Magazine article and poster breakdowns

I have created a presentation on breaking down magazine articles and posters. I've looked at the core concepts of the designs to try influence and improve my own ideas.


In the final slide you can find another draft of my poster. It's a little bit more clearer on my ideas but it still needs work. I have attached it below.

Reflective Comment:

I have a better understand on how to improve my poster now. I need to add more information such as actors and cast, and also possibly add some quotes about the film. I also need to work on the rule of thirds.

Planning magazine article

So above is a very very very rough draft of the layout I want for my magazine article. Taking inspiration from magazines like Empire, which I spent about twenty minutes reading through, I have decided I want tot ry replicate the type of articles they have.

The poster is going to have the Grim Reaper and Nathan sitting on the bench, looking at each other confused. I want to have the same backdrop for the article. Where it says text several times, I want the photo's background to be the sky\ground\ but slowly fading out to a whitey grey colour. In the middle, where it says photo, I want Nathan and the Grim Reaper looking at each other.\

The next step I am going to take for this task is to take a rough photo so that I can insert it in and show what I want to have, and to decide what I am going to write in the boxes. I'm hoping to have this done by the end of next week. With this I can start to create a better looking draft.

Reflective Comment:
I'm now making slow progress towards both of my ancillary tasks. I'm getting there with the poster, and now I have a good idea of what I want for my magazine article, which is what I'm worrying about more. However, I'm starting to feel more reassured and relaxed about both the ancillary tasks.

Semiotics

Above is a slide about the technical codes of the film-making. Understanding this and being able to discuss it will not only help with my exam later on in the year, but it will also help me create a better short film.

Mise En Scene
Location
My short film features three main locations, each which represent a different part of Nathan's acceptance of his death. The first scene is set in Nathan's house, where the kitchen is a mess and it's poorly lit. This is meant to show that Nathan hasn't really got the best life, and that he's in no position to be ready to change.

The next location is in the forest, which is the middle of the film. This is Nathan in the open, while he is used to the confines of his house. However the forest is still secluded and represents how Nathan isn't quite ready to come out into the open and accept his death.

The final area is on the hill, which is where Nathan finally accepts that he's dead. The location is open and it's going to be bright, which represents Nathan's acceptance of what is to come next.

Dressing Props
As mentioned above there are several things that I want in scene one to have to set the scene. I want to have all the surfaces be covered in crumbs and stains, the washing up to be piled up and for the blinds to be drawn.

Costumes
I have two costumes which both represent different things that I have thought through quite a bit. The first is the more obvious, which is the Grim Reaper's costume. It's a costume that is so easily recognised, everyone knows the Grim Reaper. His costume is very clear, however Nathan, even with this clear evidence, cannot first accept the situation.

Nathan throughout the short film is wearing his dressing gown. This is meant to represent how Nathan is just so unprepared for his death. He isn't even ready for the occasion. Walking around in his dressing gown is meant to make him look slightly pathetic, while still making the audience feel bad for him.

Reflective Comment
My short film is full of symbolism, mainly due to the clear theme of death and acceptance. I'm hoping to fill my film with different pieces of symbolism and to encourage several different rewatches of my short film.

Equipment list

Above you can find a slide on the equipment that I will be needing. I have covered everything I believe I need for the filming and editing process, but if I do have to add anything the slide will be automatically updated.

Reflective Comment:
Knowing what equipment I am going to need for the filming process is obviously crucial to sort out before I begin filming. This is just one of the tasks on my to do list that I have now completed.

Task list for filming

I'm planning to hopefully film all of my short film over one weekend, the 25th and the 26th of November. I have a list of things that I need to accomplish before the filming, so I have decided to create a to do list to keep on top of anything.

So in no particular order, here are my tasks that relate to filming.

• Finalise my actors
• Test footage at the locations, looking for sounds that will needed to be edited out.
• Order the costumes
• Gather an equipment list
• Assemble a small crew

Reflective Comment:

Making sure that I can keep on top of everything is crucial to making sure that filming goes smoothly. My time management so far has been quite good so I'm hoping that this short task list will help continue with keeping up. 

Assessment Criteria

Level 4 16–20 marks

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed;
• There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience;
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props;
• There is excellent work on shot-lists, layouts, drafting, scripting or story-boarding;
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning;
• Time management is excellent.

To achieve a level 4 in my short film which is what I aiming for, I will need to meet all of these targets. So far I believe that I am on track.

Poster planning

While the short film is the most important part of the coursework, the two ancillary tasks are also important. For the poster, I know what I want. You can find where I explain this in this post. I am planning to take the photo for the poster when I film the scene that the poster is replicating.

I'm hoping to take several shots of the same scene from different distances and different angles so that I can decide later which one to use. I'm wanting to use a very simple and bold text, something like Impact. Below I have attached some indie movie posters that I can draw inspiration from.



Reflective Comment:
The main reason for this blog post was to make sure that I know what I am doing for this ancillary task. I have to make sure that I don't get so caught up in making the short film that I actually forget to complete the ancillary tasks.