For a lot of people, the thought of being a professional movie critic seems like a dream job. Getting paid to sit around watching movies and writing your thoughts about them sounds pretty swanky, considering the fact that many of us are already doing it for free, right?
Well, yes and no. While being a professional film critic definitely has its perks, there are a lot of, shall we say, unintended consequences that come along with it that no one really thinks of.
The first thing to think about is the fact that you’re probably not going to get paid very much, and if you do, you will most likely need to write for multiple outlets to keep food on the table. Of all the people on the panel, only Sean Means had one full time job (with the “Salt Lake Tribune”); everyone else had multiple ones. Like mentioned before, everyone and their brother has the ability to review movies and post their thoughts online, and many “news” outlets are simply skimming through internet reviews or those posted on aggregate sites and using those instead of having a full time reviewer. So, if you want to do this professionally, don’t be surprised if you are are working with multiple outlets to make ends meet.
You’ll also need to keep in mind that being a film critic means you don’t get to pick and choose what movies to see, which means you’re going to get stuck with more than your fair share of stinkers. And by “fair share” I mean that you’ll probably see 3-5 really bad movies for every decent or good one. Think about it, for every “Gravity” or “Avengers”, there are at least three “Jack and Jill’s” or “Grown Ups 2”. And you can’t walk out. Even if a film is disgusting, horrible or boring, it’s your job to stick it through to the end. Of course, once it’s over, then it’s your time to say and share what you want about it, and if it truly was as bad as you think, you have the chance to rip into it and make sure that others know. But it could also be a delightful movie that completely surprised you which could then be a joy to inform others of. That’s the thing with the movie review business — you won’t always know how a film you’re going into will turn out until the credits roll. Even sure-things can be misfires while what looks to be a dud could be a diamond in the rough.
While this may sound like a lot of gloom and doom, I can assure you that the point of this panel wasn’t to discourage people from becoming critics. In fact, all the panelists professed their love for film and how meaningful and fulfilling their jobs are! If anything, it was to give people an accurate picture of what a film critic is really like and what to expect should they choose that path and how better to accomplish their goals.
The panelists also had three big pieces of advice for aspiring film critics:
- Watch the classics. “Citizen Kane”, “The Godfather” and others should be your education in film.
- Start a blog or get your reviews up on Facebook. The more you promote and get known, the better the chance someone will come along, like what you have to say and want to pay you to write for them.
- Write, write, write, and then write some more. The more practice you have, the better you’ll become.
A lot more went on during the 45 minute panel, so if you want to enjoy it in its entirety, please follow the link below for the full audio!