Magazine – Film Review Writer – VOLUNTEER
Picture This Post magazine, www.picturethispost.com, alerts time-strapped readers to cultural offerings that are the best match for their interests in art, books, dance, film, museums, music, theater, as well as travel with a focus on culture. We not only cover culture creators and venues with high name recognition, but also delight in helping to showcase bold, creative strokes by fledgling artists in all genres.
THIS IS A WRITING IMMERSION EXPERIENCE –
This student volunteer position is designed to immerse you in the processes of online publication. While not listed as an “internship” position, most of our past and current student volunteers concur that the training and educational opportunities in this and other Picture This Post volunteer positions far exceeds that of most internship jobs. The more time you put into this experience the more you will get out of it. Many volunteers take on multiple roles and more responsibilities that give them more to show at the end of their time at Picture This Post – a fat portfolio of published articles among other lists of accomplishments.
FILM BEAT -
This position focuses on a specific film beat, but that does not mean you have to write exclusively about films—once you pass the Picture This Post Writers’ Trial Balloon. After you become a vetted review writer, you may write about any topic covered by Picture This Post, but for this position you should have a keen interest in film.
Here is a link to the Picture This Post Film Section—where you click a picture to read a story. Keep clicking “Read More” to find earlier film reviews in our magazine.
https://www.picturethispost.com/category/culture/film/
You may also be interested in visiting our roundup articles and related videos for Best Documentaries and Best Indie Fiction.
https://www.picturethispost.com/film-finds-documentaries-picture-this-post-loves/
https://www.picturethispost.com/film-finds-picture-this-post-top-indie-film-picks/
And visit one of our roundups of reviews of films from OVID.tv—a frequent source of the films we review—
Requirements:
- Commitment to fulfill tasks for all Picture This Post staff members—to remain in good standing (estimated time commitment of 30 – 60 minutes/week—on no particular schedule. See Picture This Post Expectations of ALL Student Volunteers
-Pursue completion of Picture This Post Writers’ Trial Balloon.
(Note: you do NOT need to pass the Trial Balloon before becoming a volunteer- it is your first step in this position.)
-Commitment to study and adhere to the Picture This Post Writers’ Guidelines. See “About Picture This Post for Writers”—the introductory chapter in a guide of ~a dozen chapters, that is continuously being updated.
-Commit to 5-10 hours/week initially. Once you have been vetted, expect to spend a minimum of 20 hours/month – except during exam and other highly demanding school schedules- which we EXPECT you to prioritize over your volunteer work. Although nobody keeps track of your hours except you, please do not apply for this position unless you can commit to the 5+ hours/week initial time commitment.
What You Will Do:
-You will write film reviews – most will come from Ovid.tv, but we also have other sources that send us screener links. When you request to review a film, we will get you a screener link so that you may watch it for free and write a detailed review.
Note: You may be asked to repeat the Trial Balloon (which is a film review) until both you and your editor are confident that you are able to pen a review first draft that requires no or a minimum of edits to be publication ready.
(Once you become a trained writer you should be able to write a review within 24 hours of an event such as a film screening.)
-Student volunteers in this position are expected to consistently have a review-in-progress for the first two months of volunteering and/or until they are a fully vetted Picture This Post review writer. Nobody keeps track of your time/effort but to set your own expectations please do not apply for this position unless you can expect that you will not have more than a three-week gap in working on your reviews for Picture This Post --except during school exam and other study intensive times. The estimated time in the first two months is +/- 5-10 hours/week.
“Review-in-progress” does NOT mean you are writing every day or even every week. Often you will be waiting for edits on your submission/s, or materials needed for your reviews (screener links, tickets, etc.) Initially, you will also be making time for training to master layouts and the Picture This Post social media automation (see below).
-Once you have published three reviews you will be added to the Picture This Post masthead. To remain on the masthead, you must write 5+ reviews per year—these can be in film or other areas that Picture This Post covers.
In all cases, you only write reviews when you are in receipt of an editor assignment letter. In all cases, you NEVER are assigned a review in any topic that does not interest you.
-You will do layouts for your own stories—and if you enjoy it or want practice, you may opt to help with layouts of others’ stories.
-You will learn how to use the Picture This Post social media automation to publicize your stories on the Picture This Post social media pages and be responsible for doing timely social media posts as soon as your story/s are published.
-You will commit to continuously study the Picture This Post Writers’ Guidlelines and do all the Expectations of All Student Volunteers tasks: completing social media posts; keeping up with the writer/editor feedback system ( a key Picture This Post editor/writer training tool); joining writer/editor rotations for shared tasks such as sending newsletter opt-in emails and uploading events to the Picture This Post Readers’ Calendar .
Note: these miscellaneous tasks take about 30-60 minutes a week.
-You are not expected to write reviews on any schedule. You are only asked to initially give the review guidelines enough continuous mindspace until they “click” for you. Once fully vetted, you only sign on to review events, etc. that you are interested in. Some writers pen reviews five+ times a week; some writers might only do five reviews a year.
-You can add on to your Film Review Writer role with other Picture This Post Jobs—your schedule permitting. **The top recommendation is to also get training to be able to add on interviews with filmmakers as standalone articles.
What You Will Learn:
This position is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in both film and honing their writing skills.
