Film Magazine Progress

After referring back to film magazines, I felt that I needed to include more sell lines onto my magazine. Therefore I moved the pug further up on the page and added more on the page. I included an asterix to link the sell lines together to show that they both relate to 2015.
I have added a barcode, issue date, issue number and price of the magazine onto the page, as they are important and conventional. I have also added to the splash 'The past will haunt you' as it links in with the trailer and describes what the film is about.

Film Magazine Process

I have addressed the issue of the splash on the page by making it bigger. I now feel that it looks strong on the page and it fits with the overall concept.
I have added a footer line to the magazine. I used a plus sign as it is visually appealing and after analysing magazines, I noticed that a lot of real texts use this, showing that it looks good on the page. I included the sell lines 'Free horror film poster inside' to appeal to the audience. The colour scheme of grey, red, white and black works really well on the page and creates a sinister atmosphere for the reader. The sell lines are all films that are coming out this year (2015), I ensured that I was including relevant information to make my magazine current.
I added a pug onto my magazine, the positioning doesn't obscure the view of the image and works well, integrating more red into the colour scheme.

Film Magazine Process

Firstly, I added the masthead onto the main image. I wanted it to be across the width of the page so that it conventionally stood out. The red font dominates the page and reflects the horror genre. Underneath the masthead I included a web address for the magazine, to show that it uses different media platforms for their audience to explore.
I didn't want it to be classed as a horror magazine the whole time, I wanted it to appeal to all audiences. Therefore I stated on the banner line that it is the most "Spine chilling issue ever", to show that it is a horror edition of the magazine. I made the words 'spine chilling' larger than the rest of the sentence to make it prominent and emphasise that it is a terrifying issue of the magazine.
I have placed the splash across the teddy bear, however I feel at the moment that it looks quite lost on the page and I may improve this when I continue to produce my magazine. However, I have used the same font for the title of the film to keep it consistent across platforms.

Film Magazine Image

This is the image I have chosen for my magazine. I wanted the character of the Mother to pose for the camera as I like the use of a character for the main image. I was inspired by the Total Film magazine of Alice in Wonderland to include the teddy in my image because it adds another element into the image, creating a better code of enigma.
The Mother is symbolising the teddy bear to be quiet, which makes the audience ask questions such as "What is she stopping him from saying?", "What is the secret?". It links the two characters together, showing they are the main villains in the film with the body language and mise-en-scene.
Although the image is successful, I felt it needed to stand out more, therefore I edited the image on Photoshop. I changed the contrast and exposure in the image to make it darker. The eyes in this image are blue, and I felt it didn't make the character look menacing. Therefore I edited the eyes to make them look red, representing danger and blood. This is the new image:

Finished Film Poster

Since blogging about my poster, I was given audience feedback on it. I was given a lot of positive comments such as "The main image is menacing", showing I am injecting fear into the audience. The one comment I was given on how to improve my magazine was to change the font of the tag-line because it was hard to read. Therefore I listened to my audience, and started to experiment with different fonts. I feel that the white font I have chosen is much easier to read, whilst still reflecting the horror genre. I made the tag-line slightly bigger so it was clear.
After making these last changes, I feel I have produced a poster that would successfully entice the audience to watch the film. The image is intriguing and correctly identifies the main character of the film.

Trailer - The Titles

Magazine - First Draft

After researching real media magazines, I have tried to base my design on what the current market are using to target their audience.
The main image of the magazine would be a medium shot of the mother, in a possessed state, to introduce that side of the character to the reader. She would be holding the teddy bear to show that it plays a big role in the film. Also, it would reveal some clues to the audience via the stitches on the teddy.
I wanted the masthead to have connotations with film. I started to mind map a number of words I associated with film, action being one of them. I felt that the masthead 'ACTION' would link to the well known phrase 'Lights, camera, action", reminding the reader what the magazine is about.  Also, it represents that there are a lot of films that the magazine review, and they take 'action' into making sure their readers have the best reviews and information.
I want the splash to be situated across the main image, so that it is the second largest writing on the page. I want it to be in the same font as it is on other platforms to keep continuity. The sell lines will revolve around the horror genre as I want the magazine to be a horror edition. Therefore, I want to state what films have already/are coming out in 2015.
I included a pug in my design as conventionally, a lot of magazines have them. The barcode, issue date, issue number and price are all situated together at the bottom of the page. I wanted to make sure I included all the small conventions as they are integral for a magazine. I also included the web address for the magazine underneath the masthead to show that the brand have other platforms, and this may appeal to a younger audience. I have used a colour scheme of red, black, grey and white because it reflects the horror genre.

Film Poster Progress

I have got rid of the drop shadow on the title block because it was making the billing-block unreadable. I feel it is a stronger title on the poster without it, as it creates more of a stamp effect on the page.
I have added the release date for the film at the bottom of the page. I wanted it to be big enough for the audience to see, because it is important they know the details of the film. I used a red font because it is eye catching, also, it stands out from the rest of the colour scheme on the page, making it noticeable.
I included a quote from Empire magazine because a review adds to the expectation of the film. Also, because Empire is a successful film magazine, people may trust how they rate the film and then come and watch it when it is released.

Film Poster Progress

I have added in the tag-line 'Fear Her', in the same position I had planned it to be. I feel it is in a good position at the top of the page, however, it is quite hard to read and therefore I may look at increasing the font size.
I have increased the size of the title block so that it is noticeably the film title. It makes more of an impact on the page, it creates a block of writing which I feel is quite strong and bold. I also increased the size of the billing-block so that people could read it, also, I wanted it to stretch across the whole of the bottom of the page because it is more conventional.
To show that there are media platforms I included a Facebook page and a Twitter page at the bottom of the poster, so that the audience can find out more information if they are interested.
Once I had added more detail into my poster, I decided that my image did fall to the back of the page. Consequently, I decided to edit the image and make the eyes stand out. I did this by going on Photoshop and editing the clarity. By doing this, it has made the image the dominant feature on the page, which is what I wanted, and I believe it has improved the image.

Film Poster Progress

I started to create my poster by firstly adding the title block. I went on Photoshop and saved the title as a jpeg so that I could transfer it over onto Adobe InDesign. This meant that I was being consistent, using the same design for the title block on each platform. I put it near the bottom of the page because this is where the title block is conventionally placed.
I also added in the billing block conventionally at the bottom of the page. I created this for our trailer, and again, I wanted to display the same billing block throughout each different advertisement.
I am happy with how I am progressing with my film poster. Now that I have added the title block and billing block, I feel I may need to increase the contrast more on the image, to make it stand out on the page. However, I will firstly add the tag-line to see how it makes a difference on the page.

Film Poster Image

 I started by taking two images of the Mother; one with normal everyday make-up and one with possessed make-up. I made a mark on the floor so I knew where to stand for each picture, so it would be easier to match them up once I had edited the images. I decided to put the Mother in a white top as she wears this in the trailer, it also represents that each image is the same character, just different personalities.
I wanted the mise-en-scene to reflect the trailer, therefore I decided to take the images in the barn; the main setting. I feel the stone walls covered in cobwebs and dirt reflect the darkness in the film, and help to create an eerie atmosphere.






Firstly, I selected the best images that I felt would match together well. On Photoshop, I then cropped out half of both images so that there was only a left and right side of the face. I had to ensure that both images had the right proportions to match up with each other, because I wanted it to look like a complete face/body.












I then started to edit both of the images on Photoshop by changing the contrast and exposure on both of the images. I wanted to make the left side look more sinister, and the right side more innocent. By doing this, it would create a complete contrast between the both images even though it is of the same face. This would cause an audience member to look twice at the image, noticing that although it is the same person, there are two sides to the character.







After editing both images, I placed the images next to each other to create a full image for my poster. I am extremely pleased with how it has turned out, it optimises what the film is about and creates an enigma, with the audience asking questions about this divide of character.

                             

Deliver Us From Evil Influences

Influences for our trailer from AlysLeMoignan

Poster Redraft

After looking at my feedback from my previous draft, I wanted to address the issues and change the design of the poster. This is my second draft:

I still wanted to show the different sides to the main character in the film, but I felt this could be more achievable if it were only two images of the Mother. The left hand side of her face is the possessed side of her character. I wanted to use the left side for this because it is normally associated with villains and bad characters. On the right hand side of the poster, the image would be of the Mother as she is normally, showing the two contrasting sides to the character. I would achieve this by taking two images of the Mother in the same location, and then edit the photos together to fit with one another. I feel this image would show the distortion of the female character effectively, which was one of my areas for improvement on my previous draft. I was inspired by the poster for Spiderman:

Although it is a superhero movie, I liked how it showed the heroic side to the character and the everyday citizen. I felt this could be achieved well in a horror movie poster, especially for a character that is possessed.








I also decided to change the tag-line as there were comments that it could be deemed to formal. Therefore, I decided to use the tag-line 'Fear Her' instead. The word 'Fear' is situated to the left of the image, showing that the audience should fear this side of the character, and the word 'Her' is situated to the right, showing that she is an innocent human being. I feel that this tag-line is short and catchy, and will be memorable for the audience.
I have still placed the billing block at the bottom of the page as it is conventional. The title of the film has stayed the same, as my group and I feel it has strong connotations with the female character and works well with the storyline.

Film Magazine Analysis

Critical Theories

I have created this place-mat to explain the key areas of three important ideas, and the people behind them. I decided to look at Todorov, Propp and Wood because of the horror genre my group have chosen. Whilst developing our trailer, we need to take note of these theories and ideas in order to make our product as professional as possible.