Monday, 24 April 2017
Final Review Page / Final Film Poster
Review Page Final:
Here is my final double-page-spread review page. There isn't much difference in terms of style from my first draft. I have changed the lighting and certain font sizes, but overall its the same as it was in the first draft. I am very happy with the way my review page has turned out. Initially, I was worried about whether or not the image I chose would work as the background of this DPS. However I think the image as the background has turned out very well and I feel it gives the page another stylistic element which I believe draws the reader into this article even more. I ultimately changed the lighting and contrast to create more of a dark tone effect to the image. I also wanted the background of the image to be more blurred. I wanted to do this so the background would look more colourful with all the different objects blurred out to reveal their individual colours. I believe this effect has worked very well and has allowed the text to stand-out which was another element of this review page I was worried about because of the colours of the image.
Another element which has worked well on my review page is the main headline. It took me a while to find the right font which would suit the overall style of this page and I think I made the right choice by choosing this font. I like the boldness this font brings which ultimately allows the reader to clearly see what this article is about, relating to the main motif in our short film. When laying out the headline, I tried laying it out across the whole top of both pages to see what it looked like, however I didn't like how it looked and changed it to only being on one side of the double-page-spread.
I added the red line and text of information of the cast of this film to give this review page another conventional trait of other film magazines such as Total Film and Sight and Sound. I wanted the audience to be involved with the film and to know who was behind the making of this short film. This additional information like I said before is a conventional trait of many real life film magazines. I ultimately want my review page to look as professional as I could, and I believe adding this information has done that. I also chose to show it in the colour of red to allow my magazine to show another conventional trait I have typically seen in a lot of film, and other genre's of magazine. I liked the way a colour could separate the large amount of text on a page and keep the audiences interest in the page by showing various colours which will draw them in. I also like that this separate information has a separate colour to separate the text of the review and the text of the additional information of the film itself.
In terms of the review itself, I wanted to write something which was compelling and gave 'teasers' of the film away, but ultimately intrigued the reader in wanting to go and see this short film. I believe the article I have written does this without giving too much of the film away, but enough 'teasers' of certain key plot twists to make them want to go and see the film to ultimately find out what happens.
Poster Final:
Here is an image of my final poster. As you can see from the difference between the first draft of this poster, everything is relatively the same except I have now added in the movie credits font which makes this poster even more professional looking.
One aspect I really like about this poster is the way the knife stands-out in the illustrated style I have chosen to do. This kind of style I believe goes against the typical conventions you would normally associate with modern film posters. The illustrated style of the knife gives my poster a classical look in terms of film posters I was initially aiming for. I also really like the bright whiteness of the knife which again is another factor as to why this knife stands-out very vividly on the page. The knife is a key aspect of our film which I believe is clearly shown in the poster I have created. The knife stands-out which allows the readers eye to be directed towards this certain element and shows that this chefs knife may be a key factor in the film overall.
Another thing I like about this poster is the 'White Lies' font which I have chosen to show in the colour of red. I used red down to the fact that the connotations to the colour red represent danger and violence, again another key factor of our short film. This colour also fits the overall colour palette of this page. The red stands-out very effectively in front of that black background. The font of the 'White Lies' title also has a classic look and feel to it. This fits with the overall classic style I was aiming for in this poster. I believe I have been able to incorporate a subtle classic element to my poser which is recognisable to my target audience. I mainly took inspiration from the classic film poster of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and I believe I have been able to create similarities between Psycho's various different posters and my own.
I also like the font and the colour of the font for information on the cast and crew. I chose to use this light brown, almost pinkish colour to go against the other secondary colours I had on my page. I wanted the style of the page to stay professional looking. However, I also wanted to keep a stylish modern feel to it to connect with various different age groups.
Here is my final double-page-spread review page. There isn't much difference in terms of style from my first draft. I have changed the lighting and certain font sizes, but overall its the same as it was in the first draft. I am very happy with the way my review page has turned out. Initially, I was worried about whether or not the image I chose would work as the background of this DPS. However I think the image as the background has turned out very well and I feel it gives the page another stylistic element which I believe draws the reader into this article even more. I ultimately changed the lighting and contrast to create more of a dark tone effect to the image. I also wanted the background of the image to be more blurred. I wanted to do this so the background would look more colourful with all the different objects blurred out to reveal their individual colours. I believe this effect has worked very well and has allowed the text to stand-out which was another element of this review page I was worried about because of the colours of the image.
Another element which has worked well on my review page is the main headline. It took me a while to find the right font which would suit the overall style of this page and I think I made the right choice by choosing this font. I like the boldness this font brings which ultimately allows the reader to clearly see what this article is about, relating to the main motif in our short film. When laying out the headline, I tried laying it out across the whole top of both pages to see what it looked like, however I didn't like how it looked and changed it to only being on one side of the double-page-spread.
I added the red line and text of information of the cast of this film to give this review page another conventional trait of other film magazines such as Total Film and Sight and Sound. I wanted the audience to be involved with the film and to know who was behind the making of this short film. This additional information like I said before is a conventional trait of many real life film magazines. I ultimately want my review page to look as professional as I could, and I believe adding this information has done that. I also chose to show it in the colour of red to allow my magazine to show another conventional trait I have typically seen in a lot of film, and other genre's of magazine. I liked the way a colour could separate the large amount of text on a page and keep the audiences interest in the page by showing various colours which will draw them in. I also like that this separate information has a separate colour to separate the text of the review and the text of the additional information of the film itself.
In terms of the review itself, I wanted to write something which was compelling and gave 'teasers' of the film away, but ultimately intrigued the reader in wanting to go and see this short film. I believe the article I have written does this without giving too much of the film away, but enough 'teasers' of certain key plot twists to make them want to go and see the film to ultimately find out what happens.
Poster Final:
Here is an image of my final poster. As you can see from the difference between the first draft of this poster, everything is relatively the same except I have now added in the movie credits font which makes this poster even more professional looking.
One aspect I really like about this poster is the way the knife stands-out in the illustrated style I have chosen to do. This kind of style I believe goes against the typical conventions you would normally associate with modern film posters. The illustrated style of the knife gives my poster a classical look in terms of film posters I was initially aiming for. I also really like the bright whiteness of the knife which again is another factor as to why this knife stands-out very vividly on the page. The knife is a key aspect of our film which I believe is clearly shown in the poster I have created. The knife stands-out which allows the readers eye to be directed towards this certain element and shows that this chefs knife may be a key factor in the film overall.
Another thing I like about this poster is the 'White Lies' font which I have chosen to show in the colour of red. I used red down to the fact that the connotations to the colour red represent danger and violence, again another key factor of our short film. This colour also fits the overall colour palette of this page. The red stands-out very effectively in front of that black background. The font of the 'White Lies' title also has a classic look and feel to it. This fits with the overall classic style I was aiming for in this poster. I believe I have been able to incorporate a subtle classic element to my poser which is recognisable to my target audience. I mainly took inspiration from the classic film poster of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and I believe I have been able to create similarities between Psycho's various different posters and my own.
I also like the font and the colour of the font for information on the cast and crew. I chose to use this light brown, almost pinkish colour to go against the other secondary colours I had on my page. I wanted the style of the page to stay professional looking. However, I also wanted to keep a stylish modern feel to it to connect with various different age groups.
Review Page Draft 1
Here is the first draft for my double-page-spread film review page. I am very happy with this first draft and feel I have achieved some of the initial aspects I wanted to achieve for this page.
The first thing I like about my double-page-spread is the headline. It ultimately took me a while to find the right font which would fit the overall style of this page. I chose the Britannic Bold font on Photoshop because I felt it gave that bold, yet stylish feel which is an aspect of this page I wanted to achieve. I also decided to position it over the top of the text, similar to the double-page-spread of Skyfall. I believe this fits the typical conventional features of a real-life film magazine, which in tern allows my headline to apply the level of professionalism acquired from other magazines onto my double-page-spread. I have also added the red line underneath the headline, separating both the headline and the columns of text which I believe shows another professional quality to this page.
Going into the red line and the red text, I wanted to ultimately show another colour of text to keep the audiences interested in reading this page. I have seen certain magazines in general use one specific colour for their text, which can sometimes almost overwhelm the reader with a repetitive colour scheme which can lead to boredom within the reader. Because my background is very dark, using white text ultimately allow my writing and other elements such as my headline to stand-out. However, my point is that the same colour of text through-out the whole page can look boring and could potentially make the reader uninterested in reading this review page. Allowing other colour to come into the page, regarding the text, allows the audiences eye to be directed to that section of the page because of the fact it's a different colour than the rest of the text. It's also a way of separating different information such as the main review itself and for example what I've done here is shown information about the crew of the film. This allow for another stylistic feature which keeps the page looking fresh and interesting.
At the bottom of the page I have put a website address in a small font. I did this to keep with the common conventions of other film magazines (such as Total Film) to ultimately make my magazine keep the professional tone I believe I have already created in this page. Also, you can see I've added chosen title idea (mentioned on the title idea post) to keep with my chosen research, and also add more real-media qualities shown in other film magazines to show even more conventional traits.
Editing Process
In terms of the picture itself, I like the dark-red of the blood dribbling off of the knife. It adds a sinister tone which is something I was looking to achieve for the overall tone of this page. I wanted the reader to instantly feel intrigued and questioning themselves as to what has happened, primarily by looking at the picture. I also like the general photography used in this picture. The focus on the knife, complemented with the out-of-focus background allows the knife to stand-out very vividly to the reader. Zack (Director of Photography/ Cinematographer) captured a lovely looking shot which I believe works perfectly as a starting point for my double-page-spread.
Another aspect which I have added is the White Lies title which has a black rectangle on it. I was inspired by the double-page-spread of Skyfall I analysed for my conventions of magazines post. I like the modern feel of it and the fact it's a bit different to how other film titles are normally shown in film magazines. I also like the bold looking font I used. It allows the title to stand-out very effectively to the reader and the font I feel looks very professional looking, while at the same time keeping a stylistic element to it. Also, the colour palette of the White Lies title, contrasted with the colour palette of the background goes together very well.
Here, I have begun to add pieces of my text which I did a draft of before I started editing my double-page-spread. I want to ultimately add three columns worth of text which will allow my DPS to look in depth and professional for the higher age-groups which I am primarily aiming my DPS to. The green lines shown on the screen I used to find the centre of the page so I was able to measure how big each column had to be to be able to fit three in. This tool has allowed me to develop my Photoshop skills even further as I was unaware this tool was available when I first used photoshop. This has ultimately allowed me to develop my skills to a higher level in Photoshop which I hope will contribute to allow future work to look even more professional.
I have now been able to create three columns of text which I feel look very stylish and professional on this double-page-spread. The white text allows my writing to stand-out effectively to the audience and allow them to clearly read the review I have wrote. I haven't yet finished the writing side of my DPS, however it is very close to being completed. I have also added a quote in between the text of the middle-column of text. This is a common convention of many double-page-spread magazines and felt it added a professional stylistic feature to my magazine which is something I initially wanted to achieve. Even though I like this feature, I don't like the font I have chose. I feel it doesn't fit the style of the page I'm aiming to achieve. I will therefore go back and test out a few different fonts on Photoshop to see which one looks the most appealing.
For the next steps of my DPS, I have added the main headline which says 'Actions Always Have Consequences'. I like this title because it has emotive language which relates to certain emotions featured in our short film. I also like it because it gives almost a 'teaser' to the reader because they are now thinking about what consequences might have accused in this film, almost a rhetorical question to the reader to get them thinking. However, even though I'm happy with the headline I have chosen, I don't like the font or colour I have used to present it. The font itself looks 'cheap' and ultimately doesn't fit the style of this double-page-spread. The font hasn't got that stylish vibe I was initially looking for. It doesn't draw me in to this page, so the reader definitely won't be interested in this page. The headline is one of the most important aspects of a double-page-spread in allowing the reader to be drawn in to explore the rest of the content featured on that certain page. I also feel the colour doesn't work well with the overall colour palette of this page. It blends in to much to the background and is hard to read unless you focus on the headline itself. I want the page to come together so the reader can look at the page as a whole and be drawn into reading it. I don't want their to be any aspects which go against the professional connotations this page I believe has the potential to have. Ultimately, because of this, I will test-out different fonts to see which stands-out the most effectively on my double-page-spread. Once I have chosen my desired font, I will then test out various colours to see which fits the overall colour palette of this page, but also allow the headline to stand-out distinguishably and appealing to the reader.
Firstly, I have now changed my headline and the colour. Before I had a red headline which ultimately looked very cheap. I have now changed the boring looking font I originally had to the 'haettenschweiler' font which I believe creates a much bolder and intriguing effect. The font itself is quite stylish and original compared to other conventional fonts of other film magazines, which I feel works well with the rest of the page. I also like the way the headline is positioned compared to how I had it before in the centre of the page. It looks a lot more professional over the top of the three columns of text. I would also like to add a section in between the headline and text which has information about the cast of this film such as the director, cinematographer etc. I feel this addition would make the page look even more professional for the higher age ranges I'm primarily targeting my magazine to. It also allows audiences to go into more detail about the specific aspects of this short film, other than just the review. I have also changed the colour of the headline to white instead of red. I believe the white stands-out much more effectively compared to the red headline, and it also fits the primary colour palette of my double-page-spread. Overall, I am very happy with my headline and feel it gives the page a professional and sophisticated quality which is what I was aiming for.
Another aspect which I have changed is the font of the quote featured in between the middle column of text. Before, I felt the font didn't fit the overall style of the page and ultimately looked out of place on this double-page-spread. I have decided to use the 'britannic bold' font because of the way it stands-out very effectively on the page. You can now clearly see the quote in between the text and I am instantly drawn to it which is the effect I wanted to create. I have also made the font bolder, which in tern is another reason why it stands-out so effectively on the page. Another small change I have made is moving the 'White Lies' film title to the other-side of the page. I did this to ultimately fit the main headline over-the-top of the column of texts to make it look more professional. However, I believe the title still gives off that stylistic element which is what it was originally intended to do.
Journal of Critical Reflection on Shoot
The photo I intend to use for my final design is a screenshot from a piece of footage in our short film. As a group, we were intending to have a photoshoot with the actor Rory Wilton on Friday evening after shooting. However, Rory needed for an audition he received a few days before shooting and said he wanted Friday to allow preparation for his upcoming audition on the Saturday of that week. We had thus change shooting days and film the rest of the film, including the scene of the alleyway in that one day. This meant we couldn't proceed with our intended photoshoot we had planned for Friday. Because of this, we decided to use the footage from our short film and screenshot certain shots we wanted for our review page. I ultimately chose this image from our short film because of the stereotypical relation it has to the thriller/ crime genre. I also liked the focus the camera had on the knife, creating an 'out of focus' effect with the background. I believe this shot will allow me to create a tense and intriguing looking review one which will hopefully allow the audiences intrigue to fester, subsequently wanting them to go and see our short film based on the review and the supporting image.
The day of shooting overall went very smoothly which allowed to capture some great shots with the collaboration between Fin and Zack. I also suggested a few shots which came instinctively on the day, however Fin's direction has overall allowed me to get screenshots of some really nice looking shots from our film. Rory also was a massive help in allowing us to capture these particular shots. His focus and acting ability's allowed the still images to look realistic and believable to the audience, ultimately allowing my review page to hopefully look even better.
I believe with this image, I will maybe play around with the lighting and contrast to see if more light or less light is needed to make the image look more sinister, however I am already very happy with how this image looks. One thing I do want to do however is to make the blood on the knife stand-out more. To do this, I could play around with lighting and contrast like I said before, or I could try and select that certain colour on the image and somehow make it stand-out even more. I'm not sure how I could do that, but with playing around on Photoshop I'm sure I can get something similar to what I'm initially looking for.
Another image I was also considering using for the shoot is the one of me as the drug dealer. We also captured these shots on film, and as you can see the colour in these shots are really professional looking. On the day of shooting, we were able to film with myself and Rory at around 8pm, so we were able to get really nice lighting coming from the streetlight above us. The streetlight created a really nice eery tone to the scene which is something we were looking for in both our footage and the shots we were going to use for our review pages. I also liked the fact the baseball cap was covering my face, allowing the image to look more mysterious leading the audience to question whats going on.
I ultimately chose not to use any of these photos because of the fact I liked the other one more for its 'teaser' and the threatening tone it instantly gave. However I do really like the colours in this image and will still test it out in editing to see if this particular range of images looks better than the one I am initially looking to use.Original Images
This is a screenshot from our short film which I will be intending to use for my main image on my magazines double-page-spread final design. I chose this image based on the content and the colour palette it gives off. The image is very graphic which instantly gives the audience the indication as to what genre this short film is and whether or not it appeals to them. It also allows readers, who may be fans of the crime/thriller genre, to be drawn into reading this page based on their interests in certain film genre's. The image shows a graphic content via the knife with the blood slowly dripping off the blade. I like the overall graphic approach of this image which I believe will intrigue reader and draw them into this page. I also however like the 'teaser' aspect it gives. This is ultimately a major aspect of our film and the fact I am showing a major element of the films plot allows the audience to read into the image, before actually reading the review. This I believe allows the reader to speculate the events which depict in this film, allowing them to create their own ending results before even watching the film, or reading the review, which will hopefully intrigue them into wanting to watch this film.
In terms of the colour palette, it's ultimately very secondary and dark, which fits the genre of our film and conventions of reel media products. The background is out of focus which gives a nice blend of natural colour created primarily from the background. This not only looks professional, but it allows the knife to stand-out effectively to the reader. It also allows the colour of the blood on the knife to have an almost 3-D effect because of the fact the background is out-of-focus. It also allows the texture of the blood to look more graphic and allow the different shades of red to ultimately make the blood look more realistic.
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