I have just posted three reviews. I would appreciate any feedback from you guys (and gals) on here regarding my technique, style, whatever. Here's a link that hopefully takes you straight to the list. I am still new at this, so any tips would be great. Thanks.
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I read your review of The Fashionistas yesterday, and the other two reviews today. I liked the way you started the Fashionistas, with a opening paragraph, so people know what the main theme of the movie is. The review you wrote of "Lusty Legs" needs something like this, just an opening paragraph to say that this is a Europorn gonzo film, and whatever the main themes are, if you can figure them out (sometimes it's not obvious).
The only other thing I can add to your well-written reviews is for you to list the male performers in each scene, along with the women. I know this is easier said than done, since most porn films maybe list the guys in the final credits, though sometimes not even that. However, there are women like me who want to know which guys are in a film and who they're paired with, and there are male fans out there who avoid films with certain guys in them, so it's helpful information.
Don't feel bad about not getting feedback for your reviews right away. The FAQS on the ADT homepage say that each review eventually gets read 1000 to 100,000 times, so somebody clicking on them. I remember Steph the administrator once said that 40,000 reviews are read a day, or something like that.
Do you have a link at the bottom of your reviews, for people to email you? That's a help if you want some feedback from readers.
okay, since you are asking let me say that your reviews are good. Just let me add a couple of things and keep in mind that I'm talking from the newbie/lurker's point of view, I'm a veteran porn watcher but I used to be one of them: 1) if you care about anal/dps try to describe the position (cgdp, rcgdp). For example, try to talk about camera angles (nobody does this), is the dp captured from the side only? (static camera) or the camera guy is a little more dinamic in showing diferent angles? (ass-frontal/crotch shots). If is anal doggy. Is the guy staying on his knees or is it girl's face down, ass up in the air, guy on top? ( again, nobody cares to describe this) There are doggies and there are doggies, my friend . ..2) As much as you like to review videos you like. If you watch one that sucks, make a (quick) review about it, just right off your head. If everybody is going to write about what they like only, who is going to tell the newbies which videos are the crappy ones? ....and last but not least, remember, even if you don't want to. You are making a public service when you write a review. Don't be afraid to speak your mind if you see something you don't like in a video from your favorite director or favorite porn company. They are professionals they can take it. Built credibility. That's what separates a serious reviewer from a cheerleader. .....Oh, and I agree, Lusty Legs is a great video, one of the very few that deserves 5 stars ....just don't make a habit of it ...just kidding
Your reviews are very good. The only thing I can suggest that isn't listed here yet is that you write more about why you like/dislike the movie in general.
yes it is. i've been working on some stuff and am like "who tha hell is that?"do you guys really want that much info? I'm not being flippant, just curious.. I was actually looking for ways to keep my reviews short and to the point and not really over expand on every position.
i wrote my review for a recent dvd, and to me, after re-reading it, it was just too damn long. I'm kinda leaning t’word giving the flavor of the scene, and making note of actions that warrant attention.
I'm with you on this one - in my opinion, most reviews are far too long and detailed (including many of my own), although obviously some people like a blow-by-blow with nothing left out. As a potential shopper, I prefer just a short, general overview of things, but that's just me.
Experimental Guy, I think your reviews are good and you describe the action pretty well. You can always change and fine-tune your format as time goes on. I would also like to know the complete cast, although I understand that this isn't always easy. In one video, all I had to go by was the guy's dicks, since their heads were seldom shown, hehe.
I find the gonzo genre over-saturated with reviews, but obviously you like it, so the only thing I would suggest is to try to review gonzos that haven't been reviewed yet, unless of course you have a different opinion.
It's funny, I just started writing full-fledged reviews, and I've come up against the same problem. I don't want to leave out specific information that people may want, but I don't want to get bogged down, either.
I'm leaning toward trimming down the play-by-play specifics and beefing up a section of pros/cons that addresses more general impressions. I'm not sure that's the right way to go, but I'm getting self-conscious about the excess verbiage.
ObiBong, I'm glad that you started reviewing, thank you. I find your reviews just about perfect.
I got burned out, but I've been wanting to submit a few classics that I've seen recently. The only thing is, they will probably be too short for most people, lol.
So happy to read your responses. I try to find a fine line between detail and too much detail, and am still learning. I will take your tips on board and try to write as well as I know how, which hopefully will improve the more porn I see. I don't think I am mainly into Gonzo (dumblonde) as I thought Fashionistas was great, and am intrigued by the more feature-styled films like the stuff Private and Wicked make. Yet I probably get more of an instant kick from Gonzo, as the sex is instant, long and (not usually but more often than not) satisfying. Keep reading.
Daylight Savings Time, is it really Necessary? 972 Posts 3/04
Posted - Jun 8 2004 : 5:43PM
..my reviews are long...so Dumblonde hates them..hehe.. Well anyhoo like I said my reviews are long (most of them) and I am fine with that. Actually I am a customer who likes descriptions of what the hell is going on. Your reviews are short and too the point, mainly what you like which is fine. But like Renee said it is good to put in the male cast as well. I KNOW that it can be hard because rarely they are listed but with a lot of the newer Evil Empire/PXP/Red Light it is way easier because the all the cast is listed. Other's like Elegant Angel/Digital sin (don't even get me started with them), and others don't so it is really, really hard. But the more you do it the more it gets easier. Hope this helps!
Actually, Coyote22, your reviews are my favorite! I like that you are descriptive in the action and who's involved, plus you seem to always like what I like in porn, so I know your 5 star titles can potentially be my 5 star titles! :)
The IAFD is one of the greatest things ever when it comes to cast identifications. They don't always have the newest movies, but there's enough there that I can often identify the guys. I also love how studios such as Evil Angel include a cast listing by scene or let you know who's in each scene in the chapter menu.
I hate long reviews! But seriously, I look at what people want and can't help them getting long. I try to keep things organized and the same format so that people can get into my reviews, find what they want, and then get out. Wanna know what the movie's about? First paragraph in the feature section. Wanna know quickly who's in the scene and what's done? Top of each scene breakdown and color coded for easy reference. Wanna know the little details such as positions and where the pop goes? First paragraph of the scene breakdown. Wanna know general thoughts and opinions on the scene? Second paragraph of the scene breakdown. Wanna know a general overview and thoughs on the movie? Last paragraph or two of the feature section. Extras, technical details, effort towards menus, sex acts? Just check the individual sections about those things. Yeah, mine are long but I hope they're done well enough that you can find what you want without feeling completely bogged down.
As for your reviews, ExperimentalGuy, I just check out your Hardball 9 review. It's a nice start and covers things nicely. About all I'd suggest is that you give the guys some credit, which is normally easily done since Evil Angel gives you that great cast listing by scene, and another sentance or two on why you liked or disliked each scene. Keep up the great work!
When man invented fire, he didn’t say, 'hey, let’s cook', he said, 'great, now we can see naked bottoms in the dark.' - Coupling
Thanks people for posting your feedback - it really is valued and is helping me when writing new reviews. Some more reviews coming soon, so keep letting me know what you think. As for the Hardball 9 review, sadly I couldn't detail the cast as well as I would have liked, as the UKR18 version I viewed was stripped of such features - boo hiss!
No, I don't hate your reviews! Actually what I meant, and I think I'm in the minority on this, is that I'm less concerned with acts and positions than I am with a feel for the movie overall, or a brief well-written synopsis, since I have a short attention span ;) I think that most people DO like to know exactly what happens, including technical aspects and camera angles, etc. People do a great job with reviews, and I like it that everyone has their own style. I also want potential reviewers who may think that the task is too much work to know that even a short succinct review is better than none at all, and would be most welcome.
Usually by the time I do the screenshots I have already invested a lot of time, so I asked Steph if I could just do them and not have an opinion at all, but she seems to feel that this would be less than comprehensive.
I second that - this would be a good thing for me to add to my reviews too.
Also, can anyone tell me on here, if The Private Life of Laura Angel on DVD is available as a one DVD version - or is the 2 DVD version standard??? It may be my next purchase, but the site I order from (www.blissbox.com) doesn't say what version it is.
Back when I was learning how to capture screenshots, I asked how exactly to do it in the Tech Forum, and got a lot of good advice. It's better if you do it yourself, rather than have Steph do it, because it takes too much time. I'd say that it takes about an hour for me to choose 12 or so screenshots, resize them, put the company name on them, then upload them to the ADT server.
It is either Steph or Drew, the ADT administrators, who will set up the space and accounts for you to upload your images, so you email them with your request for this.
Back to the content of the reviews, I don't need to know every single position used in a scene, just enough detail to know whether it was a regular anal scene, or DP, or was on the rough side, etc.
One thing I appreciate is when the reviewer explains exactly what it is that he/she liked or disliked about a scene. It gets a little frustrating to see a movie rated 3.5 stars overall, but the review reads just as enthusiastically as a 5 star review from that person.
Porno movies, sexy videos, xxx. Adult DVD Talk at your service. 6409 Posts 11/99
Posted - Jun 9 2004 : 6:06PM
just want to clarify that we can't give out any more webspace right now due to bandwidth issues. screenshots keep getting crawled by people looking for free porn.
we are working on a better solution for screenshots.
I think you should write whatever you like. short or long, fully detailed or brief.
There are no set guidelines for writing reviews, just tell everyone what you liked or disliked or just try to be informative.
Good Job so far
"I like seeing the girls doing the really sick stuff ... like anal and interracial." (unknown, rame circa 1999.) "This is upper echelon gay." (jagerclown, 2003.)
I like Selena Silvers inside view format for reviews. She includes all the positions in a brief synopsis at the top and then uses the body of each scenes review to describe why she likes the scene. I think thats probably the best solution to avoiding an overly long review.
IMHO I don't believe that a review is too long as long as all the information in it is relevant and interesting. If you read your review and it comes across as boring theres probably something in there you can take out.
Personally when I read a review I NEED details. I can't rent where I live, and a large part of my deciding to buy a DVD is based on reviews of the DVD. I need a fair bit of convincing to buy a DVD, and it does annoy me when I read a review and then buy the DVD to find that things included in reviews don't come out that way on the DVD. Make 100% sure your review is accurate. A lot of people seem to copy details from other reviews in their own reviews, thereby repeating any mistakes that reviewer made. As an example, I once read a review that said a performer popped 3 times in a scene, twice during a BJ. This didn't happen at all, it was just drool from deep throating. This mistake was repeated in 3 different reviews.
After checking out a couple other reviews, there's a couple minor things I'd suggest adding that I look for, and I don't know if others do or not. In your case I think it would be worth doing because the DVDs you're getting appear to be slightly different. List a running time and cast listing. In your case, and Hardball 9 comes to mind here, the DVD might be edited slightly for Britain or if it's a European version have a little extra footage. If there's more than one review for the movie, people can know that there are different versions out there. I also always look for director and cast listings, as if it has somebody in it I really like and didn't know about it will probably go onto my rent or buy list much quicker.
When man invented fire, he didn’t say, 'hey, let’s cook', he said, 'great, now we can see naked bottoms in the dark.' - Coupling
Having taken a few notes from all your wonderful advice, I have just posted my best review. It's for the Private Life of Monique Covet. A link to my reviews can be found on the first post of this thread. Let me know what you think.
Posted - Jun 7 2004 : 12:57PM
