The Rating Methodology
The Nineflick Rating Methodology
Nineflick is so named because it rates movies on a 1 to 9 scale. Why not 1 to 10? Well, 1 to 9 divides movies into 3 groups, making a 1-3 score below-average, 4-6 average, and 7-9 above-average. Within each of these 3 groups, there are another 3 options corresponding to below-average, average, and above-average. Intuitive, right? Another advantage of the 1 to 9 scale is that it neatly matches up with the four star scale:
In addition to the overall score a movie is given two component scores: one for Style, and one for Substance. Style refers to the film’s overall ambiance, primarily its visuals (e.g. art direction, camera placement, and editing). Substance refers to the ideas that drive the movie, such as the premises for individual scenes, the quality of the dialogue, and the development of the characters. Style rates how well the story is being told while Substance rates the story elements themselves.
FAQ
How are the overall, Style, and Substance scores related?
The Style and Substance scores drive the overall score. To acheive an overall score of X, the movie must have a rating of at least X in either Style or Substance. However, the two component scores aren’t necessarily averaged together.
Why does Style refer “primarily” to the movie’s visuals?
Film is a relatively complex form of art. However, I believe it is at its core two things: a storytelling medium and a visual medium. These are the two canvases on which filmmakers have the broadest degree of creativity. Sure, a quality soundtrack can add a lot to a movie. But it’s rare that a soundtrack pushes the boundries of music; for that, you need to turn to LPs and mp3s. In contrast, I would argue that film has been and continues to be an important frontier in the visual arts. I think this is a reflection of how powerful a visual medium film really is.
Why Style and Substance? Why not just give a flat score, or rate components like the movie’s directing, script, visuals, etc?
I did toy with the idea of rating movies based on five categories: directing, art direction, sound, dialogue, and story. However, I felt that the story category was worth too much relative to the others, and I couldn’t think of an easy way to break it up into lesser categories. I like the Style and Substance system because it is fairly intuitive and makes a review slightly more defensible than just throwing up a score.
What is a scene premise and why are you obsessed with it?
I think it is helpful to view stories as a series of scenes that each have their own entertainment value. If each scene has a good premise that drives it, then it’s quite likely that you have a good overall story. A good example can be found in one of my favorite movies, the Matrix, in the scene where Morpheous fights Neo. The premise that drives this scene – physical combat in a world where the rules can be bent according to your preception of reality – is ingenious. While this idea is then also skillfully executed, the very premise deserves no small praise.
