Film
Cataloging your electronic research materials
Having an ample supply of electronic research sources on hand is essential for the writer. While more sources can always be added, old ones deleted, or at least placed in a “rarely used” folder, it can be beneficial to organize them to include descriptions as a means of identifying what topics can be derived from for various articles or stories. This is where cataloguing comes in handy, and best of all, no fancy software is required to complete the job. Any spreadsheet like Excel, or OpenOffice Calc, can be used. Only a few columns need to be created, and one spreadhseet file can contain as many tabs as required, each tab containing a different writing topic. The most important thing is, the catalogue is arranged…
Using film scripts as research material for silent film reviews
The writer of silent film reviews can look to press releases and reviews appearing in Hollywood trade publications as original source material, but for a more in-depth film review containing details about the story and dialogue, a film script can fill in many of the holes when a copy of the actual film print is not readily available for viewing.In this case, the silent film being reviewed is “Idaho Red” (1929), which is also a lost film. Some information about “Idaho Red” does exist, but again it is in the form of general plot information easily available, such as through Lantern Media History or Newspapers.com. For a more in-depth film review, a university library collection containing film scripts is the best…
Using poetry as a reference in nonfiction
The use of poetry in non-fiction books such as history, biography or religion as a reference was common during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Snippets of poetry verses pertaining to a certain idea presented in the actual text – or even a footnote – was artistic as well as aesthetic. Longer sections of verse might also be used within the too, as in the following example where a poem by Lord Byron is used to describe Rousseau in “The Confessions” (London: Aldus Society, 1903):Lord Byron had a soul near akin to Rousseau’s, whose writings naturally made a deep impression on the poet’s mind, and probably had an influence on his conduct and modes of thought: In some stanzas of ‘Childe Harold…
Researching for a new concept in writing
Approaching research for an article on a specialized subject is as important as writing the article itself.When it comes to research where multiple sources, dates, even identical titles are involved, checking and re-checking the facts must be done while making notes for the article to be written. For example, if research is being conducted on a silent film actor who made a silent film – and later on a talkie – bearing the same title, and a second actor made a silent film of the same title one year later after the first actor (it has actually happened!), confusion can arise. Likewise, knowing where to begin research on the silent film actor is important too. Did the actor in question get his start in live…