Movies come dime a dozen. An average person, realistically speaking cannot watch all the movies that get released. Hence, we have reviews to help us see whether the experts suggest it or are against a certain movie and if one should go ahead and invest their precious time in a 2 hour long flick.
Writing a movie review for your college essay or professional purposes is not only different from writing a regular research paper for example but it is also less challenging. However, a specific set of rules must still be followed so that the effort is systematically approached and dealt with. In this article, all the steps, challenges and preparation for writing a high-quality movie review will be addressed. Remember: the need to make a background inquiry into every source related to your movie review draft is still a necessity.
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Almost everyone has, at some point or another in their lifetime, discussed a movie with their friends or family and pointed out its flaws, expression, meaning or have praised it to the ends of the world. This is mostly a haphazard conversation that does not follow any particular format or a singular opinion. However, when writing a movie review for a class assignment or in order to send it as a newspaper article, here are some essential steps to keep in mind whilst writing a movie review for college and professional purposes:
Watching It More Than Once:
It is generally advisable to go through the movie at least twice in order to notice every single detail and make handy notes simultaneously. Focus on every character and the idea behind the film (the message it’s trying to convey). Take time to grasp the plot and its subtleties, figure out whether it’s a social commentary done in light humor or in all seriousness or maybe it’s a social satire or something that conveys an important lesson on moral grounds. Note all these things down in an organized manner.
Researching The Background Information:
This is a crucial part of the process as it gives the writer an insight into where the movie is coming from. This is where the writer will look into how producer and director worked together, the ideas that they discussed and all relevant steps that they had to take for the movie to come into being, where the movie was shot (the locations and settings), also if it was a period piece then why that particular piece was chosen etcetera.
Writing Down A Rough Draft:
Pen down a rough idea of the perspective and voice you wish convey in your professional movie review and then make the desired modifications in it based on your research. This is what you are going to refer to when writing your final piece.
Pointing Out Subtleties:
This is where you are going to add in more alterations to your draft. After giving your own opinion on the movie, you shall now try to see it in the technical light. Find out what is so unique about this particular movie, whether it was well casted, well directed or not, what mistakes you would not have made if you were in charge of it etc.
Finessing The Draft:
Now that you have made a rough draft inclusive of all relevant facts and features, start writing your final and original movie review but this time with all modifications intact within the writing piece. This can still be proofread and edited further.
Common Mistakes Made When Writing A Professional Movie Review
Following are the most frequently repeated errors that people make while writing movie reviews. These can essentially make the movie review sound like a temper tantrum instead of an organized piece of professional writing.
These are as follows:
Details:
You might feel it’s important to get into the details about the history of a particular art form or forms that the movie has adopted in order to convey its message, but don’t go there. Commenting on the art forms and whether it fits the subject of the movie is all well and good but talking about its history is not a good idea and will make your review boring.
Perspective:
Do not write the entire review from a first person perspective. This is why most reviews end up losing their objectivity and come out as biased pieces. If you do find that the movie resonated with you personally at one point or another, then briefly comment on it and move on.
Formatting:
Make sure the review follows the rules of formatting designated by the newspaper or your college instructor.
Facts:
Make sure the facts have been double checked in order to avoid any future embarrassments. Do not falsify any of your claims.
Irrelevancies:
Read the review multiple times so you can make sure that the entire review has a singular perspective and anything extra or irrelevant is edited out.
Structure:
Last but not the least, make sure your movie review flows into a natural structured form and does not read like several opinions put together haphazardly.
Are you beginning to get a better understanding of how to write a movie review for college and professional purposes? Let us know in the comment sections below!
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