Thought this might help out, for the newcomers.
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Introduction: How to Give and Take Critisism[/span]
One of the hardest things to do in the stunting world is to learn how to give and take criticism, but it is a necessary part of learning and growing as a stunter and/or editor. This guide will help you give and take critisism from other members, and how to make use of it.
Giving Critisism:First what's right, then what's wrong
Get someone's attention by telling them what's right with the stunt video. If you tell them something good first, they will be willing to listen to what's wrong with the design. Also, learning why a video works can be just as helpful, if not more so, than learning why a video doesn't work.
MotivesWhy are you giving criticism? Do you think the recipient of the criticism will really pay any attention to you if you give feedback in a manner that could be taken as insulting? Are you truly interested in helping the stuner learn? Or are you taking advantage of the relative anonymity of the Internet to be meaner than you would in real life? There is a real person on the other end of that review, a living, breathing human being who you might like if you met offline.
Movie and theatre critics often give over-the-top insulting reviews. The purpose of these reviews is not to help the actors and director make a better show. The purpose of these reviews is to entertain an audience and sell newspapers and magazines. Examine your motives carefully. Are you writing your review to help the stunter, or are you writing your review to entertain yourself and your friends? If it's for entertainment, why don't you just email it to your friends instead of posting it publicly?
Constructive Critisism[/i]
Learn how to give constructive criticism. "This sucks," isn't constructive criticism. It's an attack, and it's completely useless because the stunter can't use it to improve. Give concrete reasons for your opinion. "This video isn't good because the video is not synched with the music," is constructive criticism. Vaguely-worded crits aren't helpful because the stunter doesn't know what to do to improve.
OpinionsAll reviews are opinions, but try to phrase things so it will remind the stunter that this is your opinion. For example, "This video isn't good because..." Yes, stunters need to keep in mind that any review is just the reviewer's opinion. No, it won't kill you to go an extra step and be nice in your review, and it will make the stunter more willing to listen to the points you are making.
Futility of fightingDon't get into a fight with the stunter. It doesn't help their stunting skills, and you won't convince the stunter of your point of view.
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Taking Critisism:[/span]
In the heat of the momentDon't respond immediately! It is easy to read a review and immediately respond without realizing that you have misread what the reviewer said, or without realizing that you have mixed up the way a reviewer says something with the actual critique he or she is giving. Someone may give you good feedback in an insulting manner, but if you argue because of the insults and don't pay any attention to the critique, you could miss a good opportunity to learn.
Also remember that not all people who watch your video will reply with a review.
What are you trying to do?Know what you are trying to achieve with your video!
Not all the viewers of your videos will enjoy it, but as long as you achieved what you were trying to do, your video is successful.
Who are your critics?Get people other than your friends and family to review your video. They're usually biased. Or they may not know enough about stunting videos to be able to give proper constructive criticism.
Save the people who give you only positive reviews for the times when you're in a bad mood and need someone to tell you how awesome you are.
The pro questionIf you can, find professionals and get feedback from them. Doing this at GTAS isn't too hard.
This isn't necessary if you're creating a video for your personal enjoyment, but if you think you might want to go pro one day, then it is essential to get feedback from the industry. Don't slavishly follow their advice, but do get their advice and do consider it carefully.
How and why to follow adviceDon't take all advice you get, but on the other hand, don't dismiss it, either. I find it works to think about criticism and to come up with a reason why I am rejecting it. "I don't think I will follow this bit of advice because this person obviously prefers complex videos, and I prefer clean, simple videos."
The emotional point of viewTry not to get too emotionally involved. You put a lot of hard work into your video, and you've become very attached to it. Now it's time to cut it free and let it out into the world.
Remember: people are not criticizing YOU. They are criticizing moving pixels on their computer screens. If someone is *actually* criticizing YOU, they are not criticizing. They are trying to provoke a reaction from you. Don't give them the satisfaction of responding (although I find a happy "Thank you! I never noticed that!" really throws people like that off base).
It's OK to feel bad after a bad review, but go away and cry for a while, then put it out of your mind and try to use the advice to make your next stunt vid better.
Pay attention*Carefully read* your review! What you *think* is an attack may not be! It may be badly phrased, or you might be too emotionally involved with your work to be able to judge rationally.
All for one and one for allDo not take the critique of only one person as the last word. Get feedback from several people. If they all have the same problem, then you probably need to work on it. If only one person has a problem with something, it might be because they don't like that kind of editing style, they're in a bad mood, or because you remind them of their ex (in the last case, you're never going to get a good review from them, so don't worry about it).
Futility of fightingDon't get into a fight with the reviewer. It doesn't help your stunting skills, and you won't convince the reviewer of your point of view.
ConclusionIt has also taken me several years to learn how not to be emotionally affected by criticism. It's only in the past year or so that I've been able to look at a bad review and analyze it. "This person says there should be more stunts in the video. Ah! Perhaps they prefer complex videos! I happen to prefer simple videos, so I will go look at the vid, and if I think it is fine as it is, then I will leave it alone." That is a skill I wish I had learned some time ago.
I shall leave you with one more piece of advice: don't take every little bit of advice someone gives you (even this article!). Put your own heart and soul into the work, make it yours, and learn to trust your own judgement.
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