Homepage for the Film

I am unable to make my mind up about whether to make a homepage for my film or to make a magazine front cover as my secondary ancillary text so at the moment I have done research on both of these media texts.

I have no knowledge of making homepages or websites so making a homepage will be completely new to me which is why I'm doing a practise draft now rather than choosing to do a homepage and not having any idea how to better it.

To do this, I will be using the google site creating website.

This is my first attempt:

http://sites.google.com/site/practise2project/

This site doesn't really give me much freedom as you can see with the layout and the images. I also don't have much freedom to adapt the layout and colours so would probably have to work around the homepage colour scheme and replicate the style onto my other ancillary text.

However, I began to research on the internet and found a site called http://www.wix.com/

With this site I will have more freedom and editing will be simpler to make. So when I begin to create the homepage for my film, I will use this software as it is easily accessible on the internet so I will be able to work from home and college, which I wouldn't be able to do if I created my homepage on Dreamweaver software because I don't have it at home.

----------

Sources:

http://sites.google.com/

http://www.wix.com/

Film Front Cover

I have decided to make a website homepage rather than a magazine front cover. This is because in the AS coursework I made a music magazine front cover and so wanted to try something different.

Audience Research on Film Magazine Front Covers

From the research conducted through the use of secondary sources and analysis, I found that film magazines tend to be aimed at a male audience.

Action, horror and fantasy films are more likely to be featured on the front cover of film magazines rather than a romantic comedy. This may be because the target audience for romantic comedies tend to be women which differs from the target audience of film magazines.

From the image on the left from Empire magazine's website, you can see that there is a choice of covers with this issue. Both action films. The general layout, colour and language used in the website and magazine is also representative of a masculine ideology.

Because my film is a romantic comedy, the use of a magazine front cover as a ancillary text wouldn't fit in with the conventions of film magazines. Although I could create a film magazine front cover with my film as the main focus to de-construct the usual conventions, the ideology behind it wouldn't be right as the main audience of film magazines are male who are not the target audience for my film. This is why a website would be better as a promotional tool as women are more likely to use the internet to research and find out more information about a film they want to see.

Romantic comedies are usually promoted through magazines with the use of adverts within the magazine or through interviews with the actors or actor in the film.

For example, the image of the popular womens magazine 'Glamour' has Jennifer Aniston on the front cover.

In the month the magazine was released, Jennifer Aniston's film 'Love Happens' was released.

Front Cover Analysis

Total Film Magazine - Promotional Cover for King Kong (October 2005)

The masthead 'Total Film' is iconic for the magazine in the way that it is recognisable even if partially covered by an image or text. It follows the convention that the masthead is at the top of the cover and stands out so the audience would be able to recognise it on a shelf. The masthead contains the noun 'film' which suggests the ideology and representation of the magazine is film based.

The colour scheme of the front cover is mainly greys which the yellow headlines stand out from. With this colour connotation, the audience can recognise the genre of King Kong as an adventure thriller with romance which can be seen through the image.

The headline 'King Kong' is in a different colour text to the subheadline like the others to the right of the page. This stands out and the headline 'King Kong' links to the main image as they are the stars of the film. The image is of the actors as their characters which can be seen through the clothing they are wearing and the acting.

The features usually found on magazine front covers which include barcode, issue number and date of release and publisher logo are on the Total Film cover.

The image is a two-shot with the two main human characters of the film.

Total Film Magazine - Promotional Cover for Alice in Wonderland (March 2010)

In the masthead, the fact that part of the title 'Total' is inside the other 'Film' emphasises the noun film, making it look more important. This is the genre of the magazine and the main representation.

The pull quote 'Free giant Iron Man poster!' is a promotional device to entice consumers to buy the magazine as it is a unique selling point.

The image is of Johnny Depp dressed as the character 'The Mad Hatter' from the new Tim Burton adaption of Alice in Wonderland. The character is iconic of the story and the rabbit he is holding is also iconic of the story, Alice in Wonderland.

The main image is a medium shot and shows most of the characters clothing which is representative of the film.

Alice in Wonderland is one of 2010's highly anticipated films which has been promoted since Summer last year.

The colour scheme also links with the film. The purple connotes the idea of curiosity and madness which are both iconic of the plot of Alice in Wonderland.

Empire Magazine - Promotional Front Cover for Hellboy 2 (March 2008)

On this front cover the masthead differs from that of other Empire front covers. The lettering of the title is on fire which directly relates to the main image and film article in the magazine. The character on the front cover, Hellboy, is from Hell and so the fire is a representation of that. The dark colours and bold red connote Hell and danger.

The image is a medium-close up shot of the character. This is conventional of magazine front covers and shows the main character.

The main headline links with the image as this is the main feature of the magazine. The subheadlines are of films in the action, adventure, thriller, horror and fantasy genres which the male audience prefers.

The headlines are all in the same font and the subheadlines are also in the same font which uses continuity.

Empire Magazine - Promotional Front Cover for Public Enemies (2009)

The main image is a medium shot of the main character from the film 'Public Enemies' which links the the main headline 'Public Enemies' and the subheadine 'Johnny Depp Steals Summer!'. The headline and subheadlines curve around the image. Down the right hand side of the cover there is a column of images that relate to upcoming films of 2010 which relates to the headline 'First look' and 'Heroes of 2010'. The headline 'first look' provides an unique selling point and the Harry Potter exclusive also provides an unique selling point.

The other images of films relevant to the subheadline are all images from the films they are representing. These are smaller than the main image so they don't take away emphasis from the main article within the magazine.

The main image of the front cover differs from the others I have analysed the character is not looking out of the magazine. This might be because the image has been taken from the film rather than a promotional shot. The blurring of the background of the image suggests this and the fact the character is surrounded by smoke or exhaust fumes.
------------------

Sources:

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/alice-in-wonderland-2010/images/10047177/title/mad-hatter-total-film-movie-magazine-cover

Textual Analysis of Film Magazine Frontcovers

Language- The language in the written texts of film magazines usually contains jargon related to film and media. Language could also mean the style and colour of text in order to emphasize a particular article in the magazine.

Institution- The institution will be the publisher of the magazine. Future PLC is the publisher of Total Film magazine.

Ideology- The ideology of film magazines are to promote films, directors, actors and production companies. Film magazines usually review upcoming films as well as features on different films and actors.

Audience- The audience of film magazines are usually people who are fans of films and actors. The target audience are 18-35 year olds and usually are mainly male orientated. Many of the covers are of highly anticipated films, most of which are action, adventure and thriller based genres although the cover of the June 2008 issue was Sarah Jessica Parker who starred that month in the new and highly anticipated 'Sex and the City' film which was in the romantic comedy genre.

Representation- The films, actors, directors, writers, production companies and film festivals are the main representation of film magazines. The representation is in the form of images from the film and reviews of that film which help persuade audiences to see the film.

Usually, the images on the front cover or the main article is from the most talked about or highly anticipated film of that month.

The usual conventions of a magazine front cover are;

• title
• headline
• subheadline
• date line
• main image
• additional images
• barcode
• pull quote
• masthead
• issue number
• logo of publisher
• price of magazine

----------------------

Sources:

http://www.whosdatedwho.com/what/magazine_view.asp?ID=420

Production of Poster

Draft #1

I began with the images I had taken from the photo shoots and edited them as seen in the previous post. I then adjusted the size of the images to fit a poster and adjusted them when needed.

This is the first draft of the poster. As you can see I have kept a coherent link with the title and the colour scheme of rosy pinks which reflect the genre.

This is the second edit of the poster. As you can see I have added more conventions that have also been used in the posters I have analysed like the actors names, a quote to help persuade the audience to see the film and an additional image to show the storyline of the film.

With the billing block, I used a similar font to that which is used on film posters and adjusted the font size so that the names were the largest text, in order to replicate that of a real billing block.
On my poster, I lightened the colour of the text so it didn't stand out as much as the rest of the text and images. This is to follow the conventions of a typical film poster and not draw attention away from the main images or the title.

Analysis of Poster #1

The size of the poster and portrait format would mean that if this poster were to be used it would most likely be seen at bus stops or in a magazine or newspaper.

The genre of a romantic comedy is represented in the main colour of the poster, pink. Pinks are stereotypically used to represent love and romance. The blue in the left hand heart however, is used to represent the character Alison's feelings towards the main character Tony. The blue is to help represent the fact that she hates him and could also suggest she is the antagonist within the film. The other heart however has a sepia colour used to empathise the fact that Hannah is a memory and to continue a coherence with the style used in the trailer which uses a slow motion effect to symbolise the past. Both hearts are set behind the main character to symbolise the past loves of the main character Tony. The hearts also suggest the relationship of the women to the main character, Tony. The connotation behind the colours of the hearts creates an emphasis, for example, the sepia heart is a warmer colour and the blue is a cold, foreboding colour in comparison.

The main image is of the main character Tony. The acting by the character suggests a decision needs to be made as the expression on his face is of confusion or indecisiveness. The character is also looking into the camera so it looks as if they are looking at the audience. This is a typical convention of images used in romantic comedies.

The title is coherent with the trailer and will be coherent with the website homepage.

Another convention I found in my research that I used on my own film poster was the billing block. It's the same billing block I used in my trailer just adapted to fit in with the conventions I found. The text in the billing block is lighter and the text smaller so that it doesn't take much of the audiences attention from the main image or the title.

Draft 2

Analysis of Poster #2

In this poster, the format is landscape which would suggest it could be used to advertise on a billboard or outside a cinema in the poster cases.

The poster has many similarities with the other, for example the style of the text used in the title, the names of the actors, the billing block and the hearts. Although the hearts are flipped to face the main image of the main character, Tony.

Similar forms are used in both posters; the images, the title, the billing block and the colour pink which is representative of the genre and storyline.

The images provide a narrative in the postitioning, colour and character performances. The main image which is centred on the poster suggests that Tony is the protagonist and the narrative follows him. The image of Tony looking thoughtful tells the audience that he will be making a decision in the film and as he is also looking towards Hannah, the audience will associate it as being a decision on her. The colour used which is to reflect sepia as a representation of a memory suggests that Hannah is someone in Tony's past and because the heart she is in is not touching Tony suggests that she may be out of reach This represents the storyline well as it shows that the main character will be going on a journey to find her.

The other heart, which is a blue and contains his wife Alison, is set slightly behind Tony and he is not facing it which suggests she is the antagonist and an ex or current love who he is leaving. The colour blue represents this well as it suggests a cold and icy relationship.

Other conventions used in this poster which I found when analysing existing products are the names of the actors in the film, billing block, title which is a coherent link between the texts and a tagline.

Photos for Poster

With my draft, I need a medium shot of the main character and two medium shots of the antagonist, the ex wife, and the 'one that got away', Hannah.

These are a collection of the first photographs I took. The lighting was too light in them and so washed out the actors faces and made them look pale. The poses are similar to the ones I want to use for my poster and website but I need to take better and more flattering shots.

Because there were so many I have had to take a selection of them, otherwise there would be several pages of photos and brief descriptions of each one.

These are a few shots from the second photo session. I had a model light here and so this time, the lighting didn't wash out the actor's faces.

With these images of Janey, the one playing Alison, I began to experiment on photoshop.

Above is the original image and below is the Photoshop edited image. As you can see there is a lot of difference as I experimented with colour and modified the colour curve of parts of the image to enhance and lighten the colour. I have also used the clone stamp tool to lighten the skin underneath the eyes.

Second edited photo.

When editing this photo I used the Clone Stamp Tool to lighten the shadows around her eyes and the area above her right cheek.

I also used the Lasso Tool to highlight the blue in her eyes. This was to make them look more defined. First, by making the selection with the Pen Tool, I rendered the eyes and modifyed them by using Feather set at 3 pixels. I then adjusted the colour by adjusting the Colour Curve and setting it so the eyes were a deeper and bolder blue. After that, I used the Dodge Tool to create highlights in the iris and around the pupil and the Burn Tool to darken around the outside of the iris. I then adjusted the pupil by darkening it and then adding a highlight using the Brush Tool. I mimicked this precedure with the other picture of Axel below.

I then began to edit the main image of Axel who plays Tony in my trailer.

With this photo, I also used the method I used with the other photo to make the eyes stand out.
I also lightened the shadows the nose and chin

Sources:
------------------------------------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kIkarvhoa8