I used to say "it looks weird" when I didn't have time to explain myself.

A student would show me their shot and ask if it was okay. I would say it looks weird, and walk off to the next desk. That phrase covered a lot of ground. It could mean the perspective was off, or the lighting wasn't reading, or the proportions felt wrong, or the shader needed work, or the comp wasn't sitting right, or the animation had a hitch in it. Looking back, that phrase didn't help anyone.

It just sounded like a verdict.

That's the problem with feedback in this industry. The words land on the shot, but the brain hears something about the person who made it.

A supervisor says the lighting isn't working, and the artist hears they aren't good enough. Those are two different sentences, even though they arrive at the same time.

The note is about the shot. It is not about you. A request for more iterations is not a measure of your talent, and it is not a prediction about your career.

This is something I think about a lot now, after years of giving notes. It's also part of what I try to pass on to my students, breaking down what a note is actually pointing to, so a student can read feedback the way it's meant, instead of the way it stings.

Take the note. Fix the shot. Leave your worth out of it.