Research- Copy of Total Film Magazine

My copy of the magazine

The Original copy of the magazine

The task was to make a copy of the Total Film magazine using Photoshop to test our skills and learn about the key methods of designing a film magazine. I found the task very useful and I hadn't used Photoshop before in a such advanced manner which meant that I learnt new skills that I otherwise wouldn't have ready to use when it comes to designing my of magazine cover. Further to this I found the task was also very useful as it was good research for the key aspects that are needed and make a top quality magazine cover. For example I found that the placement of every aspect is very important and having a large photo that is centred was very effective as it created a main focus of the magazine and looks very professional. This is important as I plan to use this aspect for my own magazine so learning this was vital.

The task proposed challenges that needed to be overcome and some were easier than others. The first of these challenges I found difficult was trying to find the similar fonts that were used in the original copy of the magazine. Due to the vast range of different fonts it was hard to match the fonts although after searching through we found some suitable and very similar fonts. Secondly I found that the positioning and sizing was difficult to match to the original. This meant that there was an element of trail and error involved to see what looked best and most suited to the magazine cover. However this was important as we now have learnt vital skills on judging the positioning and correct sizing of each aspect. For example upon reflection I feel I should've made my central image larger than it was. Having now learnt this I will now know how it should be for when it comes to making my own. This is why I feel this task was very important to the success of our own magazine covers and we have learnt some exchangeable skills that will enhance our magazines when it comes to making our own.

Research- Conventions of a trailer

We were given a task which involved being given a random object, place and title. From this we had to construct a 20 second teaser trailer showing that we used what we were given as inspiration. The most important part of this task was ensuring that we incorporated each convention of a film trailer into our own. We learnt what was needed to make a successful trailer and this included:
-Voiceover
-Production company logo
-Title
-Intertitles
-Extracts from the film
-Music
-Sound effects
-Montage
-Dramatic camera shots/angles
-Non chronological editing
-Reviews

 We were able to manage these different conventions into what we saw as a successful teaser trailer. From this we learnt that it is possible to construct a good film trailer from very little inspiration, (three aspects) yet still produce a trailer of good quality as long as the correct film trailer conventions are used. This research will prove very valuable when it comes to producing our own trailer as we have learnt what needs to be including within a trailer to make it successful.