Magazine Production Process

Magazine Product Process from alltimejas

Here is the process of my magazine production that I created on Adobe Photoshop CS4. It includes what websites I used for fonts, brushes etc and the various steps I went through to create my finalised magazine front cover, including the various edits on my main image.

Ancillary Product 2: Impulse Magazine

IMPULSE MAGAZINE FINAL ANCILLARY PRODUCT

My second ancillary product is a film magazine, which I named IMPULSE. I wanted the poster to have a grunge, holga effect that both have close connotations with thrillers. The image, which I selected Jessica Brookes to be the main model, is slightly distorted due to these two effects mixing and it does remain slightly unclear exactly who the character is as her eyes are covered by unruly hair but her blonde hair is distinguishable to audiences.

I feel as though using a slightly purple coloured image is slightly unconventional and originally I was going to use a simple edited image, but when searching for inspiration for the image, I found this effect and I decided to play around with the effect. Overall, I feel as though this magazine will prove to be excellent for promotional opportunities for my film and convey the conventions to my film well. It's eye-catching and any lover of thriller will love to find out more.

Magazine Test Shots and Ideas

IDEAS

MAGAZINE MAIN IMAGE IDEAS

These are several images that include grunge/emo poses and holga effects that I hope to mirror in my film's promotional magazine. Firstly, I considered one of the characters having writing on their hands with something along the lines of 'help us' or 'when in darkness'. These grunge and emo style images all have interesting clothes and effects, such as a splatter paint effect and black and white colouring with high contrasts. Secondly, I also wanted to use a holga effect because it's a futuristic and createsa a distorted effect and will be interesting in terms of colouring.

TEST SHOT

Here are the test shots I created to test the pose I chose for the main image. I choose for Jessica to be acting as though she was crawling towards the camera with only one light lighting the photo. I conducted several shots in order to experiment with the lighting and also to see what the final image may look like.

When In Darkness Teaser Poster and Progress

When In Darkness Teaser Poster

This is the finalised teaser poster for When In Darkness. I decided to create a teaser poster as it's a way in which up and coming films create a theme that will be linked through the official thertical poster. Choosing to create a teaser poster first and foremost creates an enormous amount of hype and excitement around the film. My teaser poster, conventional of teaser posters in general, contains a basic design and includes my film's iconography; blood and darkness. Below I will explain the process of just how I created this teaser poster.

I started with a portrait A4 page, which is the size that posters are typically are. I also decided to use black as the background colour because it's a colour that thriller posters tend to use. The reason for this is because black is a often associated with evil, mystery and death. Though the colour also has more positive connotations such as elegance, the negative connotations have a much stronger connection to my film's plot and themes that run through the storyline.

Secondly, I used a brush tool to create a 'blood splatter' effect, which I made through selecting a bloody red colour. It took me a while to find the create colour and position, I changed the opacity and flow and in the end I feel like I created and communicated a strong iconography through the background alone in my poster.

I then went on dafont to find a capitalised font that I could use for a small amount of text on the poster, for the release date/month. The one I selected, when added to the poster made the poster looks modern and creepy.

Though it's difficult to see, I added text effects to the release month. I included bevel and emboss which, though it was small, made the text look as though it was more natural and not stylised.

I then added the year in which the film will be released. This gives audiences a very clear notion of when the film will be released. Using a vague date as opposed to the actual release date creates a lot more excitement and encourages audiences to find out more about the film.

I then began to include the title onto the poster. As I explained in my post about my chosen fonts, I picked this simplistic and handwritten looking font as it communicated the school theme through the poster.





I didn't like the thickness when I added the title to the poster, so similar to the date I added the bevel and emboss text effect, which made the text appear slimmer and also make it appear to be less 'fake'.

Finally, I added the final part of the title 'Darkness'. I put this in a red colour because similar to black, red's connotations (violence, blood, adrenaline) all have connections and links to my film's plot and themes.

Computer Mock-Up of Film Magazine

This is the mock up for the film magazine that will promote my film, which I have decided to call IMPULSE. The word IMPULSE emerges from its definition:

(noun) a sudden strong and unreflective urge or desire to act.

 Impulses may come from people being forced into dangerous situations, something that I linked to the thriller genre. This mock up is a clear outline for the layout of the film magazine, allowing for me to stick to this selected layout of the magazine. Unlike the poster, I will be making the film magazine less simplistic and I have considered using unconventional colours for my thriller, such as blue or even purple. Using red may lead consumers to believe that it is a horror, but using dark blues will add elements of mystery.

I have considered using my other film title ideas within the coverlines, such as The Shadow Room which was the second most popular title based on my questionnaire results. Though I may also not be using other film titles on the magazine front cover, as I would not want my audience to stray away to other competing films.

Hand Drawn Film Magazine with Annotations

Here is my hand drawn magazine design that I will be making. I have noted down several ideas for coverlines so there is a chance I will be adding more to my final magazine. This hand drawn draft will be up for further development and my final magazine may be slightly different to this, but this design will act as an outline for my magazine.

Here I have annotated the hand drawn magazine front cover, explaining and justifying why I have chosen to use these features on my magazine. Though this hand drawn copy seems simplistic and rather dull in colour, I will be using the colours dark red, black and dull whites in order to convey the magazine's chosen genre (thriller) and will create an eerie theme to magazine, which will also link to the trailer and the poster. 

Suggested Magazine Content (Ancillary Product)

Alongside my trailer and poster, I will also be producing a magazine front cover that includes my film for promotional opportunities. In order to make this magazine and selling of my film a successful, I must communicate my genre and characters successfully. My magazine will include:

• Masthead - The masthead is the most prominent and eye-catching part of a magazine's front cover and will therefore need to bold, easy to read and also relate to the magazine's content.
• Main Image - A main image tends to use celebrities for endorsement purposes as a way of selling the magazine to consumers. For my magazine I will be including one of the characters from my film so that I inform audiences of whom is in my film.
• Coverlines - Magazine's coverlines inform audiences what will be included within the magazine, what type of articles they can expect and sometimes include what page they may find them on. 
• Anchorage Text - The anchorage text relates to a magazine's main image. It refers to an article or interview that includes whoever is the model in the main image and tells readers what to expect in the magazine.
• Barcode - The barcode is simply a compulsory feature for all magazines that I will need to include in order for my magazine to be sell-able.
• Skyline - The skyline will give information about the magazine itself, for instance the skyline could be 'Britain's No.1 Film Magazine', it is a small part of the front cover but allows for the magazine to sell itself. 
• Date & Issue Number - The date and issue number will firstly inform regular readers who may collect which issue follows which and is also a source for information about the magazine, when it will be available to.
• Price - The price may indicate the quality the magazine, for instance, a magazine worth £4 will be of much higher quality in its articles and content. It also informs audiences how much they need to pay for the magazine itself.

Suggested Poster Content (Ancillary Product)

In order to make my film well advertised to audiences, I will be producing a poster for it. The poster will include:

• The film's title - When In Darkness. This will ensure that audiences can identity the poster to be grouped with the trailer and will need to be of a substantial size in order for it to stand out from far away to consumers.
• Main Image - The main image for film posters is a way for aspects such as characters or location can be communicated to audiences. My main image will be of my main protagonist, Veronica Calder as she will be the character that is immediately associated with the film from the trailer. 
• Release date - The release date will tell audiences clearly when the film will be available to watch. I have not made the decision whether I will show a specific date or if I will simply use 'coming soon' which tends to be more suspenseful but leaves audiences unsure of when they can watch the film.
• Age certification - This will communicate my target audience's age (16-25) very clearly and will also give the audience a brief idea of what to expect from the film itself.
• Tagline - A tagline will give the consumer a brief piece of information about the film, communicate plot ideas and will be short and snappy so it will stand out to audiences much more effectively.

IDEA NUMBER 1.

IDEA NUMBER 2.

IDEA NUMBER 3.

All three of the hand drawn poster ideas above include a similar theme - the female protagonist Veronica being used and also, though the tag lines themselves are different, the reoccurring use of the universal pronoun 'we' showcases the idea of working together, which is what the characters do during the narrative in order to survive. These posters are simply first rough ideas however and I may be changing several aspects to them, though I will be sticking with one of the three tag lines and also using Veronica as the main image.

Analysis of 3 Ancillary Products (Film Magazine)

Analysis of 3 (Ancillary Product 2) from alltimejas

Based upon this analysis of film magazines, I will endeavour to follow the general codes and conventions of film magazine and how it promotes and advertises the film's on its front cover. These conventions include the masthead, the main image, coverlines, barcode (where the price, issue number and date are generally located) and I will also be aware of the mise-en-scene I placed on my front cover and the colour scheme that I select on the cover in order to make sure that it suits my film's genre to provoke a certain emotion to my consumers and potential readers.