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Quality of Feedback - how do you feel?

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Tim G View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tim G Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Quality of Feedback - how do you feel?
    Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 7:50am
There's always a thread, and I thought this year I'd start it - because I have to say I was really happy with the volume and quality of my feedback this year. All three had clearly read it, and gave me decent feedback which was clear and actionable. Shout out especially to judge 1883 for giving me insight into how important loglines are and clearly has experience reading for production.

So... I'm happy and my faith in the judging quality of this process is restored for now... how are you all feeling?

TG
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Joni Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 7:57am
I'm feeling the same. And that's completely opposite how I felt after the last round of short screenplay. It's not even because I made it through, which I'm still baffled by, lol. But the feedback made it clear the parts they liked and didn't like, and it was obvious everyone read it and understood it, which is always important. (The compliments they gave me didn't hurt either, lol.)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fioOxf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 8:26am
Mine's the opposite of yours, Tim. The two I got in Short Screenplay last year led me to believe that the feedback on this side of the road was MUCH more useful than the short story/flash side. But not this time. There's very little useful stuff in mine - they rave about the stuff they liked then say things like 'info dump' without suggesting where (I'll have to go back over it, as wasn't aware of any) or 'I didn't like the flashbacks', and of course there's the one judge who read too quickly ("Why do they all help her at the end, if she can only save one more soul? I don't understand this part." to which my answer would be "Read the dialogue".)

Ho hum. Flash soon. (That's not in the imperative, don't worry.) 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote alexdsut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 10:29am
I was generally happy with mine. 2 out of 3 of the judges' feedback was fair. But an excerpt from judge {1597} - "At the end, make sure to write FADE OUT or THE END so that readers will know it is over." I couldn't believe someone who is supposed to be a judge would write something like that -- "so that readers will know it is over" is genuinely laughable. :D And indeed, it made me laugh more than anything. But the stark reality of the quality of some of the judges soon followed, and that casts a shadow over the humour of it all. 

Not to mention the very same judge's "positive" section merely being: {1597} "I liked the historical setting for your screenplay. I liked that one of the first incidents was the slaughter of old men. I liked Felix as a character and enjoyed watching him." - and that was literally all of it!

... I mean... come on!! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fioOxf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 11:10am
Originally posted by alexdsut alexdsut wrote:

I was generally happy with mine. 2 out of 3 of the judges' feedback was fair. But an excerpt from judge {1597} - "At the end, make sure to write FADE OUT or THE END so that readers will know it is over." I couldn't believe someone who is supposed to be a judge would write something like that -- "so that readers will know it is over" is genuinely laughable. :D And indeed, it made me laugh more than anything. But the stark reality of the quality of some of the judges soon followed, and that casts a shadow over the humour of it all. 

Not to mention the very same judge's "positive" section merely being: {1597} "I liked the historical setting for your screenplay. I liked that one of the first incidents was the slaughter of old men. I liked Felix as a character and enjoyed watching him." - and that was literally all of it!

... I mean... come on!! 

I wonder if NYCM move the order of the feedback around, so that the third one is the 'questionable' judge. My third judge says something like "I didn't enjoy reading the first part until I found out what was going on." My first judge is glowing - so the good news is first.


Edited by fioOxf - 12 Jun 2019 at 9:13pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MissKeister Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 11:16am
I was mostly happy with mine, but a couple comments... irked me, I guess?

--  {1836}  There is a little too much levity at times.  A man is dead after all.  (I... don't know where the levity is other than the body thumping down the stairs, but maybe I'm forgetting stuffs)

-- {1909}  The scene in which John and William divvy out Oscar's things is strong, but be sure to keep in mind that if you only describe dialogue in the action lines, viewers can't actually see it onscreen. So instead of writing that, "nobody want his too-big clothes," take the time to actually write that exchange of dialogue out between William and John. 
(I didn't want dialogue there, I wanted the actors to hold up the giant pants like a Subway commercial)

Other than that... not tooooo bad!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ChristiLB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 2:05pm
Since this is my first competition I don't have any previous experience to compare my judges' comments to, but I did feel that they were pretty average lol. They really focused entirely on the story itself and little glitches in logic, which of course is very important, but as someone interested in screenwriting I was hoping for a bit more on structure. I'm most interested in things like, did my inciting incident work? Did I have enough turning points? Did the climax come at the right moment? Was there enough conflict? Could you clearly distinguish the first, second, and third act, etc..? So, while I appreciate the judge who said they were confused between the use of a babysitter and a nanny, I would have also appreciated more technical comments as well LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote wes_i_guess Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 2:08pm
1836 is garbage. I had them as well. I got a one sentence positive feedback and a paragraph about formatting issues the other judges did not share.

Edited by wes_i_guess - 12 Jun 2019 at 2:09pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote manifestlynot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 2:17pm
My feedback was great - probably some of the most thorough and thoughtful feedback yet. They liked my tone and structure (one said formatting was “on point” and “pacing was perfect” which is my favorite kind of feedback). They recommended more backstory and clarity for the mythology, which was a glaring weakness of the story and an apt comment. But I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve never really had issues with feedback.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EricLThompson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jun 2019 at 3:28pm
From a general stand point the feedback was a bit lackluster. There was a lot more subjective taste from judge to judge put in there, rather than critical feedback as to the quality of the writing/story. As well as some questions that clearly suggest one judge simply didn't pay attention, as those moments were clear to the other readers. Overall, I'd say the feedback is useful for this competition specifically. If you read other writers feedback that's been posted on the forum there seems to be some trends of what the judges are looking at most closely. Very different type of feedback here than I've seen in other competitions like AFF or Sundance. All the same, it's helpful and always interesting to hear how an individual reads your work.

Congratulations to everyone who submitted whether or not you advanced. To those who did, I'll see you in the next heat. Beer


Edited by EricLThompson - 12 Jun 2019 at 3:39pm
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