MOVIE / MUSIC Review Writing Task
Tips =
1) have a hook of some form to start (an integrated quotation, a philosophical question, a personal anecdote (heavy 1st person), a joke, a metaphor)
2) have perhaps 1+ examples of a) references to the musician/filmmaker past work or quotes about their artistic process, b) name drops of a band member (or cinematographer/editor), c) pulled quote from the movie or 2+ songs, d) references to technical jargon (conventions/techniques) of the music/movie genre or to other artists similar to yours, e) references to another critic's view,
3) USE PARAGRAPHS and generally do the inverted triangle (most vital things early in the review),
4) TRY FOR A CLEVER ARTICLE TITLE (the editor tends to write these)
- not required, but can use a five star rating system (or come up with your own system)
- I would encourage a 4+ short-ish paragraph journalistic/essay style but you can go with your own style
- make value judgments; don't be afraid of 1st person; don't be afraid to cite or call out other critic reviews you disagree with in your review; you can have a sense of humor; you need to have a point of view
- the voice can be rather sassy, critical, gushingly loving. You can look to historical precedents or allude to similar movies/musicians/etc.
- maintain some balance between the forest (big picture questions about art or the totality of this artist/director) and the trees (citing individual songs/lyrics)
- You can consider the elements of music (album sequence, pace/melody/harmony/etc (formal elements of music), instruments used, artist persona or public image, how it fits into the arc of their career, album highlights/lowlights, social commentary, the overall unity of the album (is it a concept album)) OR movies (cinematography, the soundtrack, the plotting, the individual actor performances, visual effects/CGI, best scenes/quotes, thematic elements or social commentary, how it fits in the filmmaker's oeuvre/career, perhaps the ending, the genre of the film, film editing,
MUSIC Reviews samples:
pick a recent album review at Pitchfork - generally the closest to our desired style/length
Rolling Stone mag reviews
Consequence of Sound reviews
NME
The most brutal music reviews of all time OR sassy segments from the most negative reviews ever (is a 15 part slideshow)
The 15 most significant Pitchfork reviews
The 25 Songs that Matter Right Now (rather well written model unpacking from individual song titles)
Styles of Reviews:
a sort of bullet list (non-narrative) & Attacking review (Lil Pump) OR Hozier's new album review has a nicely hostile start
a narrative style using paragraphs & a positive review (Solange) - but is 1000 words
TWO historic perfect scoring Pitchfork album reviews: Radiohead's Kid A and Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Rohol's album reviews back in high school (1994) for a Pearl Jam and REM album
MOVIE Reviews samples:
Orlando Sentinel movie reviews
Metacritic reviews - pick a movie, look under critic reviews; then click a "read full review"
NPR movie reviews
Look for a historic movie review written by Roger Ebert (dead now, but was likely the most famous critic)
13 most essential reviews by Roger Ebert
Ebert's glowing review of 1994's Hoop Dreams documentary
Pick a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic (and then pick a review and then click "read more")
One of the more interesting recent movie reviews (on Pixar's Soul):
Great samples IF 1) you wanted to do a long term retrospective on a pivotal album from the past https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-neutral-milk-hotels-in-the-aeroplane-over-the-sea-became-a-polarizing-cult-classic/?fbclid=IwAR3YHyoByim0x3eA0k8KadH-SJ-Ws6lwOjobR2Eu7QPOXZcn7wypXZHaLdc, 2) how to write a current review on a well-established band that must address context/history somewhat heavily https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-flaming-lips-american-head/ 3) a hostile funny review with a strong 1st person voice https://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/review-i-have-now-stared-into-the-void-and-its-called-the-355.php?fbclid=IwAR0YUYj1iqCjJqsMjJSXoEq1mIOpXPgGyJLend7SPOXZNccrOBI1aHcGIIQ
(if you wish to do an artist/director profile piece instead see Rohol)
Tips =
1) have a hook of some form to start (an integrated quotation, a philosophical question, a personal anecdote (heavy 1st person), a joke, a metaphor)
2) have perhaps 1+ examples of a) references to the musician/filmmaker past work or quotes about their artistic process, b) name drops of a band member (or cinematographer/editor), c) pulled quote from the movie or 2+ songs, d) references to technical jargon (conventions/techniques) of the music/movie genre or to other artists similar to yours, e) references to another critic's view,
3) USE PARAGRAPHS and generally do the inverted triangle (most vital things early in the review),
4) TRY FOR A CLEVER ARTICLE TITLE (the editor tends to write these)
- not required, but can use a five star rating system (or come up with your own system)
- I would encourage a 4+ short-ish paragraph journalistic/essay style but you can go with your own style
- make value judgments; don't be afraid of 1st person; don't be afraid to cite or call out other critic reviews you disagree with in your review; you can have a sense of humor; you need to have a point of view
- the voice can be rather sassy, critical, gushingly loving. You can look to historical precedents or allude to similar movies/musicians/etc.
- maintain some balance between the forest (big picture questions about art or the totality of this artist/director) and the trees (citing individual songs/lyrics)
- You can consider the elements of music (album sequence, pace/melody/harmony/etc (formal elements of music), instruments used, artist persona or public image, how it fits into the arc of their career, album highlights/lowlights, social commentary, the overall unity of the album (is it a concept album)) OR movies (cinematography, the soundtrack, the plotting, the individual actor performances, visual effects/CGI, best scenes/quotes, thematic elements or social commentary, how it fits in the filmmaker's oeuvre/career, perhaps the ending, the genre of the film, film editing,
MUSIC Reviews samples:
pick a recent album review at Pitchfork - generally the closest to our desired style/length
Rolling Stone mag reviews
Consequence of Sound reviews
NME
The most brutal music reviews of all time OR sassy segments from the most negative reviews ever (is a 15 part slideshow)
The 15 most significant Pitchfork reviews
The 25 Songs that Matter Right Now (rather well written model unpacking from individual song titles)
Styles of Reviews:
a sort of bullet list (non-narrative) & Attacking review (Lil Pump) OR Hozier's new album review has a nicely hostile start
a narrative style using paragraphs & a positive review (Solange) - but is 1000 words
TWO historic perfect scoring Pitchfork album reviews: Radiohead's Kid A and Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Rohol's album reviews back in high school (1994) for a Pearl Jam and REM album
MOVIE Reviews samples:
Orlando Sentinel movie reviews
Metacritic reviews - pick a movie, look under critic reviews; then click a "read full review"
NPR movie reviews
Look for a historic movie review written by Roger Ebert (dead now, but was likely the most famous critic)
13 most essential reviews by Roger Ebert
Ebert's glowing review of 1994's Hoop Dreams documentary
Pick a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic (and then pick a review and then click "read more")
One of the more interesting recent movie reviews (on Pixar's Soul):
Great samples IF 1) you wanted to do a long term retrospective on a pivotal album from the past https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-neutral-milk-hotels-in-the-aeroplane-over-the-sea-became-a-polarizing-cult-classic/?fbclid=IwAR3YHyoByim0x3eA0k8KadH-SJ-Ws6lwOjobR2Eu7QPOXZcn7wypXZHaLdc, 2) how to write a current review on a well-established band that must address context/history somewhat heavily https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-flaming-lips-american-head/ 3) a hostile funny review with a strong 1st person voice https://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/review-i-have-now-stared-into-the-void-and-its-called-the-355.php?fbclid=IwAR0YUYj1iqCjJqsMjJSXoEq1mIOpXPgGyJLend7SPOXZNccrOBI1aHcGIIQ
(if you wish to do an artist/director profile piece instead see Rohol)