Rough Cut Critique

Learning objectives

Explain how to screen the rough cut collect specific evidence-based feedback and prioritize revisions and identify the relevant quality criteria.
Apply the lesson method to the student's own film and produce a usable critique notes and revision plan.
Evaluate the result, document a revision decision, and connect the evidence to the final capstone.

Section 9: Capstone Completion and Exhibition · Lesson 2 of 5 (42 of 45) · 60 minutes · Evidence: Critique notes and revision plan

Warm-Up ~5 min

You have watched your own rough cut so many times that you no longer see it. You know what the shot is supposed to mean, so your mind fills in whatever is missing. A first-time viewer does not have that help. They see only what is on the screen and in the sound. Critique is how you borrow fresh eyes, and the quality of the help you receive depends almost entirely on how the feedback is given and how you handle it.

Production journal: write your answer below.

What must a filmmaker understand before they can screen the rough cut collect specific evidence-based feedback and prioritize revisions?

Instruction ~10 min

What a critique is, and is not

A critique is a structured conversation about a piece of work, held while there is still time to change it. It is not a vote on whether the film is good, and it is not a verdict on the maker. The reviewer’s job is to report what happened to them as a viewer. The maker’s job is to listen, ask questions and decide. Nobody has to defend the film during the critique; that happens later.

The four-part note

Useful feedback has four parts, in this order.

Observation: what you saw or heard, stated as a fact tied to a place. ‘At 0:42, the lighthouse door shuts and the music stops.’ No adjectives yet.
Impact: what it did to you as a viewer. ‘I lost track of whether Mara was inside or outside.’
Question: an honest question that opens the maker’s thinking. ‘Is the silence meant to feel safe or frightening?’
Recommendation: an optional idea, labelled as an idea. ‘You could try holding the sound of wind under the door.’

Many classrooms shorten this to glow, grow, question. A glow is something that is working and should be protected. A grow is something that would improve the film. A question is something you are curious about. Glows matter as much as grows: if nobody tells you what works, you may edit it away.

Running a screening

Play the cut once without stopping. Reviewers take quick notes with timecodes, but do not talk. Play it a second time with captions on and with the sound off for a short stretch, because it shows whether the story survives without audio and whether the picture is doing its job. Then spend a few minutes on notes. The maker speaks only to ask clarifying questions, and writes everything down.

Turning notes into a plan

A pile of notes is not a plan. Sort each note into required (a problem that stops the film from working or breaks a rule such as accessibility or rights), optional (would improve the film if time allows) or declined (you have decided not to do it, with a reason). Then rank by priority: how much the change improves the film compared with how long it takes, and whether other changes depend on it. Your revision plan lists the chosen changes in order, with an owner, a deadline and a way to check that the change worked. Declining a note is allowed. Ignoring a note without saying why is not.

Worked example

A reviewer wrote: ‘The ending is weak.’ That is a verdict, not a note. After coaching: ‘At 2:51, Tomas leaves the frame and the screen goes black for four seconds with no sound. I wasn’t sure if the film had ended or the file had broken. Is the pause intentional? You might try holding on the empty doorway for two seconds, then fade the wind in.’ The maker marked it required, because a viewer’s confusion about whether the film had ended was a clear problem, and put it first in the plan.

Common mistakes

Judging the person (‘you always rush’) instead of describing the work.
Offering fixes before saying what you observed.
Defending the film during the critique instead of listening.
Following every note, which averages the film into nothing, or following none.

Workflow Study ~10 min

Working filmmakers do not wait for a finished film to find out whether it works. They show unfinished cuts to a small number of trusted viewers and read the reactions closely. Watch how a creator moves through that process, and pause wherever a decision is made.

The creator assembles the rough cut so that the sequence of scenes is complete, even though polish is missing. They check the pacing: how long each image holds, where the narration or dialogue enters, and whether the music, if there is any, leaves room for the voice. They compare the picture to the script and notice where the generated imagery does not match the intention. They also watch for surprises that appear in generated clips, such as a hand that changes shape or a background detail that appears and vanishes, and they decide which of those matter to the story.

Two things stand out. The tool may suggest or produce timing and clip changes quickly, but it cannot say whether a scene confuses a real viewer. And a creator who collects notes always makes a decision about each one. They do not apply feedback automatically, because feedback is information, not an order.

As you study, record each decision point in your production journal.

Decision point	What the filmmaker does	What the tool automates	What still needs human review
Assemble a complete rough cut	Places every scene in order with placeholder timing	Arranges and plays clips; may auto-trim or auto-align	Whether the story makes sense start to finish without the maker explaining it
Check pacing and sound balance	Watches for holds that are too long or short and for voice buried by music	May level volume or add suggested music	That levels let the dialogue be understood and any audio used is permitted
Spot visual flaws in generated clips	Marks shots with distorted hands, shifting objects or character drift	Produces the clips, flaws included	Which flaws a viewer would notice and which are acceptable for the story
Sort feedback into decisions	Labels each note required, optional or declined, with reasons	Nothing; cannot weigh a note against the story	That declined notes have honest reasons and required notes are scheduled

Guided Studio ~15 min

Studio task: Practice feedback using observation impact question and recommendation.

Practice with a short sample clip from your teacher or with one minute of a partner’s rough cut. You will give and receive notes using observation, impact, question and recommendation.

Watch the clip once straight through, with no talking. Write down two timecodes where something stood out, one that worked and one that confused or bored you.
Watch again with captions on. Add one note about the captions or the sound.
Write three notes in the four-part format. Each must start with an observation that names a timecode and uses no judgment words such as boring, bad or amazing.
Swap with your partner. Read their notes aloud and check: does each have an observation, an impact and a question? Circle any note that is only a verdict.
Rewrite each circled note in the four-part format. Then say aloud one glow, one grow and one question for the clip.
As the maker, practice receiving: say ‘thank you’ or ‘tell me more’, write the note down, and do not explain or defend.

Coaching tips. If you only have an impact (‘I was bored’), go back and find the exact moment that caused it. If you only have a recommendation, ask yourself what problem you are solving, and state that first. Feedback should be about the work and what is on the screen. Leave out guesses about the maker’s talent, background or personality. Use the template below for your notes.

Critique note and response log (copy into your production journal)

Note from: ______   Timecode: ______   Type: glow / grow / question
Observation (what I saw or heard): ______
Impact (what it did to me): ______
Question: ______
Recommendation (optional idea): ______

Maker response: required / optional / declined
Reason: ______   Owner: ____   Due: ____   How I will check it worked: ______

Knowledge check

+50 XP

Which note is an observation?

Myth or Fact?

In a critique the maker should explain and defend each choice immediately so reviewers understand.

Fill in the blank

A reviewer’s description of what the viewer saw or heard, tied to a place in the film and without judgment words, is called an .

+50 XP

A note says the music covers the dialogue at 0:55, and a viewer using captions says two captions are late. You have one afternoon. What is the best sorting?

Myth or Fact?

Declining a note is acceptable as long as you record a reason in the revision plan.

Pick one note you received or wrote today. Rewrite it as observation, impact, question and recommendation, and say whether you would mark it required, optional or declined.

1 / 6

Independent Studio ~15 min

Studio task: Present the rough cut and sort notes into required optional and declined changes.

Run a real critique of your own rough cut. You need a cut that plays from start to finish, even if it is rough, and at least two reviewers: a peer and your teacher, or two peers.

Introduce the cut in two sentences: what it is meant to do and one thing you want help with. Do not explain the plot.
Play the cut once without stopping, then once with captions on. Reviewers write timecoded notes in the four-part format.
Collect at least six notes, including at least two glows. Ask each reviewer to read their top note aloud. Write down everything; do not argue.
Sort every note as required, optional or declined. Write a one-line reason for each declined note.
Rank the required and optional notes by priority. Check whether any change blocks another (for example, re-timing a scene before re-captioning it).
Write your revision plan: the top three to five changes in order, each with an owner, a due date and a way to check it worked.

Checklist before you submit:

Every note is specific and tied to a timecode.
No note judges a person; notes address the work.
Required, optional and declined are all shown, with reasons.
The highest-priority revision is named and scheduled on my status board.
My file follows the course naming convention.

Exit Evidence ~5 min

Commit to the highest-priority revision.

Student Deliverable & Assessment

Deliverable: Critique notes and revision plan.

Submit the critique notes and revision plan. The file must use the course naming convention and include enough process evidence to show the student's decisions and revisions.

File name (course naming convention): AIF_S09-L02_critique-notes-and-revision-plan_v01_YOURINITIALS

Criterion	Advanced	Proficient	Developing	Beginning
The work addresses the stated story or production purpose.	Critique clearly states what the cut is meant to do, and the notes and plan are organized around that purpose.	Notes and plan address the film’s stated purpose.	Some notes connect to the film’s purpose; others are general.	Notes do not address the film or its purpose.
The student applies the required method accurately and produces usable capstone evidence.	Notes use observation, impact, question and recommendation accurately, include glows, and are sorted and ranked with clear logic.	Most notes follow the four-part format and are sorted into required, optional and declined.	Notes mix verdicts and observations; sorting is partial.	Notes are mostly verdicts or the notes are missing.
The student identifies at least one quality issue and records a meaningful revision decision.	Revision plan names the highest-priority change, justifies the ranking, and sets a way to check the change worked.	Revision plan records at least one meaningful change with an owner and date.	A revision is named but without owner, date or reason.	No revision decision recorded.
The work complies with consent rights attribution privacy disclosure and school policy.	Feedback addresses only the work; accessibility and rights notes are treated as required; reviewers are credited.	Feedback addresses the work; policy is followed.	Some feedback drifts toward personal comments or ignores access issues.	Feedback includes personal or identity-based judgments, or required access issues are ignored.

Responsible Production

Requirement: Feedback must address the work and avoid personal or identity-based judgments.

Critique works only when people feel safe giving honest observations and receiving them. Describe the film, not the person who made it. Do not comment on a creator’s body, voice, accent, culture, ability or identity, and stop a comment that does. If a reviewer’s note touches on whether a character’s depiction is stereotyped or hurtful, treat it as a serious production issue and bring in your teacher. When reviewers contribute ideas that you use, credit them in your records. Do not share unfinished cuts outside the class group, because they may contain placeholder material that has not yet passed the rights check.

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