Film review
Film review could be refered as Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, and online publications, mainly review new releases.
It involves plot summary and description of a film that makes up the majority of any film review can have an important impact on whether people decide to see a film or not which tells them more about it before making a judgement.
Poor film reviews will lead to a financial loss.
Film lovers mostly use Film reviews to decide if it's worth of going to watch the film or not. This is the reason why some production companies tend to invest a lot in marketing their film to create a more intresting opening to the film and to benefit their Box office figures.
Film reviews tend to help films to be succesful for example ''The Hurt Locker'' which is an independent film which had a small budget was marketed widely due to the positive film review they received. Another great example could be ''Slumdog Millionaire'' the film was meant to go straight to DVD and only be shown in Britain, but due to the film critics it was a huge success not just in Britain, but worldwide and gave them opportunities to win 8 Oscars in total.
Film reviews can be found or seen in many media formats and products such as: newspapers, magazines,online websites such as Youtube, IBDM and many others.
As my task was to produce a Film review for a magazine the first thing I done was researched different magazines there are in the market below are the different magazines I managed to find.
Empire
Empire is a British film magazine which is published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited byBarry McIlhene and published by Emap.Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling magazine in the UK , outselling its market rival Total film and is also published in Australia, Turkey and Russia. Empire is a popular in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as Sight&Sound. It reviews both mainstream films and art films. As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features Empire organises the annual Empire awards which were sponsored by Sony Ericsson until 2009 and are now sponsored by Jameson.
As you first look at the magazine front cover the title in red letters and the blue glowing font attracts you and the blue colour gives you that unrealistic atmosphere when you look at it. It reminds me personally of a fantasy film such as ''Star Wars''.
The unique selling point of this magazine would be ''MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR'' therefore by seeing this you would be more tempting to buy it as you know you can't get better than this. Also the ''OSCAR SPECIAL!'' it's written in yellow colour which is important as the magazine have different fonts and sizes suggesting some things are more important than the others; writing being bigger and in particular font may suggest that the magazine wants their target audience to know this information as it is the most important. Their other unique selling point would be in the right button corner ''3 COLLECTORS' EDITIONS!'' which appeal to the fans/lovers of this magazine as they will get extra information etc. ''THE ULTIMATE GUIDE'' is the other thing that is used to attract people as it suggests is the ultimate guide meaning you can't not buy this and also the word 'ULTIMATE' is used to tell the audience it's the bets magazine your going to be able to buy to do with film. On the front page there are different fonts and colours suggesting some information is more important than other.
I annotated one of them film reviews from Empire magazine. By analysing this review I learnt the format of the review particular for this magazine. The review is really in depth and it also makes a lot of comparisons and mentions the directors work therefore some part someone may not understand. The style Empire use is really informative and covers things such as; director, actors and also sums up as a whole with the verdict. It also includes some humor elements in the review.
This is another Empire film review of the new release Harry Potter as you can see the format is still the same as the previous one I analysed, however this one uses a different layout it takes up the whole page where as the previous one uses half and has another film review. This one also has more information about the film as it is a successful mainstream film. The other things it has which is the quote which tells us a bit more about the film.
Straight away when we look at the front page of this magazine it makes us think this magazine is straight to the point and it looks very formal. Comparison to Empire we can see a lot of differences one of them is the colour in Empire there were a lot of different colours used where as this one there are less colours and also writing. Also on the Empire magazine it said ''MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR'' where as Sight & Sound has ''THE INTERNATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE'' which suggest Sight&Sound targets a wider target audience and it's more successful in different countries or regions. The magazines unique selling point is they review every newest film as it says on the cover. The other thing is they have votes for the greatest film of all times.
The film review in Sight&Sound it has a lot of information and it covers a lot of areas such as distributor, technical such as cameras, sound. This magazines don't use joke elements such as Empire. The format in this review is different as they have the credits covered which is the only film magazine that does that. Also their synopsis is more detailed and longer comparison to Empire. Also this review compares Paranormal Activity 2 to other films in terms of box-office. They also it talks about the technical side how they improved their film from the previous one by replacing a jump-at-the-camera. It talks about how film look more realistic and it gives examples. It mentions the film was presented as a compilation of recordings with time codes and date captions and fast forwards. It also talks about the problems they had and how they improved sound and other elements and how they had to work under a low budget. It compares the film to other films such as The last exorcism. And it talks about the characters in the film, however not as detailed. Overall I think this magazines is better, however it targets different audience who knows about the film industry. It also has all the information from running time to distributor it has all the details about the film you need. It's similar to Empire layout in one way as it also has two film reviews on one page.
This review is from the same magazine Sight&Sound , however it has a different layout and it has less information about the movie, however it has soundtrack names and things such as make-up artists. But it's not detailed as the other one, however it's similar.
Total Film
Total film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (every4 weeks) by Future publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features. It is one of the largest circulation English-speaking film magazines in the world.
Each month, Total Film provides a range of features, from full-length interviews and photo shoots with established and up-and-coming actors and directors, to major film previews and retrospective pieces. All issues contain the Total Film interview chat with a celebrated actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work.
As we look at the front page of the magazine we can denote Total Film, the title gives the idea that the magazine will be about film and as Total is written in smaller size and film uses the larger font we can see that the 'Film' has more importance. Also the front covers has a lot of details just on the front. Their unique selling point is that they have a preview of 2011 film which will be released which other magazines don't which I have analysed so far.
Codes and conventions
- Most of them are medium or short length
- Written by one person
- Use rhetorical questions
- Quotes from film
- Tagline
- Cast
- Director
- Running time
- Verdict
- Rating
- A brief summary in other word a synopsis
- Certificate
- Some have screenwriters
As my task was to produce a Film review for a magazine the first thing I done was researched different magazines there are in the market below are the different magazines I managed to find.
- Empire
- Total film
- Sight & Sound
The next stage was to pick one of them which I want to write for, however it is difficult as I don't really know much about each magazine and their writing style and USP therefore I will carry out research on each of the magazine to help me decide which one I want to go for.
Empire
Empire is a British film magazine which is published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited byBarry McIlhene and published by Emap.Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling magazine in the UK , outselling its market rival Total film and is also published in Australia, Turkey and Russia. Empire is a popular in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as Sight&Sound. It reviews both mainstream films and art films. As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features Empire organises the annual Empire awards which were sponsored by Sony Ericsson until 2009 and are now sponsored by Jameson.
As you first look at the magazine front cover the title in red letters and the blue glowing font attracts you and the blue colour gives you that unrealistic atmosphere when you look at it. It reminds me personally of a fantasy film such as ''Star Wars''.
The unique selling point of this magazine would be ''MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR'' therefore by seeing this you would be more tempting to buy it as you know you can't get better than this. Also the ''OSCAR SPECIAL!'' it's written in yellow colour which is important as the magazine have different fonts and sizes suggesting some things are more important than the others; writing being bigger and in particular font may suggest that the magazine wants their target audience to know this information as it is the most important. Their other unique selling point would be in the right button corner ''3 COLLECTORS' EDITIONS!'' which appeal to the fans/lovers of this magazine as they will get extra information etc. ''THE ULTIMATE GUIDE'' is the other thing that is used to attract people as it suggests is the ultimate guide meaning you can't not buy this and also the word 'ULTIMATE' is used to tell the audience it's the bets magazine your going to be able to buy to do with film. On the front page there are different fonts and colours suggesting some information is more important than other.
I annotated one of them film reviews from Empire magazine. By analysing this review I learnt the format of the review particular for this magazine. The review is really in depth and it also makes a lot of comparisons and mentions the directors work therefore some part someone may not understand. The style Empire use is really informative and covers things such as; director, actors and also sums up as a whole with the verdict. It also includes some humor elements in the review.
This is another Empire film review of the new release Harry Potter as you can see the format is still the same as the previous one I analysed, however this one uses a different layout it takes up the whole page where as the previous one uses half and has another film review. This one also has more information about the film as it is a successful mainstream film. The other things it has which is the quote which tells us a bit more about the film.Sight & Sound
Is a British monthy film magazine published by British Film institute (BFI). Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today. In 1991 it merged with another BFI publication, the Monthly Film Bulletin. The magazine was edited by Gavin Lambert from 1949 to 1955. From 1956 to 1990 it was edited by Penelope Houston, however currently is edited by Nick James. Sight & Sound has a more highbrow reputation than other film magazines in the market. It says it reviews all film releases each month, including those with a narrow art house release, as opposed to the more mainstream focus of its competitors. They differ from their competitors because of Sight and Sound also feature a full cast and crew credit list for each reviewed film. Every decade, Sight & Sound asks an international group of film professionals to vote for their greatest film of all time.
Is a British monthy film magazine published by British Film institute (BFI). Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today. In 1991 it merged with another BFI publication, the Monthly Film Bulletin. The magazine was edited by Gavin Lambert from 1949 to 1955. From 1956 to 1990 it was edited by Penelope Houston, however currently is edited by Nick James. Sight & Sound has a more highbrow reputation than other film magazines in the market. It says it reviews all film releases each month, including those with a narrow art house release, as opposed to the more mainstream focus of its competitors. They differ from their competitors because of Sight and Sound also feature a full cast and crew credit list for each reviewed film. Every decade, Sight & Sound asks an international group of film professionals to vote for their greatest film of all time.
Straight away when we look at the front page of this magazine it makes us think this magazine is straight to the point and it looks very formal. Comparison to Empire we can see a lot of differences one of them is the colour in Empire there were a lot of different colours used where as this one there are less colours and also writing. Also on the Empire magazine it said ''MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR'' where as Sight & Sound has ''THE INTERNATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE'' which suggest Sight&Sound targets a wider target audience and it's more successful in different countries or regions. The magazines unique selling point is they review every newest film as it says on the cover. The other thing is they have votes for the greatest film of all times.
The film review in Sight&Sound it has a lot of information and it covers a lot of areas such as distributor, technical such as cameras, sound. This magazines don't use joke elements such as Empire. The format in this review is different as they have the credits covered which is the only film magazine that does that. Also their synopsis is more detailed and longer comparison to Empire. Also this review compares Paranormal Activity 2 to other films in terms of box-office. They also it talks about the technical side how they improved their film from the previous one by replacing a jump-at-the-camera. It talks about how film look more realistic and it gives examples. It mentions the film was presented as a compilation of recordings with time codes and date captions and fast forwards. It also talks about the problems they had and how they improved sound and other elements and how they had to work under a low budget. It compares the film to other films such as The last exorcism. And it talks about the characters in the film, however not as detailed. Overall I think this magazines is better, however it targets different audience who knows about the film industry. It also has all the information from running time to distributor it has all the details about the film you need. It's similar to Empire layout in one way as it also has two film reviews on one page.
This review is from the same magazine Sight&Sound , however it has a different layout and it has less information about the movie, however it has soundtrack names and things such as make-up artists. But it's not detailed as the other one, however it's similar.Total Film
Total film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (every4 weeks) by Future publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features. It is one of the largest circulation English-speaking film magazines in the world.
Each month, Total Film provides a range of features, from full-length interviews and photo shoots with established and up-and-coming actors and directors, to major film previews and retrospective pieces. All issues contain the Total Film interview chat with a celebrated actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work.
As we look at the front page of the magazine we can denote Total Film, the title gives the idea that the magazine will be about film and as Total is written in smaller size and film uses the larger font we can see that the 'Film' has more importance. Also the front covers has a lot of details just on the front. Their unique selling point is that they have a preview of 2011 film which will be released which other magazines don't which I have analysed so far.
Ill start of with the negative Total film review don't have the summary of the film/synopsis in comparison to other film magazines such as Empire and Sight & Sound. The review uses a lot of comparisons in its reviews to other films. It also covers the technological side especially for this film Jackass 3D as they say it could be the future of cinema and that it looks really good.
The magazine I want to write for?
I decided that I want to go for Total magazine because it's writing style is much easier to understand for the audience as they don't use really high standard vocabulary. The other thing because it's one of the largest circulation English-speaking film magazines in the world. Also because they have a lot of features in the magazine which appeals to a lot of readers such as box-office figure for UK and USA also different quizzes they have in the magazine and etc.
How to write a film review
First look at how the professional reviewer do it or research a particular film you like or you want to review and see how it's been reviewed.
Summarise the plot without giving away any major twists or specific scene descriptions.Be as ambiguous as possible.
Be critical without being offensive.
If there is something you don't like, describe its weakness and why you think it didn't work.
Pinpoint specific strengths about the film, such as particularly moving scenes, the use of good scenery and sound effects, constumes and make-up and the performance of one or more actors or actresses.
Make references to other films, performances of actors, classic or contemporary literature or other aspects.
Make note of the directing style, camera angles and other visual aspects of the film.
Finally, note the technical details of the film you are reviewing, such as the main actors, director, executive producer, studios or production companies, running time and audience rating.
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