From the course: Working with Actors & Non-Actors in Video Production
Giving feedback
From the course: Working with Actors & Non-Actors in Video Production
Giving feedback
- [Instructor] Actors want feedback from their directors, but will only flourish in a creative and supportive environment. Be mindful of the type of feedback you're giving during a shoot. When you're giving feedback to your actors you don't want to critique them. You want to always keep things positive even when you aren't getting exactly what you need. Negativity will not get you very far and your actors are going to lose focus on what they're doing. Remember you want a collaborative set. When you're giving feedback, you want to redirect and refocus. Don't just say to them, "that's not what I'm looking for." Ask them questions and don't tell them what they should do. Like why do you feel the character should do this or what do you think the character should do? And don't rush, applying pressure will rarely get you what you need. You want to encourage people not discourage them and when you are ready to give notes you might want to consider giving them privately to the actors. This is going to remove their self-consciousness from their performance. One of the actors I work with said, "being clear and firm in letting me know what you want is no problem, in fact it's the exact opposite, but remember that, even if standing there and looking pretty is my only job, I'll do it better if you treat me like someone who's had a lot of training and practice at doing just that." Giving properly delivered, constructive feedback helps create a relaxed and cooperative atmosphere on your set and will leave the talent wanting to work with you again on other projects.
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