Saturday, 16 February 2013

Post 20: Ancillary Task 2 - Film Reviews

After the release of a film many of them are reviewed by different kinds of publications, for example, magazines, online reviews and newspapers. I have looked at different style of film reviews in order to distinguish the conventions used in the majority of magazines. I will then use what I have learnt to write and present my own review of Behind Blue Eyes.
The first review I looked at was in Empire magazine and it was about Cosmopolis. 
  

 
Some of the conventions in this film review that I picked out were that the review itself and how it is written in a conversation style and isn’t overly serious about what its writing. This jokey style is continued with the description of what’s being shown in the picture. The picture is the main thing that the eye is drawn to as it features the main character, who is also a well-known actor. At the end of the review there is an overall opinion of the film and a ranking out of 5 stars which would be what most readers would focus on and use to make their decision about seeing the film.
The second review I looked at was from Sight and Sound which was also about Cosmopolis. I decided to look at the same film in a different magazine as it would show me the different ways in presenting and reviewing one thing rather that looking at a different film that may be in a different genre, have a different target audience or not have the same kind of reaction about it.
 
The main thing I noticed about this review was its more serious style of reviewing than Empire Magazine. Sight and Sound is a film review magazine aimed at a different kind of audience than Empire whose audience are perhaps younger or less serious about the film industry and just want to enjoy reading about the latest films.
For my own review I have decided to follow the style of Empire Magazine because the layout is more appealing to the eye and the photo is larger so entices readers through not just the subject of the article. Empire Magazine also has a wider audience as it is a friendlier publication whereas Sight and Sound is aimed at a more niche market.
 
Above is the design for my layout of Behind Blue Eyes review, I have tried to base it as much on Empire magazine as possible keeping the title of the film bold, four columns of writing, a large image taken from the film and similar boarders. I shall keep the title bold so it grabs the attention of the reader, keep the verdict as this can often affect a readers opinion especially the star rating. I have made my image the focus of the review as I believe this often interests the reader and entices them to read the review,  I however have included a lot of writing as I believe this will convince the reader to go and watch the film.

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