Today's class revolved around the formatting of our blogs. Mr. Rivers made sure to mention that a lot of people left out the extension portion of the class blogs, and that from now on we must title our Be Reel blogs in a more creative, review-like manner. The first part of the format we discussed was the title, which should actually be the last thing you write when you are writing a review. It should encompass the entire passage's argument, tone, and/or purpose. Another crucial part of a review is crediting relevant artists. Names should be mentioned, and those names deserve credit for their role in the film making process. In addition to giving credit, one must also provide the necessary context of the film, such as mentioning whether the film is the first of a series, a sequel is soon to follow, or if it was based off of an event. A concise summary of the plot is also required, but must contain no spoilers, in order to draw in a viewer without giving to much away. This summary, according to Mr. Rivers, can be limited to a single sentence that is both specific and clear. Next, a reviewer must evaluate the content of the film, which should be done in short paragraphs, because a review is not an academic essay. Another important aspect of the review is the evaluation of the meaning/theme of the film. Find and share what the film asserts, and zoom the review out to get it ready for a conclusion. The conclusion's job is to answer the question "So what?" for why someone should read this blog, in 1-3 sentences.
After talking about blog format, we put these new skills into action by finding a movie review article online, and examining it using these tactics we learned today. Not only will I remember these points when reading reviews in the future, but I will also be able to use them whenever I want to review a movie, or even just explain it to a friend. Most importantly, these tips will guide us when writing our Be Reel blogs, because I know for sure that I will not forget a creative title in the future. I will also include theme analysis and context, even though I did not in my previous blogs, because they are crucial to a review.
Nice job balancing the class’ activities and your own personal learning, which makes for an interesting little extension at the bottom. Might have liked to see that materialize a bit further, just because you’ve already given us such richness in the class to extend out to the world beyond our class. Really strong sense of the casual yet sophisticated tone that our class blog deserves. Keep it up!
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