Charlie shares seven essential strategies for giving helpful feedback on creative projects, drawing from his experience transitioning from video game development (Subnautica, Natural Selection) to independent filmmaking.
The insights come from months of working closely with writers on their Christmas movie screenplay "Nutmeg and Mistletoe," where they aimed to transform a good B-script into an exceptional A-script through thoughtful feedback.
- Do no harm - creative work is fragile and requires protection
- Be descriptive not prescriptive - focus on symptoms rather than prescribing solutions
- Prioritize and filter feedback - don't overwhelm creators with every minor note
- Merge stakeholder feedback before sharing - resolve contradictions internally first
- Emotion is gold - emotional reactions are the most valuable feedback in creative work
- Try working sessions instead of back-and-forth notes - 2-3 hour meetings for complex issues
- Highlight what you love - creators need to know what's working, not just what isn't
🔗 Show Notes
- 🎧 Scriptnotes Podcast – (this is a must for screenwriters): Watch
- 🎧 Rick Rubin on Listening – Watch
- 📘 The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (particularly the "Let It Be" chapter)
- 📗 Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull (”Honesty & Candor”, Chapter 5)
- ✍️ On actor line readings – Read here
- ✍️ More on Giving Helpful Feedback for Games - My game design blog
Questions or thoughts? => charlie@abyssal.co
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