Making of the Magazine cover

This is the original image that I edited to create the magazine cover. We got Amie to dress in a red jumper so that she would stand out on the magazine cover. Furthermore this also represents her character as she is popular at school so her personality has to stand out.

I first edited the picture by cutting out her head using Photoshop. I then imported the text onto the image. I pasted her head back into place so that her head is now in front of the masthead. I did this to follow the convention of the magazine as it is a well known magazine so the text goes behind the image. This did not work effectively as when pasting the head back in to place i could not line it up effectively so a white line could be seen. So i then cut out all of Amie so that this would not occur.  

I then added the text in a u-shape which is  conventional for a magazine front cover. We used different fonts and colours so that the different features stand out. We used red and yellow as the colour theme complements the brick background. 

We then added a tag line to the top of the magazine. When researching Empire magazines for their tagline we found it  stereotypically the same on every cover. However we found out that they did not follow this convention as every tagline is different. As they link the tagline with the main film feature in the magazine. The tagline we created was ‘who knows if they will change back’ which is going to be a line from the film.

We also added the title of the film to the magazine cover which is the same font and colour design as the poster  so that it is continuous through all media’s.

After adding the title of the film to the magazine cover we decided to change the wording on some of the text so that the title of the film was not repeated. We then added the final conventions which were the price, date, issue number, website and barcode, we put them on the cover where they are conventionally found on Empire magazine covers.  

Empire Masthead

We decided to not create our own magazine name instead we have picked Empire. As we decided that we wanted to create a front cover for a magazine for a popular magazine as this means that there are different conventions. So we researched different Empire magazine and looked at the layout of the front cover to see the conventions. We found out that the barcode goes into the bottom right corner, empire title goes at the top which is sometimes partially covered by the picture on the cover. The price, date and issue number goes above the M of empire and the website  goes under the title. 

The font colour of empire has been used  in a verity of colours for example white and black but we decided to use there original colour which is red. As it is the company conventional colour which is used on the cover and it also this colour works well against the background of the magazine. Before we added the title to the poster we had to edit it by removing the white background so that the background on the cover is shown instead.

Making of the poster

This is the photo we decided to use for the poster as the natural lighting works as the picture is not so dark that we can not see the characters. Furthermore the position of the characters shows their personalities as the popular girl is siting on the back of the bench which shows that she is rebelling. Whereas the other girl is sitting on the bench normally which shows that she follows the rules. Furthermore we tried to make the normal girl look vulnerable by her body language as she has her hands in her pockets and her facial expression is a shy smile which shows that she is uncomfortable being close to the other girl and that she is not a confident person. Whereas the popular girl is shown to be confident by her body language as she siting in a confident position. Furthermore her facial expression seems mean as to begin with in the film she is seen as nasty person as she is bullying the other girl.

We first added the title of the movie to the poster. We tried different colours and fonts to see which design was most suitable. The font design we have chosen works well as it almost looks like it has been drawn on which we wanted to achieve as indie often uses cartoons on their posters.

I then added billing block to the poster. We tried the billing block in different colours and positions. At first the billing block was bigger so that it covered half the length of the poster but we thought this was too big so we changed the size. When positioning the bill blocking at first we did not want to cover the picture of  Amie but we realised that this was not possible. So instead we put the billing block in the corner which slightly covered Amie’s shoe.

I then started to add the cartoons to the poster by copying and pasting them on to the poster one by one with the lasso selection tool. I then removed the excess background with the eraser tool.  We put the cartoons in certain positions for example the shoe and the can, we deliberately wanted to have them there as if it was real. We also tried to make it look like they were drawn which I think has been achieved. 

I then added the names of the actresses. We created the boxes for the text to go in. We wanted these to also look cartoon like which we drew first just like the other cartoons then using the bucket tool I added colour. We tried lots of different colours but these were the best as they were bold but not so eye-catching that it overtakes the title. We decided to add a halo and horns to show the difference in personalities.

We then added the tagline  we again tried different positions. We tried under ‘mix up’ but it did not work as it was too close to the head of Aimee and the cartoons. So we tried above ‘mix up’ and removed one of the cartoons and this is what we decided to use. 

original poster design

This is the first draft idea for the poster:

We decided that the poster is going to be landscape as it allows us to set out the poster more easily by having the pictures of the character either side of the title. We created this poster design by finding a picture of a brick wall from Google and imported it onto the Photoshop. We wanted to use this as a background as it is simple, which will allow us to add graffiti and images of the characters to make them stand out. We then added the lined paper, we used this to introduce the setting as it is a school. So we wanted something conventional of the setting and it also allows the blank background for the title of the film.  We decided to use red for the font as it was bright and clearly stands out against the white, we also used a curvy cartoon like font to fit with the cartoon drawings we are going to add around the image. As an improvement I think the text could be bigger and the 'U' of up should be a capital so that both words stand out. 

We then added the images of the characters onto the poster. We took the pictures of the actresses in front of the greenscreen so that we could remove the background, which would allow to use an alternative background. As an improvement I would like to edit the photos further as there is still a green tint around the photos. The posture of the characters work well in showing the personalities of the characters as Aimee looks innocent and sweet in the way that she is standing where as Amie looks more boisterous and mean as she standing with her legs open in a manly way. The facial expressions also shows this as Aimee is smiling and looks friendly where as Amie looks mean and unwelcoming. The personalities of the characters are also going to be shown by the graffiti/cartoon drawings around the images which we have not created yet. 

Billing block for poster

We created our own billing block for the poster. This allowed us to personalise the bill blocking by adding our own names to the information. This also allowed us to change the colour of the text when editing to see which one was most appropriate. We tried black and white text to see which one stood out the best which we found to be the white text. The New Line Cinema was the company logo we decided to use under the billing block as when researching it was the logo we saw on film posters. 

Cartoons for poster

Here are the cartoons that we have created for the poster they again show different personalities. We have created more images than what is needed for the poster so that we can choose the ones that are most effective for the poster. We have also created the text design for the poster. We are using the arrows to link the names with the pictures.

Font options for the title

I found this font design on 1001 free font. We thought this font design was perfect for the poster as it stands out and also has the cartoon indie feel that we wanted to portray. We edited the colours of the text to different colours to see which colour was most effective.

The blue text stands out against the background however the colour is not right. As blue is a colour which is stereotypical  for boys which does not fit with the target audience as the poster has to be appealing to females.

The yellow was the colour that the group agreed was the best colour for the poster. As it is brightly coloured so it stands out and the colour does not overpower the black outline. Also it works well with the indie feel for the poster.

Red was the original colour that we wanted to use as the colour for the text but we realised it does not work against the background as the colour is too similar. 

The white text stands out against the background and the black background makes the text more noticeable. However as a group we decided we wanted it to have text with colour so it was not suitable for what we wanted as it is too simple.

Poster Draft 1

This is our first draft idea for the poster of Mix Up. On the poster we included pictures of the two main characters who are in the film.  The pictures will be close ups, but we will try different types of shots and see which one is most suitable. We put the two main characters on the poster as the actors will draw the audience into watching the film as if they are well known actresses then people will want to see their latest film.  Further more we included the two characters on the poster as it allows us to show the different personalities of the girls which will introduce the storyline.

We wanted to separate the two pictures of the girls, so we separated it with lined paper to continue with the theme of the girls being at school. We wanted the poster to have an indie theme so we created cartoon images which were drawn onto the lined paper. The pictures also give information about the different personalities of the characters as one side of the images is a school related image which shows that school is important to her. Where as the other girl likes drinks and alcohol. The title in the poster we want is to be bold in colour and have a cartoon like font to carry on with the indie theme.

Photos for Magazine and poster

 

 

We took a range of photos for the magazine and poster over two days which allowed us to try different locations and different types of shots. The different shots we tried was close ups, mid shots, long shot and two people shots this allowed us to different options for when deciding what picture would be suitable to use for the poster and the  magazine. The different locations outside and against the green screen. We took pictures against the green screen so that we could but the characters against a background if we could not find an appropriate background.

Magazine research

 

 

Magazine layout

This is the initial draft layout of the magazine, we want to keep the structure conventional by using the U shape for advertising articles. We also want to keep with the conventions of the magazine by having Empire at the top of the magazine and having the barcode at the bottom of the magazine.

The articles that include popular films like The Hobbit, The Life of Pi, Great Expectations and our film Mix Up. We got  the ideas for the wording from our research magazine covers so that it looks professional and authentic.

By creating this layout it made it easier for us to transfer the design on to Photoshop as we already had a rough idea where the main information had to go. It also helped us pick the right image for the magazine as the information had to fit around this information so we could a pick an image that would leave a big enough gap around the edge for the text. So in evaluation by creating the layout before the magazine it allowed the process to be quicker and have the text spell checked before applied to the magazine.