by which I mean the ability of the film maker to convey meaning (especially via metaphor); and the visual eye of the film maker -- I think maybe that's the same as talent too. Good film makers are like visual poets. BUt film is about more than what things look like. Sound plays a great part. Music. To capture these things and synthesise them into a coherent work of film -- this is an art that does take a lot of experience for most people. Of course craft and technique can affect the outcome. An experienced professional will know how to get a result more immediately than a beginner. But as we know there is an awful lot of work out there that show little more than technique. I don;t think about technique consciously too much. What I always look for is DRAMA. In small things and large. But I try to start with a character -- a protagonist, somebody that the film will be about. I am really interested in dramatic characters -- that is somebody who wants something badly, and is having a hard time getting it. This is a textbook definition of drama. If you have such a character at the heart of a work, then it will always be interesting and have a sense of purpose. Would you be interested in a film let's say about the female soccer/football national team of new zealand for example? usually i strongly dislike sports documentaries but in your case