How to Enter

Follow the steps below to enter the Young Film Critic competition 2010.

Step 1: Choose your category

Step 2: Read the tips

Step 3: Read terms & conditions

Step 4: Submit your entries

Competition deadline 15th September 2010

Read the tips

Ten Top Tips (Age 8-19)

Ten Top Tips

How to write a good film review

  1. As you are watching the film, be prepared to make notes. It’s much easier to write a review if you have some notes about the key scenes and characters to remind you.
  2. Focus on explaining how you were entertained by the film.
  3. Include a few words on each of the following:
    • – the film’s title
    • – the director
    • – the main actors
    • – the music of the film
  4. – the film’s genre (for example: is it a comedy, drama or musical?)
  5. Point out the film’s values – what message is the director trying to get across? Is it about how good always overcomes evil, or about family values or what makes a hero?
  6. If you have time, do some research into the film’s production history. It will help you gain a deeper understanding of the film in question, and you may uncover some juicy details to add to your review.
  7. Reel in the reader quickly: spend lots of time on the first paragraph. Make it dramatic and interesting and your reader might stay with you.
  8. Who would enjoy the film? Describe which age-group and type of person would go to see the film as this will help the reader determine if the film is for them or not.
  9. Don’t gush. Avoid words like ‘awesome’ or ‘great’. Describe what is good about key scenes from the film rather than just talking about the film as a whole.
  10. Dish the dirt. Don’t be shy – say exactly what you think. Tell the reader whether you loved or hated it – and why.
  11. Write for a martian. Imagine your review is an aliens’ first and only experience of this film and tell them as much as possible about it – without giving the ending away!
Mini Film Fan Tips (Age 4-7)

Mini Film Fan Top Tips

How to create a film poster / capture a scene

Fantastic Film Posters
  1. Poster Planning
    Before starting encourage the children to have a good think about what they want to include and where each object will be. Sketching a plan of the poster might help.
  2. Interesting Images
    A film poster needs to tell the story of the film to encourage people to want to watch it. Children could choose to include key characters or interesting features from the film.
  3. Brilliant Backgrounds
    Remind the children to use the whole page! The picture behind the characters is just as interesting and important as the characters and it gives clues to where the film is set (e.g. in space, in a jungle, under the sea, in the city)
Capturing Smashing Scenes
  1. Telling Tales
    Ask the children to think of a scene from the film that describes a dramatic or exciting event or a crucial moment in the film. For example, in the scene in Over The Hedge where the animals wake up to find a strange green, leafy object has appeared in their wood.
  2. Screen Stars
    Think about what the characters are doing in that scene e.g. are they scared, excited, upset. Encourage the children to draw the characters’ facial expressions and think about where to place the characters in relation to each other.
  3. Excitingly Eye-catching
    Scenes from children’s film are rarely dull so encourage the children to use bright and interesting materials when creating their scene.