Friday 23 September 2016

Film Review of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Robert Wiene

4 comments:

  1. Hey Graeme,

    I really enjoyed this review - you really committed to it at a level of near forensic detail! I do have some advice for you, however - just in terms of managing your workload as things mount up. You should consider focusing on fewer elements, rather than seeking to iterate everything that happens; so you could have written just as engagingly and insightfully about the production design etc, but talked about three key scenes. Your reviews never need to re-tell the story; you can provide a really brief synopsis if you feel it necessary to put your comments into context. You also get into the 1st person towards the end and while I love the fact you enjoyed the film, you should keep this more personal reflection for another supporting blogpost, as opposed to within the body of the review itself. If you approach all our reviews as fulsomely as this one, you may find that you're giving 'too much' time to them, when the trick is to be concise, academic and 'make an argument'. Don't misunderstand the advice - I LOVE the fact that you've engaged with this task so enthusiastically, because it tells me you enjoy writing and you enjoy watching and you've got a keen eye for detail - all great things - but take a look at these examples of good practice in terms of review length and emphasis on content:

    http://meg-leslie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/fritz-langs-metropolis-1927.html

    Also take another look at the 'dos and don'ts' style guide :)

    http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/fao-caa-yr-1-invisible-cities-2016_17.html

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    1. Thanks a million for the reply Phil I really needed it. I do thoroughly enjoy writing reviews but I do find myself going into too much detail and I was worried about time as things with the course do heat up. It is difficult for me to not go into so much detail (I rewatched the film 3 times and took about 30 pictures) as I feel like I am not being thorough but I can definitely use your advice and put it into effect for the Metropolis review and more reviews to come. Thanks so much :)

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  2. Hi Graeme,
    Yes, I'm with Phil... you have obviously enjoyed this film, and put a lot of thought into your review :)

    I would just point you toward the requirements of having 3 quotes from published sources, to support your own discussion; you will probably find that including these quotes helps you to focus your own writing a bit easier. You need to reference them using the Harvard method, and create a bibliography that lists the source alphabetically, by the author's surname. See here for how to use Harvard -
    http://www.uca.ac.uk/library/academic-support/harvard-referencing/

    You should also use this for referencing your images, and creating an illustrations list.

    Looking forward to 'Metropolis'! :)

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    1. Thanks so much for the the advice Jackie. I will be sure to use at least 3 quotes and reference them using the Harvard method in the Metropolis review and the rest of the reviews to come and I will create a an alphabetical bibliography. thanks again :)

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