Film magazine

For the design for my magazine I decided to follow a conventional approach. The target market for my film magazine is for horror/action film lovers from fifteen upwards. The age limit from fifteen is a reflection of the genre because the majority of horror and action films are rated at fifteen+. The design of the magazine is aimed at target audience as the cover is a reflection of the advertisement of the film is general. This basic layout involves a large picture for the background and text framing it. I chose to follow the conventions because they have proven to be effective in the media and I also thought this conventional design would be the best way to portray my media film.

First I decided to concentrate on the background image. I use these two pictures:

These are the same picture that I used in the start of my trailer. I decided to use these because I thought it would link the trailer and the magazine nicely and shows continuity between the two media texts, the trailer and the magazine. I combined the images using PhotoShop. I chose to combine these two pictures for a number of reasons. Firstly and most obviously, it was to show the “split” within the character. I used PhotoShop to further emphasis the split. I used the ‘quick select tool’ and selected Grant. I then dragged the image onto a new blank white page. Following that I used the ‘quick select tool’ option on the image of the clown and selected it and then dragged it onto the page that had Grant’s picture on it. Still keeping the clown selected, I lowered the opacity so I could see Grant’s picture in the background. I lined up the picture of the clown so you were able to see Grant’s eyes through the clown’s eye holes. I selected the clown’s eyes and deleted them so you were able to see Grant’s more sinister eyes. To emphasis this further I selected Grant’s eyes and brightened them and gave them a slightly red highlight. I selected the clown again and this time using the ‘lasso tool’ I cut the clown’s face from the top left virtually down the middle. I then put the opacity of the clown’s picture up again to 100%. Using the blending options I selected Grant’s picture and made the following changes:

Satin

Structure: blending mode – colour burn, black

- Opacity, 27% - Angle, -15°

- Distance, 3px - Size, 0px

Colour overlay Blending mode – red

- Opacity 0%

Stroke

Structure: size 250px

- Position: outside

- Blend mode: darken

- Opacity: 100%

Fill type

- Colour, black.

I made these changes because, as mentioned, it emphasises the split and makes the images more sinister which links in with the narrative of the film trailer. I positioned the images in the bottom right to start with however, after consideration and some feedback from my teacher and some peers, I repositioned it more towards the top right so that the clown’s teeth were properly visible. I positioned it here so that the blank spaces are to the left of the image so that the text was not interfering with the striking image. Another reason why I decided to move the image is because of the eyes. The eyes are now closer to the top of the magazine because the eyes would be visible on the magazine shelf and is arguably one of the most striking parts of the image.

All of my text is conventionally positioned and excluding the masthead it is all the same font, Palatino Linotype. The masthead is in Footlight MT Light, I thought it was important to have a different font because it distinguishes the title of the film magazine. I chose this font because it reflects the horror genre of this magazine well because of the white colour of the font and the red framing of the font. I called it “Film Verdict” because it clearly identifies the contents of magazine to the audience and it also suggests you will get a professional judgement and opinion about films. This is valuable to the audience because it helps them to decide which films are worth spending their money on, especially for students. The details of the masthead are as follows:

Blending options:

Inner shadow: blend mode

– black, darken

- Opacity – 100%

- Angle – global light, -151°

- Distance – 7px

- Choke – 34%

- Size – 0px

Outer glow – Structure

- Blend mode – hard light

- Opacity – 59%

- Noise – 0%

- Red

Elements

- Technique – softer

- Spread – 100%

- Size – 10px

Quality

- Range – 32%

Bevel and emboss – structure

- Style – outer bevel

- Technique – smooth

- Depth – 100%

- Direction – down

- Size – 24px

- Soften – 16px

Shading

- Angle – global light, -151°

- Altitude - 30°

- Highlight mode – screen

- Opacity – 50%

- Shadow mode – multiply, black

- Opacity 70%

This helps the masthead to stand out from the rest of the text as well as giving its on connotations. The bevel and shadowing also adds to this effect by helping it stand out further.

The Date Line and Barcode are also found within conventional places on the magazine. I placed the Barcode in the bottom right hand corner, so as not to interfere with the main image, or the magazine front cover as a whole. The Date line is found underneath the masthead, to the left hand side. It includes the full date of the issue release and the issue number. I have included these details in this format because it allows the readers to easily follow the new issues of the magazine whilst it does not interfere with the cover as a whole. I positioned the Date Line and the Barcode using the ruler tool. This allowed me to line up the Barcode and Dateline with the masthead and all the other text so it was all proportional and easier on the eyes.

The Selling line and the Cover line are, again, positioned using the ruler tool so they are in line with the masthead. They are positioned in the conventional places because this is what people are used to and has been proven to be effective and it is another way of grabbing people’s attention to the magazine. This is why they are at the top of the cover as when they are on a magazine shelf, only the top of the magazine is visible to the audience. They are there simply to attract the reader and to make them choose this magazine over others. The yellow text is coloured so it grabs the reader’s attention as it is an unusual and vivid colour.

The Cover lines are, again, positioned to the left hand side in line with the masthead as not to interfere with the main image. These are again to attract the main audience to show other top stories to be found in this issue e.g. new films coming soon and other reviews. The font from them is white with a black rim to help them stand out in their own way but to not be the focus of your attention.

The Main cover line, “Split” is the largest font on the page. This is so it is clear that this is the film is the focus of the magazine. It is, again, positioned using the ruler tool. It is at the bottom of the page but it is not interfering with the main image which is the most striking part. The font is Palatino Linotype and this directly links with the poster because it is the same font. The quote under the Main cover line “So terrifying it sends Pennywise back to clown college” – this is the same quote as the quote on the poster. This links the two together again and shows continuity so that the target audience can easily see the links between the magazine, the trailer and the poster.