I listen to a few different screenwriting podcasts and one of the most fascinating parts is the studio note process. Writers submit scripts and then studio execs make notes in the margin and hand it back. In TV this happens in a very compressed time, but with movies this can go on for years.
Studio execs are constantly trying to make characters more likeable or artificially raise the stakes of the scene. Some characters should do unlikeable things at times, then it's even more rewarding when they redeem themselves at the end. Or you want a really memorable villain. Some stories just have fairly low stakes.
Some of the most successful writers talk about reading "the note behind the note". They take the criticism, but don't make the exact adjustment the exec is looking for. They take it as an indicator the character isn't developed enough yet or the story isn't engrossing enough. If the exec were absorbed by the writing more their mind wouldn't wander enough to add a note.
I think that's a good attitude to have when producing anything of great complexity. The fact a customer has a comment doesn't mean you should just implement what they asked for, it means you should really look to understand what they value in the current product and enhance that.
> The fact a customer has a comment doesn't mean you should just implement what they asked for, it means you should really look to understand what they value in the current product and enhance that.
I often felt this way with public education, even down to the elementary-school level. When I was in school, specifically high school, I felt appalled that my voice didn't matter. It was always some school board member telling me that they knew best for me. And certainly that is true to some extent; there are some insights adults will have that students just haven't been exposed to yet due to limited life experience. But they didn't even bother to ask us how they could improve school.
An elementary school kid can still provide great value. Ask them what they would change, and they may reply, "less homework". You know less/no homework isn't the best solution, but maybe what they're really asking for isn't what you hear on the surface. A plea for less homework could be a plea to make education more exciting, without necessarily changing the dial on homework. Is there a way to keep the same amount of homework, but make it more engaging or meaningful that it feels like less work? I think at times we need to dig deeper on people's feedback, past the surface.
I like your approach but in this example, kids really should have less homework. It galls me that a 10 year old is expected to spend 8 hours confined to a school building, and then spend a signficant chunk of after-hours on homework. Unless this is supposed to be preparation for an adulthood where you're never truly off the clock.
This is a really great comment that aligns with most of my experience. Asking feedback is step 1, where you get information and setup social dialogue and reciprocation. Step 2 is to find why you get that feedback, distilling underlaying motivations or reasons why. Sometimes it's not there, and customers really do want a faster horse. But often times, customers want better horses in ways they can't imgine. They just feed you back the limitations of horses.
Step 3 is to verify your true understanding of the feedback using prototypes. "This metal horse is just as fast, but can handle 10 times the forces on the field. Can you try and check if this is what you meant with a faster horse?"
That's a great little anecdote, and crazy insight into the creative process, especially how it merges with corporate needs.
We love to hate Studio Execs - but think how hard their job is ... they have to justify a $300M budget and make sure it hits specific audiences. Can't be easy.
Then again, most big budget films are actually crap, and it's all in CGI anyhow ... so ...
Maybe a better study would be the likelihood that the execs notes actually create better returns :)
Studio execs are constantly trying to make characters more likeable or artificially raise the stakes of the scene. Some characters should do unlikeable things at times, then it's even more rewarding when they redeem themselves at the end. Or you want a really memorable villain. Some stories just have fairly low stakes.
Some of the most successful writers talk about reading "the note behind the note". They take the criticism, but don't make the exact adjustment the exec is looking for. They take it as an indicator the character isn't developed enough yet or the story isn't engrossing enough. If the exec were absorbed by the writing more their mind wouldn't wander enough to add a note.
I think that's a good attitude to have when producing anything of great complexity. The fact a customer has a comment doesn't mean you should just implement what they asked for, it means you should really look to understand what they value in the current product and enhance that.