Magazine Front Cover Development

I firstly chose my background image of 'Broken Hill' I changed the brightness of the image to make it look more ominous and gloomy.

I cropped around the side profile of Lilie and deleted the inverse to leave the main image.  I filled the image in a solid black to look like a silhouette and place it on to the background image.

I decided that this technique did not follow the conventions of my genre and did not create the connection between the character and the location she is stood before.  I deleted the solid colour and changed the opacity of Lilie's side profile.

The image created an unbalance between the mystery genre and the sci-fi, this is when I decided to change the hue saturation and colour of the image, this followed the conventions and colour scheme of the cross genre that I am following.

Here I began to experiment with the masthead name and font style, I wanted to make the font follow the cross genre, however the masthead and font looked out of place on the page.

I changed the title of the magazine and used a different font style.  I added an inner glow to follow my house style as I used the same feature in the Lexicon trailer captions and text on the poster.

I integrated the word 'TOTAL' in to the masthead to create the name 'TOTAL SCI-FI'.  I use the same font and effect on this section of the masthead.

I began to involve the identity of the film in to the magazine by copying the text from the poster and trailer, again following the conventions, house style and intertextuality.

I added the tagline and the plug above and below the title of the film, this framed the title and made it stand out on the page.

I positioned this text to line up against the landscape and underline the buildings in the distance.

I added the puff at the top of the page to sell my magazine to my demographic, and then added an outer glow to the text.

I began to work on my cover lines down the side of the page in a form of a column, each cover line is separated by a glowing line.

I chose cover lines to specifically follow my genre and use recent films and television programs.

I experimented with the colours of the text of the cover lines, I decided that the use of blue would be too extensive and did not stand out on the page from a distance.

I used a mix of blue, white and black on the page to tie in the colour scheme and house style of my three products.

I changed the sizes of the cover lines on the side and also changed how my magazine puff looked.

After the research of existing magazines I noticed that EMPIRE included the date and price within the masthead so that it did not distract the reader from the contents of the magazine.








In order to balance the text from the top to the bottom of the page I inserted block shapes at the bottom to create space for the contents and plug.

I used an inner and outer glow on the circular shape in the corner of the page, this made it more noticeable, I then added the text and turned it on a slant.








I changed the colour of the puff text and made the square text box slightly opaque as it was too dark at the bottom of the page and covered too much of the feature article photo. Then I added contents, making some bold to show the importance, I used this idea from referring to an existing magazine I had analyzed.






Lastly I ensured there was a bar code and price in the bottom right hang corner of the page, this followed the convention of the media product.

Lexicon Trailer: Second Cut

With this second cut I have introduced my soundtrack for the trailer, this has already made a big improvement from my first cut, it certainly creates the right mood and atmosphere that follow the conventions of a trailer and my cross-genre.
There are scenes where I have shortened the dialogue so that the key parts of the plot are more apparent.  The dialogue is a very important part of narrative to explain the plot, it works alongside the captions shown on screen
I have remaining scenes to shoot which will be done in due course, it is difficult to tell how well this trailer win end up because of these gaps, however from editing the clips together as they are it is easier for me to decide upon what scenes to film next.
I have noticed that the transition in to the CCTV footage is not correct, I noticed that there were white boarders appearing, this is something I will now be able to change.
Some of the other transitions need to be re-adjusted.
I've noticed that there are part throughout the trailer where the dialogue is not load enough because the soundtrack is too loud and over powering.
The scenes toward the end need to be re-arranged, other scenes need to be introduced to follow the conventions of a trailer, the pace must build as the finale montage takes place, this will then need to cut out to silence and calm, for effect.

Blocking Photos

CCTV end of the corridor

Long shot of dead bodies angle



'Dark Inside' OSS



Dutch Tilt corridor angle

Arc action shot of Ashley and Liam

Wide angle of Lilie

High angle OSS with Lilie and Ashley

Extreme close-up tracking shop

Trial and Error- Audio Editing in Trailer

The techniques I used to edit the audio in this video was used across the whole of my trailer editing process.  I accessed these options using the Adobe Premier Elements 14 version which I bought and downloaded with Adobe Photoshop Elements 14.

Soundtrack for Trailer

This soundtrack created a mysterious, futuristic sound at the beginning, as it went on the volume and pace increased, therefore increasing intensity.  What I enjoyed most was the fast paced series of high impact music near the end, when listening to this I could imagine a series of short, fast and significant shots that would create an effective montage at the end of my trailer.



At the beginning of this soundtrack I found that it was too loud, I liked the vocals in this clip however I think that the effect it has is more of a sorrowful mood to it, this would not be appropriate for my trailer as I need my audience to feel more scared and concerned about the main character and the plot. The pace then picked up, however again the mood created was not correct, I felt like it was more hopeful instead of conveying the intensity that I need in my trailer.


I really like the sharp impact that this soundtrack created at the beginning, however the mood of this does not fit my Mystery Sci-Fi genre, instead it is better suited to an action genre trailer.  It creates a more atmospheric and dramatic effect, it represents determination.  I really liked the intensity of this soundtrack, however, and how it builds momentum and calms at particular points of climax.  The whole soundtrack is also slightly too short for my trailer and does not follow the conventions of how a trailer of my genre would be put together.

Lexicon Trailer: First Cut

Whilst editing my trailer I have noticed that the plot of the film is being explained in too much detail during the dialogue between the two male characters (Tom and Wil) and the voice overs.  Although I have not completed 100% of the filming I have noticed that the duration of the first scene is too long and does not have a strong and significant connection with the event that has happened, this being the Broken Hill disaster.  Instead it is unclear as to how the event happened, who or what caused it, and why it occurred.

It is very difficult to get interested in the events as there is no soundtrack playing with the footage.  The transitions between the clips are not always smooth and can be distracting from the importance of each scene.  I have also noticed that the audio is unbalanced and there are distracting clicking sounds during some of the clips, I have noticed that these are because of the autofocus on the camera, this meant that as characters move, for example Wil walking down the corridor after his kidnapping.

Trial and Error- Font for Trailer

At first I referred to the front cover of the Lexicon book, I noticed that the font was very simple with sharp straight lines.  The letters are spaced out and the conventional blue colour is used.

On Photoshop I found a font called 'Oswald'.  I changed the thickness of the font to 'light' which thinned the letters.  I then edited the letter spacing and changed it to 200.  I made the colour of the text bright blue like the convention Sci-Fi colour that I found in my research.

The colours and effects of 'Lexicon' were done by right clicking and adding a gradient effect, the colour I had originally chosen then graduated to white at the top of the text.

After I had perfected the gradient of the text I added a glow effect to add to the Sci-Fi effect, I started with a glow on the outside of the letters, I noticed that this was not good enough as it softened the lines and rounded the edges.  I changed it so that the glow would come from within the letters, around the edges, this kept the sharp edges whilst still adding to the effect.

 

Trial and Error- CCTV

As an establishing shot I decided to get in touch with the caretakers at my filming location, they explained to me what CCTV cameras are in use and the rules about using the footage.  I had to get permission from a member of staff who was responsible for the use of the CCTV footage, once I got permission the caretakers were able to download the footage that I needed (this was between 16:00 and 16:30 on Wednesday 25th) on to my hardrive.  However there were some complications with this process as I was unable to play back the footage on my own computer as I required the program that is used for the CCTV footage, I spoke to an IT technician and was able to fix this problem by exporting the files as a different file type, which enabled me to view the footage on VLC Player.

Once I had the footage I chose the best part that could be used as an establishing shot for my opening scene.  I used a couple of seconds of footage, the footage was originally in colour and was poor quality, there was also too much light for the mise-en-scene that I required.

Original:

Edited:
Effects- 
- I used a black and white effect to create the common perception of CCTV footage.
- I also used a noise effect to make the image look more fuzzy, this added to the CCTV effect.
- I then changed the brightness of the scene to suit the mise-en-scene.
- I used colour pass and alpha adjust to change the colours of the shot.

Alterations-  
I scaled the frame so that it was more focused on the 'dead' characters lying on the floor, I was also able to remove Louise from the scene by doing this.

Trial and Error- Voice over- Phone Call

In the end I decided to use the 'Phone Quality' and mic gain recording settings, I decided that this would be the most suitable as the distortion and muffling of the voice suited the atmosphere of the scene.  The audio will be used in conjunction of audio where one character will be on the phone, having a short conversation with the audio that is theoretically coming from the phone in the characters hands during the footage of the scene.

Green Screen Tutorials

After researching how to use and light a green screen effectively I decided that I would achieve a better outcome by shooting my film on location as green screen is not 100% reliable.

Camera Angles Research and Examples

In watching these three videos I have become more aware of what camera shots are most effective during particular scenes to create different modes of address and atmospheric impacts.

Call Sheet: Scene 2

Call Sheet

Shooting Day No.   1

Call Time          13:15

Date               29/10/15

Scene & Shot	Location	Cast	Script Pages
2 Wide Shot, OSS, Shot Reverse Shot, Extreme Close up	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	2
2 POV	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	3
2 Two Shot/Wide Angle	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	3
2Shot Reverse Shot	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	3
2 OSS	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	4
2 POV	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	6
2 POV	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	6
2 Close Up	Costa Café, South Woodham	Liam (Wil) Ashley (Tom)	6

Cast	Character		Costume & Make-up
Liam	Wil		Regular Jeans, t-shirt and shoes, hair slightly scruffy.  Clothes must look worn with some creases and slightly dirty. (character has been chased and fought)
Ashley	Tom Eliot		Black trousers, black leather shoes, white shirt tucked in to trousers, tie, and possible waist coat or collared blazer. Hair styled perfectly:
Props		Photo Opportunities
Tom- Watch/pocket watch		Over shoulder shot of Tom/Wil in reaction to particular lines. Wide angle shot of Tom and Wil at table.

Call Sheet: Scene 1

Call Sheet

Shooting Day No.   3

Call Time          15:45

Date               03/11/15

Scene & Shot	Location	Cast	Script Pages
1 Tracking, Arc, POV (High angle)	S Block Corridor	Ashley (Non-diegetic, Tom) Sam (Campbell) Extras	1
1 POV, Midshot, Tracking shot (phone)	S Block Corridor	Ashley (Non-diegetic, Tom) Sam (Campbell) Extras	1
1 Medium longshot, Zoom, Eyeline Match, Zoom	Bradwell Power Plant	Ashley (Tom) Sam (Campbell) Extras	2

Cast	Character	Costume & Make-up
Sam	Campbell	Black trousers, shirt and plain t-shirt, slightly scruffy when worn, shirt half tucked.  No make-up, hair slightly scruffy. (Any Shoes, preferably black)
Ashley	Tom Eliot	Black trousers, black leather shoes, white shirt tucked in to trousers, loosened tie, possible waist coat.  Hair neat and slicked, some parts slightly independent from the main body of hair.
Extras	Dead town’s people	White shirts/t-shirts, black/grey trousers. Hair and make-up to be done as though your characters have been through a big blood bath and are all now lying on the floor with clothes also covered in ‘blood’. (Any Shoes, preferably black)
Props			Photo Opportunities
Sam- Mobile Phone, weapon (bat/axe/gun) Tom- Mobile Phone, watch/pocket watch			Full length shot of Campbell walking amongst the dead bodies down the corridor, in front and/or behind.

Magazine Front Cover Drafts

From my research of existing magazine covers of my genre I combined the use of the poster image from the MYM magazine featuring Maze Runner.  I then placed my cover lines on both sides of the feature article photo, I got this feature from the EMPIRE magazine, featuring Cowboys & Aliens. the contents of the magazine are placed at the bottom, this is similar to the way they are displayed on the TOTAL FILM magazine, featuring Tron. There will be a puff running across the top of the magazine cover, this is the same technique used on the other three magazine covers that I have analyzed.

This magazine cover design was made to be less busy than the one above, I chose to do this as there are different connotations of the feature article photo.  I kept the idea of having the cover lines in columns, as it was on the EMPIRE magazine, however this time I chose to move it to the left so that it did not obstruct my feature article photo.  the placement of the feature article headline is off center, I have used the MYM magazine as a reference for this decision.  The contents of the rest of the magazine will be in a text box at the bottom of the page, this idea was based on the MYM magazine cover, however I will be writing the contents in the same style as that of the TOTAL FILM magazine, the contents are written as short recognizable names, of films and actors.

The placement of the masthead and puff has been based on the composition of the MYM magazine cover.  The other elements of this magazine cover have been mainly depicted from the MYM magazine cover.  The feature article photo is very important for telling the story of the Lexicon trailer in this magazine cover, this image will be a freeze frame of Lilie's character and those who have died in 'Broken Hill'.