EDITING: Producing My Film Magazine Front Cover

I started by positioning my protagonist in the center of the page and then I added the name of the film magazine, which I placed behind Darcey. My next step was to rub out parts of the letters which cover my talent's head. This is often a conventional feature of a magazine front cover as the magazine expects the audience to be able to instantly identify which magazine it is from there brand image rather then seeing the full name.

I then added a barcode along with the price and the issue number to the bottom right hand corner. This features on any magazine but its position on the page often varies.

I added the date and the web address underneath the name of the magazine, as the is a conventional feature for film magazines. The use of the web address also promotes viral marketing for the magazine company.

I then add Twitter and Facebook to the magazine front cover. Social networking sites have recently become a prominent way to promote new films or events, as social media is used globally. This also  makes the magazine interactive as the audience can go online and get involved in discussions.

I then added my anchorage text to the top third of the magazine I used the same font for the name of the film as I did in the trailer and on my poster. This gives the film a brand image and acts as a logo. My USP was to entice the audience by allowing them access to behind the scenes of the up and coming film if they brought the magazine.

Another USP that my magazine had was an up close and personal interview with the main talent in  the film. This enables the audiences to get to know the main actress before they see the film. I made the Darcey's name bigger and bolder than the rest of the font in order for it to stand out. This also tells the audience who the girl in the image is.

I then added a cover article called 'top 10 films you need to see!' I did this in order to tell the audience what other articles were in the magazine without them having to open it. It also entices the audience to see what is on the list. By putting the words 'need' and 'see' in bold it makes them stand out and catches the audience's eye. After I had finished I noticed a shadow down the left hand side of Darcey so to remove this I used the eraser tool.

Changing Aspects Of My Front Cover

After receiving feedback from my focus group I decided to change some aspects of my magazine front cover and also add more colour to the cover.

I decided to make my anchorage text shorter and straight to the point, as this enables the reader to quickly establish what the article is about. After researching other films magazines I found that their tag lines were quite punchy and there was not a lot of writing on the cover.

I then decided to add a circle to the front cover of my magazine as this made it more colourful. In the circle I included the tag line that related to my main image, as this enabled the reader to learn who my main protagonist is. This also attracted the reader's attention as the use of the drop shadow makes it stand out on the page. 

I created a bold strip at the bottom of my front cover as this makes the article about 'top 10 films' stand out. I also changed the black text to white so that it can be read. I made the decision to keep the words 'need' and 'see' in red as the contrasting colours made these words stand out. Film magazines often have a strip at the bottom as this usually contains text that will attract the reader to buy the magazine.

I also noticed that the image that I had chosen to use had red eye so I corrected this in Iphoto in order to give the image a professional finish.

My Finished Film Magazine Front Cover

EDITING: Correcting Red Eye

Whilst making the front cover of my film magazine I discovered that the image that I had chosen to use was affected by red eye.

I corrected this defect using a software called Iphoto, as it was quick and easy to do.

In order to correct the red eye in the image I clicked on the edit button.

After clicking on the edit button I then clicked on the red-eye tool and zoomed in on the image that I wanted to correct. I then clicked on the center of each of my talent's eyes and the software automatically corrected the red eye for me.

Before                                                                                  

 

 After 

RESEARCH: Analysing the Front Cover of a Film Magazine

RESEARCH: Audience Feedback

I asked a range of people to complete my Questionnaire, that I made on Google Docs, in order to find out what they thought of my promotion package and how it could be improved.

Here are the results:

The majority of people found my trailer interesting and were very positive about it. However, the odd person said that they did not find it interesting to watch. Nevertheless this response may be due to the fact that the genre of dance is not suited to them.

Everybody that I asked agreed that my trailer fitted in with the the codes and conventions of a stereotypical dance trailer.

The people that answered my questionnaire were also uanimous that my chioce of music for my trailer fitted in with the my genre.

The majority of people answered this question with independent cinema being the best type of distribution for my trailer, as it is a documentary style of trailer. However a few went with mainstream distribution. this will ultimately result in who my production comapny is.

I asked this question in order to find out what certificate they thought the overal film should have just from watching the trailer. Over half voted for a U certificate but a similar number picked PG. This means that my traget audience feels that my film is suitable for families or younger children as well as the older generation.

Everybody that completed my questionnaire agreed that my poster connoted the ballet genre, which is excellent as it means that my target audience can easily establish the genre on my film even if they have not seen the trailer.

General Comments

When reviewing my products again I should take into consideration these comments in order to improve my trailer, poster and magazine.

EDITING: Producing My Film Poster

Initially I started off with quite a pink background, as this has denotations of ballet. I positioned Darcey on the right hand side of the page with her arm reaching up towards the top of the poster. I then placed the title of the film in the middle of the page.

After editing my poster in the previous way I decided that the proportions of the poster were wrong. I re-started making my poster and this time I still kept Darcey on the left with her arm stretching up towards the top of the poster but I made the image smaller. I also changed the background colour to white rather than using baby pink, as I felt that this distracted the audience's attention away from the rest of the poster. I also want the poster to be quite simple.

I kept the same font as before but this time I positioned it at the top of the page. Together with the title at the top of the poster and the placing of the image of Darcey, it makes it seem as if Darcey is reaching for success, as she is stretching up towards the word 'success'. The audience's eye also follows Darcey's arm, therefore the audience will immediately see the name of the film. 

I choose to use the font  in itallics, as this makes the title appaer softer giving it a femine feel. This goes with the genre of ballet, as it is a soft and feminie type of dance. I decided to use the colour black, as I want to achieve a simple colour scheme. Also the colour black has denotations of the black leotard that Darcey is wearing in the picture, which conotes ballet.

I then added a conventional feature, to the botton of my poster, called the credit block to my poster, as this always features on film posters. The credit block  includes key informattion about the film, therefore in my credit block I mentioned the production company, who it was by, the music and the talent involved in my film. I kept this is the conventional style of a block of black text in capital letters. I also included a web address underneath the credit block, as most films have websites due to the fact that this achieves viral marketing.

Finally I added a slogan to my poster in order to catch the audience's attention and to draw them in. I used a quote from my film trailer, as this links both of the promotion methods together. I created a housestyle by using the same font and colour that I used for the title of the film, as this gives the film poster continuity. However I did not make it as bold as the title due to the fact that I want the title to stand out more. I placed the slogan at the base of the arm on the left hand side, as the audience will see it before they follow Darcey's arm up to the top.

My Finished Film Poster

PRODUCTION: Poster Flat Plan

PRODUCTION: Magazine Flat Plan

EDITING: My Updated Trailer

After speaking to my focus group they gave me some audience feedback in order to improve my trailer. I took on board what they said and altered my trailer according to their comments. For instance I improved the end so that it does not cut off as suddenly and I also changed the production company so that it fitted more into the category of an independent film. I also stabalised some of the shaky clips.

EDITING: The First edit of my Trailer

This is the first edit of my trailer, which I have shown to my target audience. I now need to evaluate their feedback and alter the trailer in order to improve it further.