Acting : Rudeness or just a Comment ? by Behzad Farahat

In my opinion, you are asking the wrong question. If I were you, I would look to the credits and work of this person who commented. If his work is really good, just take the advice and get a professional audio person to guide you on your next shoot (same with the acting). If his work is rather poor, either ignore the comment, or find a professional audio person and acting coach who can at least tell you whether or not the assessment was correct. If you let rudeness side-track and/or discourage you like this, you are not going to achieve your goals. So please, don't. Best of luck to you!

Many thanks Paul, He is not wrong about the audio quality though.Just his way of replying was a big question mark for me :) Is this a routine on Stage32 ?

I think you should take the criticism as way to improve your work. IMHO.

I second what Jacqueline said. By far, the greater majority of the time you will receive a very supportive tone, even if the message contains some criticism. Nevertheless, you will encounter a lot more of that somewhat harsher tone as you open yourself up to the helpful input you want and need (as we all do), and you cannot afford to let it make you pause for even a second. Take the advice and keep going. :-)

Perhaps the bigger lesson here is what the response indicated right at the start. As you move higher and higher in the industry, you will encounter more and more people who have worked very hard, and have been very diligent in making sure they were always prepared, did their homework, and came through with quality for the people who were offering to help them move up. When those people encounter someone who appears to have not applied the same diligence, some of them are very upset -- like witnessing a person trying to rush their way through the door of a movie theater without paying their ticket. Next time, if you know the audio quality is poor, either be sure to redo the job to fix it, or be clear, when asking for input, that you are aware of the deficiencies there, but would like comments on the other aspects. There's not much else you could do about the acting, I suppose. The comments on your acting were simply terse, and to the point. And since the response did not balance the criticisms with some praise, it seemed all the more harsh. But if you really don't see what could be improved with the acting, asking for feedback is all you can do. That's what we're all here for.

Brutally honest is better. At least someone actually took time to watch. It's about learning and improving from criticisms. I'd enjoy the person reviewing my work but I'd brace myself hehe

Brutally honest is still brutal and there's no need for that. As creatives, we are surely capable of crafting a more understanding and respectful critique unless, of course, the desire is to demean...

'Creative' translates to FREEDOM in the way one expresses oneself. Not taking it PERSONALLY is understanding that people don't know you and are just reacting to something you do, not what or who you are. Giving the benefit of the doubt is to not trouble yourself with worrying that others come with a bad intention, first and foremost. To chill, is to not take oneself too seriously. Bash boom bang and we're all have to move on to over yonder eventually.

I believe in honesty and constructive criticism but one does not need to go out of ones way to be abusive or crass. Honesty sheathed in eloquence is the sign of a true professional.

As Stephen indicates, the desire in this instance is to demean. That's not CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Just try to find "the good" in it - if there's any...

I guess everyone here agrees that that wasn't very nice. But I would really like to see what you showed him.

He's very subtle is he? My question is; is your audio excellent? Did you use the on-camera mic or did you boom a mic to get clear, clean audio? Is your delivery and acting the best you can do? This kind of response is commom on most on line platforms. It is rude, no doubt about it. But if you are expecting well written, well thought out, courtious, helpful critisism only then no message board is the right place. You will get comments you don't like and comments that are rude. Ignore the comments you don't like.

@ Chris Livings : The links I sent him are : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHjgNOEMK-8&feature=g-upl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP_I8DAl1pw&feature=g-upl

I wouldn't put it the same way your critic did, but I feel the same. Audio is half of the experience and your audio is terrible. It really distracts. Your acting style is, to me, quite over-the-top. It's difficult to hear no matter how it's said.

@D Marcus This one has better quality: http://www.stage32.com/profile/172465/reel

Ok, thanks for posting the links. In times of HD, DSLR's with perfect shallow depth of field, perfect audio mixing etc. it's easy to overlook the essential: this is a storyteller performing and that in itself should be respected. All technical issues can be fixed.

definitely could have been less abrasive guess they were trying to make a point sound and audio is a big deal just take the advice and the rest of the comment with a grain of salt good luck

No Comment due to fear of backlash. As one of my favorite movie quotes: "YOU can't handle the truth." I helped a young lady with critic of her website. (As asked) Asked being the caveat. The info I shared was info I got from going to a class, that I took time from my day to learn and I paid for that pro advice. The time for me to review and give what I know in the best way I could convey it. Then shared it with her, but because it was free (to her), she scoffed and not even a thank you. If you ask for critic, you might not get what you are after..."Compliments"? Granted the word "shit" is abusive to some and ginger to others. Maybe 'Cruddy' would of sugar coated it? Or... you maybe being too sensitive in a world designed for thick skin...I could be dreaming....?

Would it be acceptable to say 'Omg! That was effing S*** fantastic' Hehe. Shut up Precious. No you shut-up Golum.

I think it's straight to the point. If something isn't ready to be seen or heard, then it shouldn't be presented as such. Just my opinion. Granted, one should be able to ask for honest feedback without curse words in the response but this is the real world. Most people could care less and won't take the time.

if you are asking for criticism, don't get pissed when you get it. if the person offering has a valid point take it under advisement, if they don't ignore it.

It was a little strong, maybe even a touch over the time, but the writer trying to help you, not hurt you.

Sounds like a down to earth, honest, and blunt director to me.

Take note and carry on....

Incredibly rude, condescending and unprofessional and I wonder if the writer meant to help you or if he's just a bully, but consider the source and maybe learn from it. He's trying to tell you in his own unsophisticated way that you need to work on your project a little more. I'd read the letter and then like a letter to "Dear Abby" chuck it and work to improve your product. In my opinion, no movie or TV script is ever "finished" and there is always room for improvement. Good luck.

Could have been nicer about it, but is probably valid. As someone who has seen a lot of lousy audition footage when casting, and read a lot of lousy scripts as a reader and consultant, I do sometimes find myself wanting to respond to requests for feedback with phrases like "This sucks" and "You have no idea what you're doing." One can only take so much lousiness without becoming exasperated by it, but that type of response is neither nice nor constructive, and I try to be both. So I avoid putting things across in such a negative manner, and simply tell them what works and what doesn't. I'm not condoning that person's temperament, only explaining one possibility for it. I suggest you take the advice for what it is and not respond, as someone that vitriolic is unlikely to make an attitude adjustment.

He definitely could use some communication skills in terms of criticism. Wow! For that kind of comment all of his work better be top notch award winning material. Anyway, maybe your sound was a little off. No biggie, learn from it and make your next project better. At least you attempted something a lot of people talk about and never do. Which is, complete a project. Good luck with your endeavors!

It does sound rude, but I'm afraid in this industry you will hear far worse. The people in this industry are very busy people, when they take the time out to watch or read a piece of work they are hoping that they are going to enjoy it. The trouble is they are often presented with tons of work (I'm not saying yours falls into this category) which is not ready for sharing. I would consider yourself lucky the director bothered to give you feedback. In this industry you cannot please everyone, but if you receive feedback which tells you that areas of your work are poor or not working, then as a professional you should address these areas. What you should do is think about which type of audience you are appealing to? Your show reel to me appeared to be appropriate for children's TV. If you are looking for work as a TV presenter or storyteller for children's TV do your homework, find out who makes these type of programs; make sure your sketch is the best it can be and geared towards the audience you are aiming for; title it accordingly; post it on the S32 forum and ask for feedback; once you have perfected it, following the lessons you have received via your S32 critiques send it to the relevant producers/agents/directors. Good luck. Dmarie. www.turnanewpagecom

Thank you all for your wonderful comments, I do agree my audio was not good and my new reel is healed now.