Greetings from the filmmaker lounge at DC/DOX, a truly great film festival in Washington, DC where I gave a masterclass this morning. I was up late stressing over it, but I think it went well.
When I’m not teaching workshops, writing this newsletter, making films, and running a production company — I also work as a paid consultant on nonfiction film projects. I realized since my consulting work is so aligned with this newsletter, I should create a benefit for anyone who wants a bit of both!
Anyone who subscribes at the Patron of the Arts level will receive not only all the benefits of the paid newsletter, but also a one-hour Zoom consultation with me. You can workshop a pitch, ask for advice or feedback on something, or gift it to a friend you want me to meet.
(Also: if you are already a Patron, you can request a consult too. Just get in touch!)
Teaching and consulting has made me think a lot about the creative process: not just what makes films better, but what makes artists better. And one skill seems to matter no matter what stage you’re at on your project or in your career: the ability to take feedback, without letting it completely derail you.
Sometimes I fantasize about being so rich, I could just make films without having to take a single note from anyone! “What incredible, artistic films I would make if everyone would just get out of my way!” I say to myself, smugly.
Whether it’s during work in progress or once the work is complete, every artist says they want feedback, but what we really want, of course, is praise.1
Every single rough cut screening I walk into, what I really want to hear is, “It’s perfect. Don’t change a thing. Go take a long vacation, you deserve it — oh, and here’s an Oscar, and a million dollars for your next film.” Somehow, the world has conspired to deny me this ideal outcome. It hasn’t even happened once. The indignity!!
Then, when the film is finally out in the world, I completely forget all the reasons I knew all along it won’t be for everyone. Suddenly, I expect every viewer on earth to agree that my baby is the most beautiful baby in the world. How could they not??2
While I still fantasize about never having to take another note again, I also know without a doubt many of the ideas that made my films better came from other people seeing things I couldn’t see myself. And if “art is completed by the viewer,” as Duchamp said, then feedback is how we find out what we really made.
Over the years, I’ve developed a few rules for figuring out when and how to ask for feedback, whose feedback matters, and how to hear even the harshest criticism without immediately spiraling into self-loathing or throwing myself into the sea.