The single most useful thing you can do when reviewing a rough cut is describe how it made you feel, not tell the filmmaker what to change. Feelings are information only you can give them. Fixes are their job, and usually they're better placed to find them than you are.
I'm a documentary director who's both given and received a lot of rough-cut feedback. Here's how to do it in a way that actually helps.
Describe the feeling, not the fix
If you're feeding back to a friend, peer or colleague, resist the urge to hand over specific instructions or ideas. Focus instead on communicating how the piece made you feel as you watched it.
"I lost interest around the middle." "I didn't care about this person yet." "I felt confused here." "This bit gave me a lump in my throat." That's pure gold to a filmmaker, because it tells them precisely where the film is and isn't working on the only audience that matters: a real human reaction. The moment you switch to "you should add a voiceover here," you've stopped giving them your honest response and started doing their job, usually worse.
Why your instinct to fix things is unhelpful
The filmmaker knows the toolbox far better than you do. They have the full footage, the wider plan, and a hundred options you can't see.
So when you prescribe a solution, you're solving with a fraction of the information they have. Worse, a specific note can send them chasing your idea instead of the real problem. But the feeling underneath your note, the thing that made you want to suggest a fix in the first place, is something they genuinely cannot get from inside the edit. Give them that, and let them find the solution.
Be honest about where you drifted
The most valuable feedback is often the least flattering: the exact moments your attention wandered.
We instinctively soften this, because telling someone their film lost us feels rude. Don't soften it. A filmmaker desperately needs to know where the energy dips, because they're far too close to the material to feel it themselves. Telling them honestly where you checked out is one of the kindest things you can do for the film.
Separate a peer note from a commissioner's note
One important distinction. The "describe the feeling" rule is for feedback between peers and friends. It's different when notes come from a commissioner or executive producer.
Those people have the authority and the remit to be directive, and part of the job is responding to their specific notes. But even then, the most useful version explains the underlying concern, not just the instruction. As the director, my task in the edit is always to hear the real issue beneath any note and solve it in the way that's right for the film.
A simple way to give great feedback
Watch it through without pausing to comment. Pay attention to your own reactions as they happen. Then tell the filmmaker, honestly and specifically, how it made you feel and where.
Where you were moved, where you were bored, where you were confused, where you wanted more, where you wanted less. Do that and you'll have given more useful feedback than any list of fixes ever could, and you'll have left the filmmaking to the filmmaker.
Frequently asked questions
How should I give feedback on a documentary rough cut? Describe how the film made you feel and where, rather than prescribing specific changes. Note where you were moved, bored, confused or wanting more. The emotional response is what the filmmaker can't get from inside the edit.
Why shouldn't I suggest specific fixes on a rough cut? Because the filmmaker has far more information and options than you do. A prescribed fix can send them chasing your idea instead of the real problem. The feeling behind your note is more useful than the note itself.
Is feedback from a commissioner different? Yes. Commissioners and executive producers have the authority to be directive, and responding to their notes is part of the process. Even then, understanding the concern behind a note leads to better solutions.
Working on a cut and want a director's eye on it? Get in touch.
Work with Lloyd Edgar
Lloyd Edgar is a Northern Ireland-based documentary director, shooting producer/director and editor. He shot, directed and edited Rhys McClenaghan: Chasing Gold — a half-hour BBC documentary that began on the True North strand and was selected for national broadcast on BBC One as part of Our Lives, establishing him as one of the youngest directors ever featured in the strand. His follow-up film, Principal Ballerina, following Royal Ballet Principal Melissa Hamilton, was broadcast for the same strands, and he directed a ten-part conservation series for Channel 5.
Alongside his work as a director, Lloyd works as an editor, camera operator, drone pilot and motion graphics designer for both television and commercial productions, with credits for production companies including Ronin Films, Fine Point, CleanSlate and Triplevision. He is, in short, a multi-skilled, broadcast-proven documentary director — a safe pair of hands.
Production companies and executive producers looking for a documentary director or shooting PD in Belfast and across Northern Ireland can get in touch.