The first step I made into creating a film review for the short film I have created was carrying out research into film reviews which consisted of looking at both examples of film reviews and the method and layout for writing one. In looking into examples of written film reviews I chose to research two magazine - 'Sight and Sound' and 'Empire'; two British film magazines.
Empire is a magazine with an online version also available- the link for which is above. Empire is one of the sources that could debatably reach the largest audience - with ranges from new 'most recent' films, 'interviews' to 'future films'. Both the website and online version providing the reader with multiple options of what they want to read up on; all of the film reviews both in the magazine and online come with a brief summary of the plot as well as a very short verdict on the film, including a quote paired with a star rating. Following the short review featured the reader can then chose to read full reviews on desired films. The writing style employed within this magazine is relaxed and bordering on informal, the reviews are serious but often contain an element of humour or mockery. 
Sight and Sound, an 'international film review magazine' which similarly to Empire has an online application of the monthly magazine. However, disimilarly to Empire the target audience for Sight and Sound is a niche, audience - this niche audience are those who prefer art house films, independent and social realist type films. The film reviews within Sight and Sound are completely different from those found in Empire, the writing style is very formal and highly analytical, the reviews are full length and of a high quality - a technical and descriptive vocabulary are used in analysing and describing the film as well as the review fitting rigidly into the conventions of a review. The high quality, language and analysis involved with the Sight and Sound reviews make it clear that Sight and Sound is a magazine for people who have studied and have a real interest in film studies, the reviews are not easy to make head and tale of if the reader does not understand the terminology.
As well as looking into magazines I also carried out research into online film reviews on websites such as http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ and http://www.filmcritics.com/, these websites are similar to empire in terms of audience, context and writing style - rotten tomatoes features a laid back and similarly humorous affect. Rotten tomatoes has review sections including - DVD: top rentals, top box office and coming soon 
- but rottentomatoes could also arguably act as an advertising site for films as much as it is a critical film review site. Film critics is laid out in a more formal style however, the films critiqued on the website are usually smaller films, including art house films and animations, this website provides a generally publicly generalisable view on films. Reviews can be and are often used within the purpose of advertising e.g. posters and leaflets in cinemas - these advertisements are created with the intent of providing the reader with a positive image of the film e.g. they made include a positive quote or rating from a magazine or website.
After my magazine research I carried on to look at the structure with which a film review is written - Firstly I looked online at several websites on which a specific configuration was made clear. One website I found gave me a set of guidelines to follow -
1. After you have selected your movie, get familiar with its context. By this I mean, before you even see the movie, get to know a little about it. What have the actors and director worked on before? Maybe check out some of their past work. Are they Oscar winners? Are they known for a certain style? Is the movie based on a book or an historical event? Is it a remake or a sequel? Look into those kind of things. All of this information will help you understand the movie better. You'll pick up on details, allusions, trademarks of the actor or director, and probably have more insight into important story elements. You'll be able to tell readers how it lived up to the original, say, or the book. These are the things that help a critic write a solid movie review that is of interest to the fan.
2. After you see the movie, formulate a specific opinion in one sentence. Your job as movie reviewer is to give an opinion of the movie. Ultimately, this may come down to a "thumbs up" or "three stars out of five." But you want to have a specific thesis to drive your critique. For example, "I didn't like this comedy" becomes "The story had funny moments but it went on too long." "This horror movie is good" becomes "This horror movie works because it builds suspense right up until the end." So, try to find that very specific opinion that will be the foundation of your film review.
2. After you see the movie, formulate a specific opinion in one sentence. Your job as movie reviewer is to give an opinion of the movie. Ultimately, this may come down to a "thumbs up" or "three stars out of five." But you want to have a specific thesis to drive your critique. For example, "I didn't like this comedy" becomes "The story had funny moments but it went on too long." "This horror movie is good" becomes "This horror movie works because it builds suspense right up until the end." So, try to find that very specific opinion that will be the foundation of your film review.
After all of the research I carried out, including analysing several sources and debating which magazine my personal writing style would fit into. I decided to base my film review around the styling of Empire magazine - the paragraping and language within my review were on par with empire magazine. During my research into Empire magazine I also found that they have published several 'short-film special' issue of their magazine.
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My first step in creating the review was to established my layout:
2. Plot Summary
3. Positives about film
4. Negatives about film
5. Overall verdict
Whilst doing so I created a brainstorm based around the ideas I had for the layout of my film review after looking at both Empire and Sight and Sight articles (img.1). Once I had carried out all of the above research I was ready to begin the creation of my film review.
The final thing I had to research was a short film festival - I decided that because I was creating my own conventions for a short film article spread in 'Empire' I wanted to make it look more authentic by adding in an advertisement for a short film festival - after a lot of res each past the obvious film festivals I 
could have used e.g. Schweppes film festival I found 'CineFringe film festival' - after researching the festival to check it was appropriate to be put into the double page spread I found that it was the perfect festival to include within my review due to the fact that it exhibited work from 'new talents', this was relatable to my short film 'Bruises' as well as the fact that the 2011 festival was taking place within the next couple of months making the advertisement at an ideal time.
The final thing I had to research was a short film festival - I decided that because I was creating my own conventions for a short film article spread in 'Empire' I wanted to make it look more authentic by adding in an advertisement for a short film festival - after a lot of res each past the obvious film festivals I 
could have used e.g. Schweppes film festival I found 'CineFringe film festival' - after researching the festival to check it was appropriate to be put into the double page spread I found that it was the perfect festival to include within my review due to the fact that it exhibited work from 'new talents', this was relatable to my short film 'Bruises' as well as the fact that the 2011 festival was taking place within the next couple of months making the advertisement at an ideal time.
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