Independent Film Magazine Final Draft

'Dreamz in the Hood' Independent Film Magazine: Alternative Version

Created by Abena Amoako

Independent Magazine: From First to Final Draft

This was my first draft of my independent magazine.We chose this photo because it is centrally framed and it has eye contact with the audience which enforces its mode of address which i thought was useful as a front cover of a magazine has to engage with its target audience. i decided to keep this draft quite simple to follow the conventions of a independent film magazine by keeping the sell lines to a minimal. Also with the typography I tried to design it in a way it looks youthful to allow me to connect with my target audience

This is my second draft of my independent film magazine. As you can see I changed the background to my image as I thought the woods in my first draft didn't anchor my genre as much. However I replaced my previous background with an block of flats estate which through research anchors my genre well, also i thought adding a sell line making it clear to my audience that my magazine is a independent film magazine. I kept the typography the same but had a little play about with the colour scheme and changed my masthead colour to black which was previously blue. The reason for my change in colour is because I wanted to keep my colours consistent and just use 3 different colours as in comparison to my first draft i used a range of colours which doesn't make my magazine colour scheme consistent.

This is my final version to my independent film magazine and there is evident progression from my first and second draft to my final version. As you can see from the three pieces I have kept the same image but have just manipulated it more and more, the difference between this image from my second draft is that I manipulated the complexion of my face making it much more clearer as I thought in my first and second draft my complexion looked quite dull due to the poor quality of the camera but I made full good use of the Photoshop software and  solved the problem .Furthermore I made some changes to my background, I kept the same image but manipulated the colour and tuned down the colour making it look gloomy and less exotic as in my second draft the bright colours didn't really anchor my genre as much as I wanted it too. The dark colour scheme conveys my story line and its mainstream convention of the social realism genre. Due to the change in colour to my background my masthead colour had to change and couldn't stay black because it would clash with the background making the clarity difficult to recognise. However I researched colour schemes online and found out that red is a brilliant colour on black as it has various meanings like 'love and hate', 'danger and fate' etc. I changed the colour scheme from my previous draft as I thought the change was inevitable but I am contempt with my new colour scheme.

Created by Sean Okpa

Feedback on the Independent Film Magazine

Myah - Good image, maybe decrease the size to reveal more of the background.

Nadia - The background should anchor the genre more, woodland connotes a horror film more than a social realism film. 

David - I think you should ad graffiti similar to the one used at the end of your trailer to help create more of a brand.

Enzo - Very significant improvements from the first draft. The background and the font used anchors the genre very clearly, I can instantly tell this is a social  realism film.

Development of Independent Magazine

This is the image of our protagonist in our trailer 'Dreamz in the Hood' that I have selected to be used as the cover of our independent film magazine. As it stands the image is pretty basic, it was constructing in a Greenway hence the trees in the background and we don't feel as though it is a good representation of a independent film magazine therefore would need a lot of manipulation to fulfill what we aim to create which I will do in Photoshop. 

After opening the image into Photoshop I began manipulating. I went to Image then clicked "desaturate". This turns the the coloured image into a black and white image which was necessary for the effect I planned on using. I then moved the contrast tool to "76" and the brightness tool to "-51" as I wanted the image to be clear and not too over powered by light as more effects were to be further added.

Next, I added my chosen effect onto the desaturated image. I went to "Filter", "Sketch" and then chose the "Note Paper" filter. I then had to further adjust the "Image Balance" which I moved to '7', the "Graininess" which I adjusted to '3' and the "Relief" which i adjusted to '3' also. This was all chosen down to preference as although I wanted the effect to be prominent, I also wanted the image to remain detectable.

To further develop this effect, I went to "Image", "Adjustments" and then clicked on the "Hue and Saturation" tool. I then clicked "colorize" which would allow me to adapt the colour of my image. I had chosen a blue shade which was hue '238' and then adjusted the saturation to '56' and the lightness to '0' which was a good median and didn't deduct from the image.

I wanted to further adapt this image and create a more artistic effect on the image. I did this by going to "filter", then "filter gallery". I selected the "ink outlines" filter which created a more defined image. I moved the "stroke length" to '4', "Dark Intensity" to '20' and "Light Intensity" to '10' so the light would balance the darker elements on the image as seen above.























I then decided to add other external features onto the front cover of the Independent Film Magazine. This
included a "barcode" which I added in a circle which I created using the "Elipse Tool". I used this to also add the title of the film magazine which was influenced by the 'Little White Lies' magazine. I also added the price of the magazine which is a convention of any magazine as consumers need to be made aware of how much they have to pay for the product.

Lastly, I focused on the title 'Dreamz in the Hood'. I wanted the title to replicate the one seen on the actual 'Dreamz in the Hood' poster. This way my audience will be able to identify with our film through the magazine

Feedback of Independent magazine

The magazine was very good in terms of the conventions of an independent magazine however I don't think its a magazine that portrays our film in terms of its story line. It doesn't really sell the story as there is nothing on it that seems appealing to the audience.

Independent Film Magazine: Front Cover Selection

This is one of the photos I was considering to use for my independent magazine front cover. However down to a strong and hard thought about it i didn't end up using because I thought that my facial expression looked to serious which may put off some viewers. Also the posture may appeal to the male audience as it portrays a violence and aggression and disregard the female audience

With this photo I liked it because of the clarity of  it as it is vital to have a clear photo on the front cover. Also unlike the first photo my facial expression does not look to serious at all, appealing to both male and female audience which is the aim of every magazine, to try to appeal to as much people as it can to gain more recognition. However I did not use it because I am not giving eye contact to the camera, I'm looking away from the lens. I personally believe the best way to gain an audience attention is through eye contact which is why I didn't end up using the photo.

 This is the photo i chose to be for my front cover. I chose this photo for many reasons, the clarity which I said before is important, my facial expression is composed  and also the background. The difference between this picture and the others is that this picture has an background that connotes my genre which is 'social realism'  the leafless trees in the woods connotes poverty and struggle and through that there is a pathway which metaphorically leads me to my 'dreams' which relates back to the title of the movie.

Independent Film Magazine Preferences

This is an example of the Sight and Sound Magazine which is published by the BFI featuring Johnny Depp. By analyzing this front cover I became interested in the pose of the actor. Most magazines feature images with a direct mode of address to compel and audience towards the magazine and the person featured on the front cover. This image however takes a different approach as it appears to be in motion and has no eye contact with the audience. I found this to be effective as it relates to the film and title "gangster special" as the image anchors the "gangster" impression with the gun and disguisable outfit. 

Here is another example of an issue which features Johnny Depp however, for his role in 'Charlie and the Chooclate Factory'. I chose to analyse this issue also as I feel it is a good embodiment of how each issue is adapted to suit the chosen film despite the magazine featuring the same actor. This image has a direct mode of address as it resemble the kind of character 'Willie Wonker' was for example, friendly and approachable which is what the direct mode of address helps to create through the image. The Logo for 'Sight and Sound' has also been adapted for this issue, however it is still identifiable by the use of yellow and black which is consistent among all issues, this helps to establish the 'Sight and Sound' brand which is important for customers when coming to by a magazine.

Created by Abena Amoako

Independent Film Magazine Preferences

The reason I like this independent film magazine is because of the effective photo used and how they put the buildings in the background in soft focus to make it clear to the audience what to pay attention too (the artist image). Also the layout of the magazine is immaculate it does not look too tacky and the sans serif font is a good way to convey the genre of the magazine.

I like this magazine in particular for the clarity and quality of the photo used as the cover. Likewise the masthead is very big which reassures the readers to not to forget the company name. I also like the layout of the sale lines and the positioning of the bar code which I think from my point of view is unique. Furthermore the direct mode of address from the model gives the readers a sense of engagement.










Created by Sean Okpa
Edited by Abena Amoako

Independent Film Magazine Analysis

Created by Abena Amoako

Mainstream Film Magazine Analysis

Created by Abena Amoako