Unit G324 - Short Film - Film Review Drafts & Finished Product

We researched different review styles online and in magazines, we decided to design ours as if it was a magazine review. We decided to do a magazine style review as we thought this was the most effective and we have experience in creating magazines from previous media coursework. We drafted many layouts to see which would work best and ended up with a simplistic layout in which we have a large image at the top with columns below, we will also integrate quotes onto the page. The name of the film will be placed at the top of the page so the reader is drawn to the review and it advertises the film whilst people flick through the magazine. Below this will be a large main image with a caption placed, conventionally, at the bottom corner of the image. There will be a box containing important information and facts about the film (such as running time, rating and genre) therefore the important facts about the film are handy to find and it will help the reader decide if they would enjoy the film or not without necessarily having to read the review. The main body of text is placed below the film title, info box and image, the conventional column structure will be used and quotes will be added in the centre of the body of text to break it up and look less daunting for the reader to read, not only will this quote attract readers by breaking the text up but it will also stand out and catch readers eyes as it will be a bold colour and in a large font.

IMPROVEMENTS

After getting my grade back I decided to improve both the poster and the review. When we first did the coursework I created the poster and Vikki created the review but this time I improved on both the review and poster, I decided to make the review and poster have similar colour schemes and images as it makes them look more connected and relates to the film better. I also took photos of the actors for the review as the still we used previously was bad quality due to the light when we were filming. The photos also hint to a lot of the plot lines in the film which will entice the audience and fit with the review, which I also improved upon. I looked back at my draft for the review and tried to keep it as near to that as possible, I also used more photos as they include both males and females, this attracts both females and males of that age whereas the last review which only included a still of the girl group may have only attracted females. On the poster I used a colour scheme which related to the photos, I have done the same on the review as it not only relates to the photos but it also relates to the poster and to the film which makes easily identifiable for any readers or audience.

Improved Photos





Improved Review





Final Drafts



Final Film Review



Stills from the film we considered for the review

Unit G324 - Short Film - Film Poster Final Drafts, Research & Final Product

We first set out to create a landscape film poster as we found this the most unusual film poster layout, however we decided it did not accommodate our ideas well, it ended up looking crowded if we added more people to the photo yet it looked empty when we used fewer people. We then reverted back to the examples of film posters used in the questionnaire and we looked at the opinions of the respondents. From this we determined that our poster would benefit more from the techniques used in the Hot Fuzz poster as it was intriguing and it better suited our subject. We then wanted to add to the intrigue element so we decided to only take photos of a door and a guitar. This makes the mockumentary look more realistic as the poster looks like a general music poster which would be used in pubs and clubs. The black background is reminiscent of the Hot Fuzz poster, again adding to the mystery, yet it is also reminiscent of colours used in alternative music posters and album covers which is the genre we are focusing on. We both created rough drafts for the film poster, we then decided what kind of poster to create and I created the final film poster drafts and the final film poster.


IMPROVEMENTS

Once I got my grade I decided to improve on my poster and review, I took some photos of the people involved in the filming and I tried to make it more like the original drafts as I had more time and resources available than at the original time of making the poster and review. I took photos of the girl band and of the boy and girl who fight in the film which illustrates their relationship in the film and conveys conflict which captures the interest of people who view the poster. It also helps to target an audience of teenagers and both male and female as it portrays both genders and people of that age whereas my previous poster probably only appealed to males. I avoided using direct mode of address as I wanted the poster and review to be unusual and to demonstrate that the film was unconventional, however using people still attracts attention even though you aren't drawn by their gaze as it contains human interest whereas the image of the guitar does not. I also changed the font as I thought it worked better with the image than the previous font, I kept to a colour scheme as well to make the review, poster and images look connected and stand out.




Improved Images - Photos of the actors

 




Improved Poster







This is the original photograph that we took, we only took one photograph as the camera was running out of charge. 







Final Film Poster Drafts 1-3





The Final Poster