Is it bad?

Evan S

Evan S

Veteran
I'm afraid to give my opinion on a lot of the videos here, because I think some of them are... uhm. bad. I guess I don't have much room to talk since I barely contribute, however. I think that if I gave my critiscm it wouldn't be welcome, since it's very cynical.

so.. is that bad? or should I go for it? ( I think it's constructive.. just OVERLY mean hahah.)
 
You can be honest and critical without being mean. Just a matter of tone. If you tell somebody their video sucks, it doesn't help them. But if you tell them their execution is weak because of weak lighting, poor sound quality, and sloppy editing, you'll give them areas to improve. And if you get even more specific about what you don't like and why it doesn't work, they may even listen to what you say and learn something.
 
ditto to brody. It's not constructive if it's "overly mean". Nasty criticism shines a much more negative light on the critic than it does his/her object of criticism. Those with genuine confidence typically don't need to insult others. That doesn't mean that you can't trash something, just offer specifics and trash the poorly executed elements of the work not the maker.
 
I've had to give a lot of criticism over the years and here's the approach I try to take. First off, you can almost always find something good. Start with that. The things that are bad, say lighting, aren't usually ALL bad. So as Brody said, offer advice. For example if the lighting is flat and uninteresting, I could say, "The lighting sucks, it's boring", or I could say, "I really like this scene, but I think if you added some depth to your lighting, you could really enhance the mood. I might try this......". See what I mean?
 
It's better to post. We have to rid the board of apathy towards comments. Also by talking about what you don't like regardings someone elses work you re-enforce your own values as a filmmaker, just try and not make the same mistakes with your own work. As a frequent poster of work, to be honest I've gone past the point of rushing to stick something up on DVX, only two find the next day its lost in the pile with 2 comments.
J
 
jpbankesmercer said:
It's better to post. J
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah. If no one says anything, the effect is "Oh, man. They really think it sucks. Where's that razor blade?"

Even someone putting up a "Eeeeewwwwww, stinky" comment is a potentially good thing...because someone else will jump in with some ameliorating comments. Usually. Hopefully. And that'll get the ball rolling.
 
I'll ditto MattC's comments. This question pops up every now and again.

Here's my mini-rant.

What do they say we have here as subscribers? 1.3 million? Well here's what the masses want from a site.

Amazing Videos that they can awe at
Helpful tips at how that AMAZING video was shot
NOT SO AMAZING videos to keep them all in the game while they get better
Helpful tips at how to get those helpful tips from the AMAZING video into their NOT SO AMAZING piece of work.

We all come here with different game...

Sometimes all you can say is, "are you kidding us?" Remember those goofy "My name is DAN, No MY name is DAN..." movies? He was AMAZING!

But remember, because of your game and what YOU bring if you say "are you kidding us?" to someone they might just have shown you their BEST work. Happens to me all the time here. Most of you know where my skills are and when I post something I get those helpful hints on how to get my stuff to where those others are... but sometimes I get the ass who wants to chime in on "Home movies suck" stuff. No help.

Don't get me wrong. Hey - I've been dropping my pants on the internet for sometime. I don't expect people to be nice. But there's a good core of us all here that can have effective/affective impact on pros and amatures (amatures in the root of the word!! -- for the love of it.)

CaptM
 
directinglegend said:
I'm afraid to give my opinion on a lot of the videos here, because I think some of them are... uhm. bad. I guess I don't have much room to talk since I barely contribute, however. I think that if I gave my critiscm it wouldn't be welcome, since it's very cynical.

so.. is that bad? or should I go for it? ( I think it's constructive.. just OVERLY mean hahah.)
Click to expand...
As someone who's been the target of your criticism, I say.. Go For It!

Criticism (in this context) is a two way street... Critics should not get too personal, and as others said, try to be specific as to what you didn't like.

Even if you can't find one good thing to say (y'know, like mine) at least start somewhere with specifics. Like 'the lighting seemed to make it flat', 'one character was not framed properly', etc.

The other side the of the street is the target of the criticism. Even mean critics took the time to look at it and say something. As tough as harsh criticism, the marketplace for films/videographers/whatever is tougher. If you suck, you're business goes down in flames. Sometimes you've got to just hear the tough words, and learn from them.
 
kai said:
I think Kai's clips generally suck the worst. Talentless hack.
Click to expand...

Oh, you haven't seen DStevens. Doesn't know there are other buttons on the camera beyond REC. Talk about point and shoot! He thinks cinema verite means you don't have to light the scene properly!
 
kai said:
I think Kai's clips generally suck the worst. Talentless hack.
Click to expand...

dstevens said:
Oh, you haven't seen DStevens. Doesn't know there are other buttons on the camera beyond REC. Talk about point and shoot! He thinks cinema verite means you don't have to light the scene properly!
Click to expand...

Terry_Lasater has to be the worst craft service person I know. Once, when I was hungry, he told me to eat a Snickers. I'm all like, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!".
 
I think it also helps if you create something yourself. Frankly, I'm not very interested in criticism from people who's only experience is sitting on their asses in front of screens. YOU HEARD ME, EBERT!

jk, I love Rog.
 
I find there is almost always something good to say that's honest, even if its just "wow you really went for it, or thanks for showing us that, or congrats on your first post, or that one image of ... was kick ass" followed usually by: "my biggest issue, or only concern, or biggest criticism, the question that stood out to me was" but you can even say, the thing just didn't work as a whole for me, seemed like the actors were very amateur and the scripty was awful (say why).

I think the biggest rules of thumb are - there's always something nice to say and if you say what's wrong SAY WHY!

dont's include
"what the **** was that?"
"are you kidding me?"
"D-"
"Sucked"
"Hated it"
"That's the worst thing I've ever scene"

I don't mind when people say "keep shooting"
But I hate when people say "by all means, keep on shooting"
Or "go ahead and keep on growing" those just seem really condesending, especially after ripping someone a new one, but that's just me maybe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top