Guidelines for Writing Movie Reviews
A movie review gives an indication of whether or not others will find the movie worth watching. The purpose of most movie reviews is to help the reader determine whether to watch, rent, or buy the movie. The review should also give enough detail about the movie so that the reader can make an up-to-date decision on whether or not to watch the movie. At the same time, the review should not reveal too much of the essential plot of the story.
In this article we will discuss the guidelines that should be followed when writing a movie review. Before starting to write a review, the writer should remember the following procedure:
– Selection of the film.
– Know the context of the movie, such as its director, actors, story and many more
– Formulate the opinion of the writers in a sentence.
– Select special scenes from the movie or other facts that support the writer’s opinion.
The first step in writing a review is watching the movie. Most take notes while watching the movie. Watching the movie a second time helps absorb a lot more details about the movie. Most of the movie critics give their personal opinion about the movie in their review. In all good journalism, the critic should always give unbiased details and allow the reader to form their own opinion as well.
The reviewers’ opinions should be explained to allow the reader to determine whether or not the readers would agree. The reviewer must also take the audience into account. Writing a children’s movie review requires a different approach than writing for a general movie audience. The review should always be written with the target audience in mind. The main gist of the film should be kept in a rough sketch, but it should always be remembered that no essential details should be revealed, such as surprises or a sudden plot twist.
Details of actors, crew members, directors should be mentioned in the review. You also have to mention how well they have acted and how well the film has been made technically. Technicalities are an important part of the review. Technicalities include art direction, music, lighting editing, cinematography, and many more.
Movie reviews even include a bit of criticism if need be. The review says what could have been done to improve the film or what are the weak points of the film. Though critical analysis isn’t always needed, a word or two can serve the purpose of a movie review.
Conclusion
A critic should always remember to give a summary of the whole story, but not reveal details that contain surprises or the special essence of the film. He must be kept from counting for the audience to see the movie. The review should be written keeping in mind the types of readers who will read the review. The language, presentation, and technicalities of the writing would also depend on the types of readers. The medium in which the review will be published is also important, because if the review is published online, the reviewer will get mostly young readers. However, if it is going to be published in a local language in a local newspaper, then the approach should be different.