criticism

[G_Roll]

Does anyone one have any suggestions for constructive criticism?

You know...ways in which you can tell someone they suck, but in not so many words.

 

[phere126]

Give them an nppa best of tape and tell them to study hard.

Originally posted by G_Roll:
Does anyone one have any suggestions for constructive criticism?

You know...ways in which you can tell someone they suck, but in not so many words.

 

[Jimmy]

You should always point out the good, first. Talk in detail about the things they do well. Then point out the things that didn't work. Again, talk in detail. Try not to be-little the person, that wouldn't be constructive at all, in fact; it would probably make things worse. Remind the photographer that everyday is a learning day... and to improve we must always seek others' opinions. I think you should also show the person examples of work (preferably not your own) that you would like him/her to strive for. Lastly, try to point out the good things throughout the conversation. You'll find that with positive critism, the outcome will be a positive effort.

 

[thru-the-lens]

Agree point out the postive things that they do. Don't try to give the person all the criticism at once. Challenge them to work on one or two things at a time. When they have mastered that task. Re-affirm the postive and give them a new challenge to work on. Work on them in small steps.

As always PRAISE IN PUBLIC, Criticise in PRIVATE!

Finally, treat them like you would want to be treated. With respect.

thru-the-lens.

"Racing is Life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting." --Steve McQueen

 

[Currentchief]

When I do a critical review, I always try to find at least one thing to praise and make a big deal of it. And I repeat it as the last thing I say, so that positive comment will be the last thing they remember me saying.

Keep the comments about the video, NOT the person. For instance, instead of saying, "You're too lazy to use a light!" say instead "some extra effort to put up a light would have made this piece much better".

Although, it is important to be supportive, also be firm on what is not acceptable. It's ok to be upset about blue video, dark interviews or bad audio when the photog should know better.

Be consistent and stick to the basics. If your photog is in trouble, usually going back to basics for a few days will help them reestablish a solid base. Sadly, sometimes this method will not work no matter how hard you try. Ultimately, improvement is up to the photog.

Good luck!

 

[Shaky & Blue]

Originally posted by thru-the-lens:
Don't try to give the person all the criticism at once. Challenge them to work on one or two things at a time.

That's great advice.

If one of your people is having enough problems that you think he or she "sucks," you aren't going to get him (or her) to simultaneously improve everything he does poorly because he'll have too many goals in mind all at once. It'll just be too much to handle. Instead, you need a system. While I haven't had the opportunity to apply this in a real training situation, I have some ideas on developing photographer skills that may be of use to you.

To begin, try thinking like a teacher. It may be a good idea for you to sit down by yourself with his tape and a notebook and make out a list of things that he needs to improve. Prioritize the list, then map out a program, almost like a "program of study," that you can follow in coaching him. Set up a regular critique session, perhaps weekly, where you give this person specific assignments for improvement. Don't actually share the details of the program with him; just follow it yourself in your weekly critiques of his work.

For example, let's say for argument that you determine the three biggest problems to be 1)blue video, 2)unsteady video and 3)bad audio, in that order (your actual priorities may vary; we're just using this order as an example). In your first meeting, you say, "I noticed that there's a lot of blue video in there. For next week, I want you to concentrate on getting the right color video on every shot. We'll look at your raw tapes next week, and I'd like to see the right color all the way through."

The next week, if he still comes back with blue video, repeat the assignment until he gets it right. When you see enough improvement that you're comfortable moving to the next problem, say, "You've been doing much better keeping a good white balance on all your video. You still need to keep that in mind, but now I also want you to start concentrating on keeping your video as steady as possible. For next week, I'll be looking for rock solid video shot on the tripod, and I want to see you hold your shots for at least ten seconds each. For now, let's just concentrate on solid, steady shots without any zooms or pans, okay?"

If this works the way I think it will, there are several advantages. First, by having a plan, you inspire confidence in your advice. If the photog senses that there's some method to your coaching, as opposed to just a disorganized mess of random criticism, I'm guessing the photog will be more likely to believe you know what the hell you're talking about.

Also, you can see in the transition from assignment #1 to assignment #2 that you've set up a system for praise as well as criticism: "You're doing better on that, so let's look at this..." If this photog "sucks" at the beginning, it may be difficult to find something to praise in the face of all the mistakes. Concentrating on one thing at a time actually builds praise into the system, as you recognize the improvement on one problem while setting up the next assignment.

Another great benefit is that the photog himself can see his improvement, instead of having small gains lost the in the overwhelming task of improving everything at once. He knows that "this week I improved my white balance," instead of thinking, "I THINK I've improved overall, but I'm not sure exactly on what," or worse, "God, I still suck; every time I think I'm doing better on one thing there's all this other crap to remember!"

One pitfall you'll have to avoid is inflexibility in your program of study. Just because you wrote it down on paper doesn't mean you have to follow it in lock-step fashion. For example, the photog in the example I gave may make great progress with white balance and steady video in the first few weeks. But then, when you have him paying more attention to his sound levels and quality on assignment #3, suppose you notice in that week's critique that he had a couple of bad white balances. At that point you may have to remind him about it and make that week's assignment a combination of #1 and #3: "Okay, your video is still steady, and your audio is improving. But I noticed that you slipped a little on your white balances. For next week, let's continue to think about the audio, but let's also make sure the video is the right color."

I have thought it would be highly useful to create a defined program for developing photographer talent along these lines. But since the learning process would take place over the course of months or years and would require daily shooting, it wouldn't work as well in the form of a school as it would as a sort of apprenticeship program. The idea then would be to train chief photographers in smaller markets to administer the system with their entry-level photog candidates, instead of the customary "three days of training and throw 'em out on the street with a camera" method. I think a lot of small market chiefs would like to be able to train their photographers more effectively, but simply don't have a program to follow to do it and don't have the organizational or psychological insight to develop it on their own. Also, I think having a somewhat standardized course of training would help avoid the "swiss cheese" education so many photogs get, where something simple never gets learned because the chief skips over it (or isn't comfortable explaining it himself) and goes on to more subjective, complex or stylistic issues before all the basics are really mastered.

 

[Eaglewolf]

Our new-hire is about a month old in the business and has developed well in the basics. White bal.,steady shots, and audio. Last week was his week to train on live shots and thats when things began to change. I noticed that he would either lock in on his shot and block out what he heard on the headset and miss his ques or listen too intently to the ques and miss the shot. My first reaction was to calm him and help him to connect the two processes, hearing and seeing. Well, last fridays live was disaster and I had the weekend to think about what to do. My first reaction was to pull him off of lives alltogeather and help him develop his confidence with easier assignments. After talking with him, I discovered that he was intimidated by the the producer. So I went to our producer, who is a walking ad for xanex, and asked him to get with our photog in person and try to put him at ease. On yesterdays live, I ran camera and let him floor direct. This really seem to help. I've decided to do the shooting this week and let him floor direct. This seems to put him a little more at ease. I now think progress is possible.

 

[shootcam]

Erich...Never I repeat never let one of your shooters have a one on one without you being there. I don't care if it is with engineering or the news director.
I read a lot of long winded ideas of what to do with inexperiencer or "new" shooters with a little experience. To make it as simple as it really is, take the shooter in your office, watch "their tape" together, and listen for the excuses or them totally agreeing with you about what is incorrect. I think nice is a bad word. However professional and civilized about this situation you are, YOU are taking the heat for the shooters short comings. If after their 90 day probation period they are not able to work on their own, give them the pink slip and hire a new person. Have them "shoot/audition" for a day, and edit the piece, and then decide by what you see, not by a cool rap, good references and a decent tape. How many times have I had the shooter come in and "talk the talk,' only to find out, after I let them shoot a story, they couldn't "walk the walk." Try it out and I guarantee, those technical, confident words, over the phone, don't add up to a hill of beans. If you are a good chief, talk is 1per cent, walk is 99. Good Luck