your viewer and how to interpret feedback

Depending on the kind of person you get feedback from, you are going to receive different kinds of feedback. Some of it can sometimes be… less than helpful, let’s say.

Your grandma will probably just pat you on the back. “You did such a great job. You are amazing, dear.” You appreciate the affirmation, but it isn’t particularly useful for improving your project.

That’s okay. You love her anyway.

At different points in your film’s creation, you’ll need to reach out to different people depending on what you are looking for.

Audience types and the type of feedback

General viewer:

These are people that aren’t really huge movie-lovers and aren’t necessarily in your target audience. In other words, these might be people you don’t know all that well; maybe that friend on Facebook you don’t know. 34, female, legal clerk. Your film is a thriller. It may not be in her wheelhouse based on demographic trends, but she’s willing to provide feedback.

Target audience:

These viewers are almost identical to the general viewer. The difference is that their feedback will lack any strange reactions or anomalous feedback. They will understand the genre conventions of your film and appreciate the staples of it (ex. action sequences).

What kind of feedback. General feelings, like or dislike, whether it feels professional, what characters they like, whether the acting is good or not, and other general feedback.

What to look out for. For the general viewer, there can be bias in their feedback, such as dislike of genre conventions or an unusual response to scenes meant to elicit specific responses. Their feedback can have abnormalities because they don’t react the same way as the fan of your film’s genre. Your target audience will not have this problem. Always remember that this is ultimately the group of people for which your film is intended.

When to ask for feedback. When trying to work on project pacing, flow, and the arrangement of scenes. Whether plot points make sense and are logical.

Cinephile:

These viewers are frequent moviegoers and have more discerning tastes. They know what they like, know what they dislike, and are usually not afraid of saying so. They are more likely to like a variety of films and genres, so they may be quite similar to your target audience.

What kind of feedback. This will vary greatly by how avid a moviegoer they are and how picky they are, but the cinephile will likely be able to provide more critical, specific feedback to you than the standard viewer, while also providing their general reaction to your film. Some of this feedback might include:

Moments of the film or elements that seem ‘off’ but they aren’t sure why, plot holes, inconsistencies, or character issues, basic structural problems, and critical evaluation of the quality of your special effects, action, or other elements requiring the audience to suspend disbelief.

What to look out for. While they can provide great feedback that is more detailed than the average viewer, they have the potential to be more critical than the average viewer and may not be a completely accurate representation of how your target audience will react.

When to ask for feedback. When trying to work on project pacing, flow, and the arrangement of scenes. Whether plot points make sense and are logical. Quality of music and sound design’s ability to enhance the story. Identifying plot holes and character issues.

Casual filmmaker:

These are those people you’ve met who’ve done some film work but aren’t rabid filmmakers. It’s not that they don’t know anything or have no ability, but they take more of a casual interest, making a little film here and there when they have some time.

What kind of feedback. They are more likely to provide feedback that’s a mix between a layman’s perspective and someone who knows what they are looking at. They aren’t so specialized that they can’t look past issues your film has or the technical aspect. They can provide some technical insight paired with the thoughts of a normal viewer.

What to look out for. They can focus on the technical achievements of your film, slick shots, and other aesthetic elements instead of providing substantive feedback on the crucial parts of your film. This likely won’t always be the case, but it is something worth keeping in mind.

When to ask for feedback. When you need a more discerning eye to take a look at your film, or need a set of fresh eyes to look at a certain shot or cut that hasn’t been tainted by viewing the material too much.

Family and friends:

Friends and family can give decent general feedback on your film, but there is a strong chance that they will not give you detailed or challenging feedback, but rather give you a nice pat on the back and a ‘good job, buddy’.

Their feedback will most likely be broad notes on what they thought was good about it while leaving out the negative. They aren’t looking to cause any trouble and don’t understand that you may be okay with them being brutally honest. This isn’t always the case, but it’s a good rule of thumb.

Professional filmmakers:

If you have any mentors within the industry, or people a couple steps ahead of you in different industry roles, especially writers, they can provide incredibly useful feedback.

What kind of feedback. If they are willing to take the time to give you detailed feedback, they will tell you exactly what they thought worked well and what has issues, and perhaps even offer potential solutions.

What to look out for. Similar to the casual filmmaker, not all professionals understand the essentials of story structure or other storytelling necessities. Instead, each professional tends to have a specific specialty and so they are likely to hone in on that area more than others.

When to ask for feedback. If you are trying to dial in your film and really get it fine-tuned for a competition or for distribution, that’s a good time to ask the opinion of any connections you might have.

Identify patterns of feedback and adjust accordingly

Two times is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern, as they say.

This is a decent standard by which to apply feedback to your film. A professional screenwriter once told me that if he hears the same feedback from three separate people, he almost always will make changes based on their feedback. It’s the smallest sample size from which you can predict what needs to change for the better, in most circumstances.

This standard has held well for me in all kind of projects, both creative and otherwise.

That said, there will be times when someone points something out that you didn’t see before, or their perspective allows you to see a glaring issue that clearly needs improvement. Give it a shot and change it up. No rule is absolute when it comes to implementing feedback to your project.

Free resource – film screening questionnaire

I’m including a link to download a questionnaire to help you collect feedback for your films.

Originally I designed it for viewers to fill out after our preliminary screenings, but I’ve repurposed and improved it for your purposes. I do hope you find it helpful as you work to make your project the best it can possibly be.

Click here to get the questionnaire. The link will take you to a signup form. After filling it, you will be able to download the questionnaire.

Page 1 of the questionnaire (with question 5 filled in completely as an example)

Recap: this is how you apply feedback to your film

1. Show off the most complete product realistically possible. Include non-visual elements that are important to getting the story across, such as particular sound design or sound effects, or a title card explaining a missing visual effect. Doing this will help you get the most neutral feedback possible.

2. Know your viewer and how to interpret their feedback. Understand what kind of feedback you are likely to receive based on who is viewing. From there, figure out how to implement that feedback appropriately without giving too little or too much weight to it.

3. Identify patterns of feedback and adjust accordingly. Remember this rule of thumb: two times might be a coincidence, but three is a pattern.

Just like prep and production, the process of collecting feedback and implementing it effectively is an important step in the filmmaking process.

Now get out there, and make your work the best it can be!