Design Process

Magazine and Poster
The mock up designs which I have created are all original but incorporate the original conventions of an Empire magazine. I wanted to ensure that my magazine and poster linked with my film and also linked back to Empire. Overall I am happy with what I have designed and came up with. They are original pieces and work well with my short film.

Mock one

This is my first magazine mock up. I wanted to have a white background and just have a simple format. The reason why I didn't want to add a background was purely because I do not yet have a central image to add to any mock magazine, so I wanted to be able to create a cover with a great layout add a picture and work around it. For this mock I did all the magazine work in Adobe InDesign, I edited my picture in photoshop and also in InDesign. I got all my fonts off the preset fonts on InDesgin. The Masthead in this picture is one I had print screened off an original EMPIRE magazine, I simply straightened up the edges on Adobe Photoshop and then sharpened the black. For this particular cover I tried to vary my fonts more than usual. I noticed on every other EMPIRE magazine there was around 8 different fonts just used on the cover. So I tried to incorporate that into my own work. My favourite part of this magazine is where I am introducing the 'Ultimate Romantic 2012 movie' I think the variety of fonts work great and also introduces the movie well. I think my tag line above the masthead doesn't work well that was the only thing I didn't get off InDesign, I got it off www.dafont.com a regular site for magazine making fonts. I think it looks quite tacky. However, it is something that EMPIRE usually have so I thought I would use something like that, it doesn't look the same as an EMPIRE cover and that is what I wanted to achieve.

 Mock Two

This is my second magazine mock up. I prefer this one to my first as I think it has a lot more detail and the colour scheme works better as it flows well. Again I tried to use a lot of fonts, but not go over the top. The majority of the numbers on this cover are different from the text they are next to, but you can't really see that, but the numbers are bolder. I also added a lot of effects (fx) on InDesign such as Drop Shadows and Inner Glows. I also added a flash in the top right corner, I like this as it bursts with colour and makes the magazine look lighter. The tag line works better on this magazine than the first, I ensured that I stuck to the fonts on InDesign. I do like the fonts on www.dafont.com but I don't think they always fit within the page as nicely as preset texts do. They tend to go quite pixilated. Again, you can see that I have not used a background, I had originally created a faded grey background, but it didn't look great with the colour scheme and I do prefer it as it is now. I am very happy with this mock up, I think it is the strongest out of the three, purely for the colour scheme and use of effects.

Mock Three

This is my third magazine mock up. My favourite bit about this mock up is the bottom left corner, I really like the plus sign and also the black edges, I think it looks as if some paper has been thrown on top of the cover and is slightly random. However, I think it looks good and the effects work well with the 'review.' Along the bottom of the page I have added some famous actors/actresses names and used dashes (////) when separating the names, this is something that EMPIRE regularly does and it creates a good effect as it is not too wordy and makes it look neat and tidy. Again, for this mock I used more effects, which I think allows the cover to look more real to life and I really like the overall look. The leading article for this magazine is very clear and you can also see that I have added the main actors on the page. I wanted to make this cover all about the main stars. For the central image I would use a picture of them both, smiling towards each other. I think this would work well as there aren't very many featured articles and they are the main story.

My Production Title. I am extremely happy with how this has turned out, I was reading through a script on line and noticed the name Janet Audette, I liked her last name and decided to make it my production logo. The black 'blob' behind the text is a paint brush on photoshop which I just enlarged and added effects so that sections faded.

This is the brush which I used to create the 'blob' on Audette productions. I was simply drawing things which I thought would look good as the background behind the text and clicked on the page accidentally. The result in my opinion was great. I think because it is so simple, it works wonderfully for my production logo.

My Finished Magazine cover. I like the final piece as I wanted to make it similar to the original Empire covers, with a twist. So I ensured that I used lots of effects (fx) with a variety of colours. I decided to go with the original conventions of an Empire magazine, things such as a big, bold Empire title, using large copy. Other things such as the date in the M of the title, lots of different and unusual fonts. I wanted to incorporate lots of films that are out at the moment. Titles that will get noticed and recognised. The cover is quite wordy, but it works as it catches your eye. I opted for a white background purely because the photo is dark and the text colours are bright. I wanted to ensure that it stood out in a stack of covers, I didn't want it to blend in. I am extremely happy with my cover, I think it looks professional yet still within the Empire covers and conventions.

These are all the effects (fx) which I used to help me create the cover, poster and production title. They all do different things.  My favourite effect (fx) would have to be the drop shadow as it is a simple effect but adds depth to a picture or text. It highlights and allows other pieces to stand out. For example on my cover (top left) where 'EXCLUSIVE' is written there is a dark shadow which is a drop shadow.  I wanted 'EXCLUSIVE' to be highlighted so that it stands out.  It tells the reader that they wont be able to read about the article in any other magazine as it is an 'EXCLUSIVE' piece. I used a number of different tools to create my magazine, poster and production title, but the effects on fx helped me the most.

This is where I took all my photographs. I wanted to ensure that I would have a perfectly white background and also a good quality photograph, I took my photographs with a Canon Digital EOS 450 D and edited them in photoshop.

This is the original photograph which I took of Rebecca. As you can see the floor is extremely dark and that's due to the lighting I used. I used a snoot which only focused on the face and shoulders. I was initially only going to use this photograph for my poster which is head and shoulders. When I flicked through the other photographs I favoured this one over all of them. So I opened it in photoshop, brightened and enhanced it which made the floor white and also the rest of the photograph a lot lighter.

This is an edited photograph which I took of Curtis.  I brightened and enhanced it, then cropped it down. I used this photograph on my poster, then cropped it again once I had it laid out properly. I really like this photo, Curtis looks genuinely happy and appears not to be posing.  It looks professional as you can see that one side of his face is lighter than the other  suggesting a snoot was used enabling it too look more professional.

These two photographs are where my poster started. I took several photographs of a simple layout of Post it notes on a white background. As you can see on this photograph, my camera isn't great and the photograph is quite pixelated and dark.  I enhanced and brightened it in Photoshop, this made the background disappear and also enhanced the colours on the post it notes. The layout is very simple and I wanted it to be simple yet eye catching, which is where the colours come in as they catch your eye.

This Post it layout is slightly more abstract. When I did a mock up of the previous picture, it looked quite simple and didn't look like post it notes, which is why I had a second go as I wanted to see what I could do with a more abstract piece of work. As you can see some corners are folded which allows the post it notes to look more like post it notes. The don't just look like coloured pieces of paper.

To create the background for my poster I had to take the photograph of the post it notes, edit them in photoshop by brightening the picture as the colours are quite dull.  You can see on the picture above that they are a lot brighter than the previous picture. I  used the lasso tool to go around the edges of the post it notes to make the edges sharp and also to create a perfectly white background. I did this on both sets of post it notes and as you can see in the picture above the colours are all very bright and vibrant, the background is also perfectly white, which is something you would expect on a professional movie poster.

 This was my second attempt at a movie poster and I am pleased with the outcome. After creating and designing my second poster, I realised that I preferred the original one. It is simple, but effective to the eye. This poster is good but the photographs look ammature by comparison. They are over cropped and don't seem to be following any layout. However, I like the fact there are critical comments from Empire on the cover as I think this leads back to my magazine and shows you that it obviously is a good movie if Empire has added a comment. However, I didn't like the overall layout, the photographs of Rebecca and Curtis wouldn't fit in the post it notes as they were all in quite obscure angles. Rebecca's head in the bottom left green post it doesn't fit, but at the same time it looks good as you can't see all of the post it notes, so why should you be able to see all of their heads? I do like this poster but I  preferred my original one.

My finished poster. I am extremely happy with my film poster. I like the colours and the fact that the poster links to the title of my short film 'Post It'. My film is about these two characters and how they meet through notes and how it leads to love. You can see this on the poster and the fact that they are looking at each other and their eyes meet. This allows you to see their connection. I had a problem with my two main actors, I couldn't get them together at the same time to take a photograph, so I had to take the photographs separately and put them together on photoshop, which is a challenge itself. Overall I am extremely happy with my poster, I think it links back to the film well. The pictures and copy all link together well.  I prefer this one to my previous poster, it hasn't got as much on it, but it looks more like a film poster and the catch line "sometimes its the little things that lead to love.." is very catchy and intriguing.  The viewers would want to know how it leads to love. Overall I think my poster looks professional and is very eye catching.

Short Film

When I started my Preliminary task I worked on Adobe Premiere Elements and then when it came down to doing my film I tried Serif MoviePlus X5 as the system for Adobe Premiere Elements wasn't working properly on the computers.  I preferred Serif as you could do a lot more with the sound and lighting, it allowed you to control almost everything  and also worked a lot quicker and more efficiently. The logo's for the tools were easier to find and also a lot more accurate.

Music for my Short Film

The score that I used for my short film could not be copyrighted. I was able to search on a variety of different websites to find sound for my short film, 'post it'. Some of the websites that I used to find my music were www.audiojungle.net and www.freesound.org. I downloaded several songs, but I decided to use only one particular song, which was called 'Hard Knocks'. I used the song throughout my film as in my opinion the score of the song projected well for my scenes. I got this sound from www.audiojungle.net 

Animation

 On my short film I wanted to add a simple, yet nice looking title sequence and credit sequence. I created a post it note on photoshop, not a photograph. I then wrote 'Post It' across the front and then began to rub sections out so that it would look as if someone was writing it. I then imported all the pictures into Serif MoviePlus X5 and shortened sections down so that each post it note was only on the screen for less than a second.

These are just a few pictures of my credit sequence.  The majority of them have the name 'Jessica Stones' on them. I didn't want to do any rubbing out or intricate animations at the end of the film as I knew there wasn't enough time to do so. I decided that I wanted a byline to slide across onto the next byline following one another, as this would look different to the title sequence. This way I would be showing two different animation techniques.

Short film script

As I started to write my script, I realised I didn't know how to write a professional film script. I decided to do some research before I got further into it and realised I had done it wrong.  I simply googled how to write a script and came across some good examples, this is a link to one of the ones that helped me. http://www.scifiscripts.com/scripts/t23d.txt It's not of the same genre, but I used the same layout and just added little things to make it look more professional. This is a short section of my script and a look into how I directed my actors.

SHORT FILM

by

Jessica Stones

FIRST DRAFT

September 16, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. MONDAY MORNING WALK TO CLASS

2. FIRST LESSON, BOY – FIRST NOTE

3. SECOND LESSON, GIRL – FINDS NOTE

4. CONTINUAL LESSONS AND NOTE SWAPPING

5. DETENTION – FIGURE OUT WHO THE PERSON IS

6. FILM ENDS WITH THEM STARING INTO ONE ANTHER'S EYES

1. INT. Sixth form – Monday Morning

A typical Monday morning at sixth form. Girls gossipping and boys laughing and joking.

It is a mid shot of 3 pupils walking to class. They are smiling and looking at photographs on their phones carrying books and other school equipment.

Diagetic sound, soft yet bubbly music, bright lights and sun shining through the windows.

YOUNG GIRL – Fashionable clothing and lots of prints, red hair, bright eyes and quite short

YOUNG BOY - Tanned with dark hair and dark eyes and very tall

CUT TO:

SECOND SCENE IN CLASSROOM:

SHORT FILM

INT. Computer Room – Morning.

Quiet and delicate music is playing and you can slightly hear the TEACHER giving the class instructions as the camera pans around the room and then settles on the TEACHER as she talks.

CUT TO:

TEACHER Talking

TEACHER

" Work on the same computers as

yesterday and open up your work."

CUT TO:

Panning around the room, looking at all the class and individual pupils in the class

The class sigh and do as they are told. Camera begins panning around the room again and stops on the YOUNG MAN. The TEACHER hands out some post it notes and tells a pupil to move seats

CUT TO:

TEACHER talking

Actors and Actresses.

Selecting who I wanted to work with was easy. Two of my closest friends do drama and they happened to be in a relationship at the time. I decided to ask them to be my two main stars. Rebecca Lei and Curtis Regan were cast for my featured actors. I then asked around for a few extras who can be in their lessons whilst they were swapping notes. I got four people who were willing to be filmed and they are Jessica Jones, Steven Reine and Paul Bently. Jessica was the teacher and the two extras were Steven and Paul. I asked them to bring a number of items of clothing for the filming as we did it all in one day, an inset day in November. I had a few problems with my extras as they had never before done any work behind a camera and they were  repeatedly laughing and looking directly in the camera.

Filming

When I started filming on an inset day, I knew that I had all day to sort my film out, get a number of different shots and have the opportunity to use all of the school in silence. When going through the film I had around 30 minutes of filming which had to be cut as the task was to create a short film . I wanted to ensure that I had enough shots. The beginning scene of my film is quite wobbly and so are a lot of the other walking scenes, this was because I had no experience, or use of a rolling tripod. I used a tripod for all the panning and still - non moving shots. The tripod was connected to the camera so that when I did a close up on some of the actors I could keep a still and strong shot.  This became difficult when walking as I could not keep the camera still as I had to walk backwards quickly and had nothing to keep me or the camera steady.

In some scenes, for example the corridor scenes, where we are shadowing some of the actors as they leave or enter the classroom, I sat on a desk chair which had casters (wheels) with my camera connected to the tripod.  The tripod, which was resting on my legs, was then pushed down the corridor with me. I thought this was something I could do to try to keep the camera steady.  When it came down to putting it onto the computer and editing programme, it looked a lot wobblier than the shots I had took previously, without the desk chair. Overall I am extremely happy with my film. I think that the animations and also the faded effects I have used work extremely well, they link the film together and allow you to follow the plot easily.