Film Critic: A Job

Does the thought of getting paid to watch movies and write 11-thousand words a week about them make you swoon? It’s a typical work week that film critic Shawn Levy from The Oregonian recounted in his day-by-day blog. We can safely assume he didn’t start off writing about film so prolifically. So how does one get started, you ask?

Writing chops and a love for movies are obvious precursors to wanting a job as a film critic. To turn this inkling into a reality, get some clips together. Write a few film reviews and make them emit the luminous passion you have for film. In other words, make them as perfect as possible. Compare them to published film reviews. Show your clips to friends and family. Keep in mind that most film critics are writing for a broad audience, so reactions from non-film buffs are useful. If you’re a student, your college newspaper could be a good in. If you’re not, look into local publications.

Document Design

Document design is a broad term that encompasses many diverse projects. At its core principles, it is simply the application of design aesthetics (in all their subjectivity) to written documents. In practice, it is an endeavor that runs the gamut from an informational or promotional flier to a detailed investment prospectus for a Fortune 500 company.

An appropriate goal of document design is to convey information in a meaningful, insightful, intuitive, and efficient way. However, those criteria can take many forms and these forms should be managed based on an understanding of the content, medium, budget, and intended audience.

Screenwriting

So, you want to be a screenwriter? Get in line. There are on average 35,000-50,000 screenplays registered with the Writers Guild of America each year and of those, roughly 600 of those screenplays become a Hollywood movie. Want to take an independent approach? According to IMDB there were over 18,000 total movies made in 2009, the bulk of them being independent films. Furthermore, the Sundance Film Festival, the Mecca of independent film only screened 145 feature length movies in 2009. The point is screenwriting isn’t a viable career. Go do something else.

Still with me? Good, you don’t give up easily. That’s the first trait a screenwriter will need: the will and desire to succeed in the midst of seemingly insurmountable odds. As a profession, screenwriting has far more downs than ups. Developing thick skin and a tenacious attitude is essential to being successful and achieving long term success. So, we ask, how do we break into the tight nit, hierarchal system of Hollywood? How do we get our screenplays made into films? There are two schools of thought: go to film school or take the independent approach.

Become a Literary Agent

If you are one of those English majors who while standing in line at the grocery store handle the paperbacks that pack the display rack, turning them over to see how much they cost while wondering if people really buy that stuff, you are well on your way to a career as a literary agent. Yes, people really buy that stuff, and literary agents are there in the thick of it, making it happen.

As most commercial publishers will not consider work that is not represented by an agent, agents are indispensable cogs in the ever churning mill of the book business. Publishers and their editors rely on agents to supply them with manuscripts which are primed and marketable, creating a steady stream of potential bestsellers. An experienced agent knows the market and can sell to those publishers, convincing them of the profit in packing the display racks with their clients' work.

But becoming a literary agent is no easy road. You must really want it and not fakingly kinda want it because you will need to work long and hard for years. And the first thing you will need to do is move to a city where most successful book publishers are located, which is New York City. After landing but before taking off your shoes, you will want to take your expensive four year degree and hunt down an entry level job with one of those publishers. English majors can usually find work as low level editors. This may seem like a waste of time, steering you away from your true calling, but there is purpose in this step as you will be learning the publishing business from the inside while establishing contacts.

Writing for the Science World

Writing for the field of “bioethics” or, just writing for the science world, has many types of opportunities available and like with any job in the market today you just have to know how to look for them. Although one thing that did show up through the little bit of research that I did, is that many of the places require some kind of background knowledge in the subject of science. However as English majors when it comes to tackling a new topic with research we are pros at it.

A few places that talk about what is required when it comes to writing in, or for, the science field are, http://casw.org/casw/guide-careers-science-writing where they talk about some of the different requirements, how it works, and what is needed to get in. It gives a good general idea to help someone who is in the process of looking, or just wants to get a feel for what it's like. Another link on the web that also gives a good general idea of what is available, when it comes to looking in the field is http://www.msu.edu/~wrac/pw/careers/specificwriting.html it splits things up into different categories, tells what each one does, different job titles, what is required and even gives an idea of what job salaries are, which is always a bonus.

Novel Writing

“Writing is easy. All you do is sit staring at the blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.” —red smith

Even if it were as easily done as it is imagined by the many who “want to write a book someday,” the actual writing of a novel is just the beginning. A novelist is typically someone who has published several successful works of fiction, non-fiction, or memoir. Getting your novel onto the shelves is an increasingly long and difficult endeavor. You must be self-motivated, able to work alone, and willing to risk failure (success being defined here as profit).

If you are a first time author, begin with a finished, polished manuscript and a query letter describing your novel. Although it is possible to proceed independently, chances of getting published will greatly increase if you hire an agent—someone who knows the industry, has connections to editors, and can help make your manuscript more marketable.

Research Writing

Just because you graduated, doesn't mean you're done putting in hours at the library. It hardly matters what kind of writing you do, a professional writer should be able to research quickly and effectively. Even if it’s fiction, if you’re going to write about a place, topic, time, city, etc you’re probably going to need some research. However, freelance research can be a career in itself.

There are many freelance research opportunities on the internet where writers can bid on assignments. Companies in various industries will hire educated writers to do market research or research a particular topic or assignment.

The Art of Smarm: Public Relations, Yeah!

The field of Public Relations is one of confidence. A job in Public Relations would entail being the public face of an entity, which could be a nonprofit, an organization, or even the government. It is a very media-centric job that needs confident, communicative, outgoing people. You could help rebuild a politician’s career or launch a brand new company’s business endeavor. Public Relations has direct control of how the company or organization is presented to the rest of the world. Writing and language are central parts of the job because Public Relations specialists need to convince people, much like advertising.

Problem solving and interpersonal interaction are common on the day-to-day activities of a Public Relations specialist. Preparing press releases and contacting people in the media are also common. Expect to set up and lead meetings, press releases and other activities between your organization’s leadership or representatives and the public. Besides writing, specialists also have to make other presentations at meetings. A lot of public speaking is naturally involved and a specialist has to be comfortable saying what they write. Various goings-on of the organization might have to be reported to higher-ups and government associations. Any new projects the organization wanted to do would require miscellaneous proposals to investors, the government, chambers of commerce, neighborhood associations, what have you. Advantageous majors would be Public Relations, communications, journalism and advertising.

Theatrical Alzheimer's or: When the Theater Almost Forgot to Appeal to the Under 60 Crowd- by Amber Beren

Theater is not dead, far from it. Theater is merely an ageing spinster on the track to rejuvenating herself. Go to any one of the three major cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York City and it may even shock or awe you to find that the stage actually plays a fairly central role in the lives of the people in these aforementioned communities. It is simply that the theater and playwriting in particular are like any other industry in the US today: a compartmentalized, metamorphosed business.

The notion of striking it big with an award winning Broadway play is certainly about as realistic as obtaining a recording contract with a major music label—it happens, but you have to solidify the right connections, go to a lot of parties, oh yeah, and be a genius writer of course. That is not to say that there is no career to be had in the field of playwriting however. Burgeoning theater troupes and playhouses are sprouting up across the entire US and gaining national attention.

Writing in Video Games

In 2008 the Entertainment Software Association stated that in 2008 the video game industry brought in $11.7 billion dollars.

I could probably best describe writing for a video game as a mix between writing for a film and writing a Choose Your Own Adventure type book. The film aspects you must consider because video games are typically a visual medium.

With the increased ability to fit more data on discs, voice actors are being hired to replace text. And with actors comes dialog that must sound believable. The Choose Your Own Adventure influence comes with the myriad of choices the user can make in a game. For example, a character could be standing in a room for various objects. What happens when they examen a book? What happens when they turn on the TV? The radio? Is someone speaking on the TV/radio? If so, more dialog is needed. Flowcharts are often used in design documents to help organize all the information that goes in to making a game. A good example of a game design document is the Grim Fandango Design Document. Grim Fandango is a PC adventure game released in 1998 by LucasArts. If you were to look at the document you can see that the cut scenes are written very similar to a novel while including rough sketches of storyboards. Also written out and explained are the puzzles and their solutions.

Music Journalism

Music journalism, or music criticism, is reporting about music. Critics of popular music will often write album reviews, song reviews, concert reviews and previews, band/artist profiles, music related news, etc. While music journalism is most frequently associated with magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin, music critiques can be found everywhere from local weeklies, television broadcasts (this once included MTV, not so much anymore), websites and blogs, and major newspapers like the New York Times.

Along with applicable writing skills, a music journalist must also have a vast knowledge of popular music, both past and present. Some recommendations for expanding a knowledge and understanding of both music acts past and present, as well as examining the writing techniques of other music journalists would be to read music magazines like Paste and Wax Poetics, follow websites like pitchfork.com, read the music sections of local weeklies, and attend a multitude of concerts and local shows.

Copywriting?

Picture it: Along with thousands of your similarly aged and similarly qualified peers, you are finally finished with your BA in English. So, now what? Being that you’re probably not going to spend either a) years in squalor in your parents’ basement or b) thousands of more dollars in going to graduate school, you’re going to have to find a (wait for it...) job. But not just any job. Nope, those entry-level, secretarial, paper schlepping part-times are no longer in your trajectory. So, what’s next?

Well, you have this document saying you are a literate, functional (well, let’s hope) human with a relatively decent grasp on the English language so why not put it to good use?

Sports Journalism

A lot of people may think that reporting about sports may be irrelevant from a news stand point nor worthwhile to have its own section in a newspaper. This may be so but the truth is that there are millions of sports fans worldwide that wish to be informed about what is happening in the sports world. If we look at sports journalism as a form of telling readers a type of news defined as: “Information about recent events or happenings, especially as reported by newspapers, periodicals, radio, or television,” from thefreedictionary.com, then sports journalism is a reporting of information, events ect. in the sports world.

Other arguments towards disregarding sports journalism is that sports journalists are too objective and do not report the news of what is happening in sports. That may be true but what form of journalism is not objective at all? If you desired to read a non objective piece of writing then you probably will not get any closer than sports journalism because at one point you will come across the statistics from the event, team or specific athlete that is being reported on. There is a voice to be heard by sports journalists even if they are objective because they can allow information that may not be recorded in spread sheets and stats such as crowd noise or weather conditions that may have affected the outcome.

Is This Thing On?

If you have ever listened to the public radio program This American Life, you have likely realized the power of a good story. I have spent many a Sunday morning, kneeling on the floor of my living room in front of a pair of oversized secondhand stereo speakers, laughing out loud or with tears streaming silently down my cheeks, fully engrossed in the tales that were being told to me via radio broadcast.

A story that will hold the interest of and entertain those who are reading (or listening) must contain certain key elements such as a plot, characters, and a conflict. It is also helpful if there is some sort of universal theme or message within the piece. In addition to these aspects, the story must be well worded and explained in a clear and captivating manner. As important as the writing is to a good story, often the yarn takes on a much stronger emotional or comic quality when conveyed orally, especially when spun by a great storyteller.

One Word Two Words Three Words More--by N Otis Richerson

Just after high school but before college, I laid in bed with the sheets pulled up to the crook of my arms. I hunched over large books as poor bedside light washed over thin pages. I labored over Dostoevsky and Hesse. I bit my nails over Nabokov and Tolstoy. I took small morning coffee sips over Hemingway and Salinger. I took lunch with Kafka. I read the greats. I read only the greats. I said to myself, “ I’m getting smarter-greater by their words.” I wouldn’t own a television. I believed in the image.



Ten years later, with two drawers full of term papers and a small country’s debt, I ask myself, “What are the books that really changed your life?” I’m not irrecoverably changed because of Hemingway, Tolstoy, or Joyce. It was the book Hey, Dummy, that really effed my shit—if you’ll excuse the cliché—that rocked my reading world.

Beer Career

Did you know that beer is recession proof? It's true. In 2008, Budweiser rose 4.6% in sales--and this was during a recession. How can a person with an English degree get into this eternally growing field? There are a few options.

First is via marketing. English majors are great when it comes to marketing products. Companies desire someone who can be creative with word play, lettering design, and product descriptions to put on a website or the side of a box.