Monday, March 24, 2008

Out 1 Feedback Poll


Hello to everyone out there! I am sure you all noticed the new polls that are up right now, but I want to especially encourage all regular visitors to the site (and everyone else) to weigh in on the grading system poll. As we continue to bring you the best analysis possible, we have to consider the best way to deliver it, and part of that is the framework of a ratings system. While many critics use grades or stars to label their feelings alongside their reviews, there is another side that just wants have their pieces and not limit films to a grading scale. Although the opinions of the writers here at Out 1 may differ on the issue, we are set to deliver what all of you want (although we certainly hope you are reading the pieces and not just looking at grades...they take a long time to write!) So I urge you all to PLEASE vote in the poll and let us know whether you like the use of grades or not. Your feedback and support is what will continue to make Out 1 one of the best film sites out there. Help us out by letting us know what you like, and be sure and keep telling your friends!

Thanks so much to everyone for keeping the site going strong!

-James

PS- If you want to have a discussion on the issue, please use the comments section. Any kind of discourse on the subject will really help us out.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read the write-ups eventually but it's nice to visit the page before I go to class just to see very quickly how one feels or felt about a film.

I'm always a fan of attempting to fit the subjective into definable and measurable terms.

Brandon Colvin said...

Also, regardless of how valuable the grades or any rating system is, I think they really force me to identify what I thought was good or bad about a film.

For example, if I see something and afterwards I'm like, "That was pretty good. B+" then I have to point out why it didn't get an A for me, why I don't feel amazed by it, etc.

As a reviewer, it's sort of an organizing tool. I certainly think the actual reviews are more important and in an ideal world, everyone would read those and I wouldn't need organizing tools. However, since this isn't an ideal world, I think a grading system is useful.

Anyone who really wants to read a review or participate in our discussions about films isn't going to be stopped by a grade.

Anonymous said...

I personally like the grading system and it works well both as a rubric for your opinions and a comparative measure.

For what its worth, while the reviews themselves are always extremely insightful in ways that other film review sites are definitely not, I honestly find them a bit long. This is problematic to me for two reasons...

1. about 70% of the reviews I read here give away more of the plot than I would like. Of course, I am a person who never reads the back of a book before reading it in fear of learning too much of the plot. If your goal as reviewers is to analyze the film assuming we've already seen it, then this is just fine, but your site should make that very clear to all readers up front. If it is to encourage me to see a movie, I feel like I get a little more plot than I would like in advance.

2. The length of reviews discourage me from reading them in depth given a personal lack of time. It's not that I don't want to read them, but I end up skimming them because honest reads would require more time per article on my part than a non-filmmaker can honestly spare to read film reviews. Obviously, this is a personal and completely subjective position on this. I may be the only one. I would read with more depth and would therefore get more out of more concise reviews. But I'm a political scientist.

So for what it's worth...love the grades. Also love the reviews, but I find the length of most daunting. Hope this helps.