Advanced portfolio evaluation

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20th may

above is the storyboard that i created in order to create the trailer. this, along with the script were very useful when filming the trailer for 'Finders Keepers'

Finders Keepers film trailer

20th april

the film teaser trailer, for 'Finders Keepers' is now complete.

18th march

yesterday we continued to film our footage for our film and film trailer. we now have all our footage and are therefore editing it. this is what we will continue to do for the remaining lesson time we have left before the project has to be given in.

17th march

i have now successfully completed my magazine front cover, adding all straplines, shapes and film titles to the perious cover which i had started. i am really pleased with the overall outcome of the cover :)

17th march

i am about to add the straplines to my magazine front cover.

12th march

i have added the image of 'Penelope' to the magazine front cover, and changed the font to white as it was difficult to read in black against the patterned background. i now need to add the straplines to the cover on a publishing programme.

i have decided on the above photograph to feature on the front of my magazine cover. the fish-eye effect on the photo continues the theme of surrealism which is present throughout the film. i chose this image because it will fill the cover successfully, as 'Penelope' is in the centre of the shot, allowing straplines to fall around her, there is room above her head which means the title of 'Empire' will fit nicely, making the magazine look smart and organised. furthermore, the expression on her face, which is mischievous, leaves a lot to the audience's imagination - what is the significance of the pen? why is she looking mischievous? what could she be thinking about? and so on. finally, i chose the photograph as there are no "extras" within the shot; it's simply 'Penelope', the pen, and the wallpaper which is in 'Penelope's' bedroom where the trailor features.

photographs - magazine front cover

11th march

the photographs for the magazine front cover have now been taken and they will be added to the cover, so far, in wednesdays lesson. i have decided on some straplines which will feature on my magazine cover, however i will add them once the photograph has been inserted, on a publishing programme. my straplines include:

• The Twilight Saga continues: ECLIPSE
  Jacob vs Edward
  who's team are you on?

underneath the photograph of 'Penelope' i am going to position the name of the film "FINDERS KEEPERS" in a large font. slightly above this text, i'm going to insert a text box, which will be the same purple as the title 'Empire' and within it write "first look". underneath the large text which is the title of the film, i'm going to write a short tag line, essentially, for the film.

4th march

after adding a strapline to my magazine cover today, i have decided that i am going to wait to get my photograph(s) for the cover, and then add the text on a Publishing programme. this is becuase i have had some difficulty with the text on Photohop being hard to read, as it is a specialist image manipulation programme rather than a text programme, like something such as Publisher.
i am going to get my photo's taken next week.

3rd march

i have started to create my magazine front cover. so far i have created the title Empire, and added a date, price and the magazine's website. i am following the layout and theme of the other Empire magazines; essentially providing a template for my cover.

23rd february

here is an example of how Empire have made their magazine name appropriate to the film(s) they are advertising within the magazine. this is a two-cover special which the company released when The Dark Knight was released. each cover is specific to the character on the front; either the dark knight or batman, through colour and the addition of the different font, similar to the joker's writing, on the bottom tagline of the magazine cover.

24th february

i am going to use popular film magazine Empire as inspiration when making my magazine cover. the image on the front cover is large, taking over two thirds of the page. the black background used on the cover makes the red tone of Hellboy’s skin really stand out. minus the title, all text on the cover is either white or a dull khaki colour making it stand out, but not taking the focus off the main purpose of the magazine; the release of Hellboy 2. there is only one font style used on the cover of the magazine; however it has been either enlarged or made smaller. the second largest font to the title Empire, is used layered on top of Hellboy’s chest in white making it stand out against the red of his skin. the tiniest font is used towards the top of the magazine where Empire’s website it mentioned, along with the date, price and issue number of the magazine, in red, which makes the potentially less important information not stand out.

the sidelines, mentioning other films or stars, are a lined perfectly around the image of Hellboy, framing his head and neck, meaning the main focus is not lost. to the right of Hellboy, there is a circle containing text which reads ‘40 MOVIES THAT WILL GET YOU SEX!’ Empire have cleverly kept with the theme and genre of the magazine but mentioned sex, which is likely to draw some readers in. being the only thing on the magazine cover which is in a colour filled circle, it stands out and the reader’s eye is drawn to it second or thirdly. the use of this sentence suggests the target audience of the magazine too; 16+ males. this is not true of all Empire magazines, but in this specific issue, the target audience are more likely to be males, as Hellboy is more of a male’s film and in addition, sex is mentioned; stereotypically linked with men. finally, one strap line says ‘NATALIE PORTMAN VS SCARLETT JOHANSSON. WELL WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?’ making the magazine suggestive towards men too; choosing between two attractive women.

a diverse feature. and unique selling point, about Empire magazine is its theme to change the font style of the title Empire so that it is appropriate to the main film it is advertising. for example, in this instance Empire is made red and the letters look as though they are on fire, all in relation to Hellboy. Empire magazine titles are versatile and varied, which makes the magazine front cover more attractive to the audience.

3rd febuary

• the film poster gives nothing away about what the film is going to be about
• it contains the two main characters which star within the film 'eternal sunshine for the spotless mind'
• at the top of the film poster, the stars names which feature within the film are shown
• the film title - 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind' is central within the poster and therefore becomes the focal point
• above the film title there is the films tagline
• this poster contains two different images which have been blended into one, where the male character looks up at himself and a female as a couple, suggestively, as though he is looking back on things or a situation. this technique makes the audience want to see the film more so that they are able to understand why he is looking back at himself and the female together

3rd febuary

• the opening shot of the trailer shows the film institution who have produced and sponsored the film
• the following scene allows the two main characters to be introduced to the audience
• throughout the trailer there is a sequence of film clips and graphics where text is displayed on screen
• many of the film clips are short and mininmal, making it impossible to conclude what the film is about hence why it is called a teaser trailer
• the music which accompanies the film trailer changes three times throughout - beginning with calm relaxing music sounding like a woman singing and a flute being played. the music sounds happy and suggests hope. however it changes quickly, and the music conveys a sense of confusion
• as the music changes the shots become shorter and quicker - giving the audience little time to even process them, but drawing them in to see the film so that they can understand what has happened
• the music once again picks up, and a song by 'elo' can be heard
• as shots become slightly longer, the music changes and sounds somewhat opera or orchestral like, suggesting power. as this happens, although the shots are still rather short, complete sentences can be heard by the cast and the sense of confusion is lost
• at almost the end of the trailer, the same song previously played by 'elo' is heard again as small snippets of the film are shown, however no diagetic sound is heard
• as the names of the stars appear on screen, a male voiceover is introduced who says the casts names and introduces the name of the film - 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind'
• finally, the last shot of the trailer allows the audience to see the production information
• this clip which is 2 minutes long contains 99 shots, with sections in between there there are fast flashes of several images. however, they flash so quick i was unable to count

3rd febuary

Michel Gondry

• he is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scene
• we are going to use him as inspiration when creating our surrealist film

28th january

A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with a film magazine cover, featuring the film and a poster for the film.

• title: ‘Finders Keepers'
• genre: surrealism
• aims: to create a surreal and post-modern media text
• target audience: people who are interested in film and/or have knowledge in film, where they are able to notice specific techniques used. students within colleges or universities
• institution: a small, independent film company, such as New Line Cinema

skills analysis

write an alalysis of your skills using digital media technologies. identify any gaps in your skills that you will need to develop for the next piece of coursework.

my overall skills on the computer and the programmes they have, are varied and i am therefore able with many programmes and how they work. my skills have progressed since my last piece of coursework, as within film studies i have used the camcorder, and the editing software many times. i can successfully use publishing software as i have been familiar with it for years, however my skills on photoshop could be improved. i can use photoshop, and i know the basics, however there are skills which i may need in this years coursework to take my work to a higer level. for example, my editing skills within photoshop are poor; i am not confident in changing the opacity of images or changing filters on them.
from looking at my previous coursework, there are many things i would change to make it look more realistic and professional. the main thing i would have changed would have been the font style and colour scheme, as i don't find that it looks like the font you'd find on many magazines of the genre i chose to use. also, i would have made the interview article more engaging and would have actually asked the band members the questions within my interview rather than making the answers up myself, due to having a lack of time. therefore, i would also manage my time more efficently. however, the photo's i captured and the overall layout of the magazine came together well and i am pleased with it, although i intend to make this years work better and continue to improve my skills on photoshop and the video editing software. i want to also gain skills in relation to audio and music technology as i have no skills in either of them.