If you enjoy watching films and think of it merely as a time pass, you might be incredibly wrong. In a world where we have a plethora of career opportunities, even film watching has found its place amongst some of the major jobs. Watching films is not merely a pastime anymore but an art. If you like watching films, with an analytical mindset, bringing out the film critic in you, and if you can pin down your analytic thoughts well, being a professional film critic is a good option for your career.
Who is a Film Critic?
A critique is an evaluative study of something and a movie critic is supposed to evaluate a film based on its plot, casts’ performances, presentation, setting, and graphics used. A movie critic is like a guide for his audience. Writing a professional review helps the audience decide which film to watch and which to refrain from watching. Despite being filtered by critics, many of the nominations were quite successful on the box office, however, industry experts say that critical opinion still matters for a film’s success at the box office.
Being a big-time professional film critic is arduous. Many critics specialize years before earning any professional money at all. Furthermore, many critics write film reviews as a hobby, solely because they cherish watching films. Film criticism takes a lot of time and requires dedicated endeavor, yet a steady income is not ensured, so passion is the key to keep moving.
How to become a Professional Film Critic?
To become a successful movie critic there are a few steps you can keep in mind. Start with taking up a course in the desired field or any field you wish. However, most preferred course is English Literature studies, film studies, media, and journalism. While in journalism you learn news writing, film studies teach you about film history, its theories, screenwriting, and various genres.
English Literature is a field where you learn to be a critic or do critical analysis of books, authors, and political, social, cultural, and economic aspects around the world. It is also important to engage yourself in various internships while you are in college. Internships give you the required exposure and help you gain experience as well. Maintain and keep expanding your knowledge about various directors, their styles, art direction, plot, and cinematography. These will help you in properly comparing and evaluating films for your critique.
Further steps to Enhance your skills
After you have gained enough knowledge about films and directors, create a portfolio where you can present your best work. Create a strong online presence on social media as well. Your strong online presence will help you stand out from other critics. Soon after, you can apply for entry-level positions. This could extend from writing for newspapers to being a proper movie critic. You can even freelance in this field. Build experiences wherever you get the opportunity. Now, just getting experience won’t help alone. Build your reputation in parallel and kickstart your career as a professional film critic.
Earning as a Film Critic
With print magazines shrinking in favor of online alternatives, journalism, in general, is not very well-paid, and in the competitive field of film media, it is even lesser. The average payout for movie critics in 2013 varied from $22,000- $24,000, and many writers make a much smaller earning than that. Your career might start at a small level, but even from writing for newspapers or magazines, you can always reach your desired destination. Passion is the key to keep moving.
How to write a Critique?
However, what goes in your critique is yet another feat. Get started with writing a catchy introduction. Include all the essential information about the movie, extending from directors’ and producers’ names to the genre and awards, if any. Take your critique beyond the elementary summary of the plot. You can compare to the issues dealt in the film to real-life realities. Do not create a mystery all over your critique. Lay your cards on the table by the second or third paragraph. Don’t save everything for the concluding part. People might just skip the whole thing if you build suspense or make it confusing. Most importantly, refrain from giving spoilers. Of course, your readers will dislike you as a critic if you give away spoilers.
Describe the overall impression of the movie. You can add your personal opinion to make it look less formal and more personal. Discuss the purpose of the movie – was it only a simple movie with a lot of fun, or through the film did the directors aim to hit the social realities of the society? You can add about film-making, caste, and crew.
Try to include an in-depth analysis of the movie. Rather than keeping your critique shallow, look for deeper meanings in the movie. You can set comparisons between the casts’ other films and this. Talk about if the cast was suitable for the roles. End your analysis with a strong conclusion. Make sure your essay is engaging throughout. And the last step, read and re-read and proofread before final publish.
