Pratice for Print Coursework

I have found a couple of Adobe Photoshop tutorials that will help me edit my main image for the magazine front cover and they can also be applied to the film poster. In this tutorial it showed me how to apply foundation, highlight and shade the face, add eye shadow, eye liner and lipstick. It was only quick to get the basics but i think the end product is still pretty well.

Before

 After

However i found this too look a bit too glamorize and basic as all you is use the brush tool and mess around with the blending options. On this next tutorial it was more based about making the skin look more flawless i used the healing brush tool and adjusted the curves as well as other things, here are the results. On completion the models bronze look disappeared so on further practice i will try to make her look more brown, this would be achieved by adjusting the curves better.

Before

After

I then took the time to do both tutorials on one, so i added make up to the glamour finish. And here is the completed result. Again there are a few smudges and colouring issues but i think it looks realistic still. I will be using this tutorials in my finished product.

Here are all three:

My Genre Front Cover Analysis

Black Swan was realeased in 2010 and directed by Darren Aronofsky. Black Swan received critical praise upon its release, particularly for Portman's performance and Aronofsky's direction, and was a significant box office success, grossing $329 million worldwide. Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film, as well as many other Best Actress awards in several guilds and festivals, while Aronofsky was nominated for Best Director. In addition, the film itself received a nomination for Best Picture. And because of all of that I have chosen to anaylse two front magazine covers featuring the film.

The first is W magazine, which is a well known female magazine more particuallary in the States than over here in the UK. The magazine was made in 1971, but was rebought in 1999 and turned into the magazine we know now. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and thirteen inches tall. W magazine has a reader base of nearly half a million, 469,000 of which are annual subscribers. 80 percent of the magazine's readers are female and have an average household income of $135,840.


The second is a magazine I previously mentioned, Little White Lies magazine.Little White Lies is a bi-monthly, British independent movie magazine that features writing, illustration and photography related to cinema.The first issue was released in February 2005, printed in edition of 2500, and distributed only in UK Borders stores. In 2008, Little White Lies won its first major award: Best Designed Consumer Magazine of the Year at the Magazine Design & Journalism Awards.The design of each issue of Little White Lies is inspired by its feature film, represented on the cover by an illustration of its lead actor. The cover film also influences interior aspects, such as editorial icons, chapter headings and custom typefaces. However, the overall template of the magazine remains the same.

Information about the two magazines is courtest of wikipedia.org.uk

The two magazines have two very different target audiences so I thought this would be good to anaylsis as I can see the conventions of magazine covers and witness the different codes which show the two magazines ideologies. The first magazine front cover I will anaylise is W.

W

I think this magazine has done a great job and conveying the films genre as well as keeping the magazines ideology and target audience interested. One way the magazine does this is by the costume Mila Kunis is wearing. The black jacket represents her character "the black swan" in the film by the feathers and the colour black. The colours and feathers also connote darkness and evil which is also portrated in the film. However the magazine has put a pink lacy bra on Mila Kunis as well, this gives the costume a soft side and feminie side which will appeal the the magazines target audience. Her arm over her face creates shadow which represents the darkness about the film and her character. Other than the costume the magazine front cover is very simple.
All other text except the Masthead and Mila Kunis's name is white. This creates a clear contrast against the main image and allows it to stand out on the magazine stand. The Masthead is in its regular position so it is easily found by regular readers it also is still the same colour, a pinkish red. Again this allows a reoccurring reader to quickly find the magazine amongst the others.
The text is all in capitals which allows the reader to quickly scan and read what content is covered, the sans serif fonts do not create confusion and make it very easy and quickly to buy the magazine.

Little White Lies


This magazine has deliberately tried to set itself aside from all other magazines. This magazine's genre is Film so its target audience is different to W. The magazine front cover is black and white. This represents the main theme throughout the film of good vs evil. The two colors are represented with this theme. The main image is a pencil drawing of Natalie Portman who plays the main character in the film. By being a sketch it gives the front colour a eery feeling and the eyes stare into the readers eyes. The black feathers falling down the front cover represent the film.
The front cover is mostly taken up by text, big, think black san serif font of "the black swan issue".  Again this is in capitals to make it bold and clear. It also makes it very clear to their target audience what film is the main theme to this issue. This magazine tends to aim its magazine at its target audience and tries not to expand its fan base by advertising or captivating new customers by having large writing on the front cover talking about the content within the magazine.


In conclusion the magazines have adapted their front covers to their target audience and how they would receive this type of film. When i am creating my own front cover i will need to think about my target audience and keep relaying the front cover back to their needs and wants.

Black Swan Trailer Analysis

Black Swan

I am analysing this trailer in particular as the genre is the same genre as i have chosen, a psychological trailer. The conventions of movie trailers have been previously mentioned but I will write a quick list to refresh my memory as well as yours. In this analysis I will be looking at the codes as the genre of this film is the same as mine so the codes will be very similar.

Conventions:

• Short clips of the film. Which do not give away too much of the narrative.
• Actors & Directors names are mentioned.
• Title of the Film is shown at the end of the trailer, usually followed by release date.
• Music is usually heard throughout and non diagetic. 
• Occasionally Screen text moments.

I will look at each one of these conventions and see how the created has adapted the codes to connote the genre and creating feeling amongst the audience. 

As mentioned the clips shown in the trailer are short and cut fairly quickly. For just under a minute all the clips shown set the beginning of the narrative and appear fairly "average" and "normal" to the audience. All the things shown are not abnormal such as the dancer doing her stretches, meeting new people and conversation. After around a minute the clips start to show the gradual increase of stress induced by the main character and this starts to create genre. There is one clip in particular around 1min 5 secs is when an older lady (as the audience i am guessing it is the main characters nan or mum) is cutting her nails, the camera angle is at eye level when she is cutting and the noise of the cutting is loud. This allows the audience to become un-nerved and are expecting trouble to happen. And then it gets "worse" at 1min 13secs Nina's reflection starts to turn and face her but Nina herself does not move. This is code is very nearly associated with horror but the two genres tend to interlink with each other. This creates adrenaline in the audience and therefore they become more fixated. The clips from this point become creepy and faster edited than normal. They feature things such as a broken spinning ballerina doll, someone being smashed into a mirror and red and green flashing lights. The clips then cut out into text screens. The one final clip brings the whole trailer together as being the most "crazy" clip. The audience see Nina with red blood like eyes and she pulls a black looking thorn out of her back. This completely throws the audience as they become intrigued as this has caused narrative enigma. So this successfully completes the trailers goal of setting genre and intriguing the audience. 

The actors names and directors names are shown in an un usual order. The first text screen is informing the audience that the film opens at the film festival and that it was a Toronto film selection. This is slightly abnormal as the first text is usually who has made it or actors names, the reason the maker of this trailer could of done this is because psychological films tend not to be the ultimate must go see but immediately this informs the audience that critics have said this is the must go see movie. After a few more clips the directors name is shown. This is still fairly early on so the audience can still acknowledge  the quality and type of film by the director and previous films he has created. The reason they put this in is so the audience now what they are getting and therefore they are more inclined to go see the film at the cinema. The actors names are only shown at the end of the trailer, this is unusual as the creators tend to put this at the front so the audience are completely intrigued by the film at the beginning rather than the end. However with psychological trailers the narrative and director is more important than the actors as they tend to be more about creativity. 

The title of the film is also shown at the end just like most trailers and the release date is also at the end. However the release date is mentioned right at the beginning as well in one of the text screens. However the audience are probably going to miss this and are more likely going to want to see the release date at the end of the trailer as that is when they have been captivated by it and then want to know when they can see it. 

The music is very important in this trailer. The music starts right from the beginning. The music sounds very much like the sound you get from one of those little music boxes that has the ballerina spinning round. This allows the audience to identify the music with the part of the narrative that is about ballet. The music builds slowly and builds at the same pace as the clips do. This helps very much to create an atmosphere and feeling in the audience. It keeps the audience nervy and on edge and allows them to feel slightly vulnerable just like Nina. At the very end of the trailer the music cuts on that last clip and ends, this allows that last clip to heighten and give more of a thrill to the audience.

The text screens have a special effect behind them, the colors are black and white this represents the black swan and the white swan and also the good side and bad side of the main character Nina. The special effect looks like the curtains of a stage which are known to bed red, however the have been dyed black and also look like they are moving. This helps keeps the film dark and eery rather than happy and again this sets genre and helps with the atmosphere. The font isn't anything special and is just a bold font so it is easily read by the audience. 

Print Production Research

New Films are mentioned in a variety of magazines. There are magazines that focus purely on new films of all genres. The content on the front of film magazines is a lot of pictures. The main thing on this front cover that catches my eye is their large mastheads. They take up nearly a third of front cover and have a sub heading above. The reason for this is because these magazines are already well known and how all magazines are positioned on a rack in a store means that most of their front cover is covered by another magazine in front. The next thing the eye sees is the main image, centred on the front cover. During my research I noticed that the main image is always of an actor looking forward to connect with the readers eye. The next thing both magazines have are a heading that is linked to the main image. The heading is short but is usually as wide as the magazine front. The colours of the heading is usually a similar colour present in the rest of the magazine front cover, this therefore doesn't make the front cover over powering or confusing. The next thing that film magazines have is a banner usually at the bottom of the cover. Other magazine genres do have banners but not every issue where as on film magazines there tends to be one on every cover. Then there tends to be smaller bits of writing telling the reader about what else is in the issue to persuade them that little bit further to buy the magazine as that is the main purpose of the front cover is to produce sales. Film magazines seem to be more aimed at males than females due to the content and colours which are mainly male stereotypical.

Another genre of magazine that features films is women's Magazines. However there is a distinct difference between the content of a film magazine and a woman's magazine. The film here is more of just an "extra" that the main content. Usually the actor or actress is on the front cover because their film is coming out but the magazine will have a different slogan underneath making it more about the actor than the film as this is what their target audience wants, gossip. The conventions of the magazine front cover is similar to that of a film magazine. The masthead is still large as well as the main image, however more of the image is over the masthead and the masthead takes up less of the front cover. The main headings on female magazines may not be about the film as the actress is the one selling the story. The colours on these type of magazines are stereotypical of females such as pink and yellow. There is only one main picture on a female magazine or just a few  compared to film magazines. Compared to film magazines woman magazines tend to have a lot less content on the front cover, only one image and large font. This is because they are aimed at two different target audiences and the interests and likes of the target audiences are different and the magazines design their covers to their audiences preferences. 

Production So Far

I am just over halfway through my pre-production work. So far I have completed my Proposal, Treatment, Story Boards, Shot List and Script. The rest of the pre-production work will be completed once I have booked the camera equipment out because then I know the filming dates and these have to be in corporated into the next part of my pre-production. Which includes; Production schedule, Shooting schedule, Call sheets, Location Reports and Risk Assessments.  The location reports and risk assessments could be completed before I book out any equipment however they are not time consuming and should be completed nearer the time of shooting especially the risk assessment as many things can change over time.

I would like the oppurtunity to update my skills on using the camcorder however at my college they are usully all booked out as media is a popular subject. Therefore I will not get a chance to update my knowledge on how to use them, my skills with the camcorder are not particually good so when I do book out the camcorder for myself I will add an extra day or two so I can practice before filming.
In the mean time I will be looking at further research and practice into the other part of my coursework which is the print production side. I will decided on a magazine genre and look deeply into the codes and conventions of that magazine and put it into practice on photoshop. I will continue doing this as well as my pre-production once it is confirmed when I have the camera equipment.

Script

SCRIPT

“ATTACHED”

By Adelle Radley

Daytime Ext. Natalie and Alex walk towards each other.

Alex: Hi.

Natalie: Hey.

Alex: Erm, by any chance do you want to go out sometime?

Natalie: Sure. Sounds great!

Day Int. Alex stands up and walks out of shot. Natalie stays sitting.

Alex: I think we should see other people

Day Int. Alex’s house. The two are discussing Alex’s date.

James: So, how is Natalie?

Alex: The date? She was strange.

James: How come?

Alex: Just gave off that crazy vibe you know? Just was staring at me constantly. Won’t be seeing her again. Anyway I’ve met someone else.

James: Nice, is she hot?

Alex: (Laughs) Yeah man. Beautiful

James: What about Natalie?

Alex: Its Lisa for me.

Day Int. Cutaway to Natalie pacing around her Room.

Day Int. Alex and Lisa’s Home, Lisa sitting on the sofa with her feet up. Alex walks in behind her and hands her a drink.

Alex: I love you.

Lisa: I love you too.

Day Ext. Natalie’s face appears against the window and she turns and walks away silent.

Day Int. Lisa walking with an object in her hand.

Lisa: Did you break this?

Alex: No Lisa.

Lisa: Well who did?

Alex: (puzzled look on his face).

Lisa: Well?

Alex: Maybe it was a ghost. (Laughs)

Day Ext. Lisa and Natalie are standing face to face. Lisa is angry.

Lisa: I know it’s you.

Natalie: (Innocently) I don’t know what you mean.

Lisa: Just stay away from me. You’re warned.

Natalie: (Laughs) and walks away.

Day Int. Alex and Lisa’s home, Lisa is walking in through the front door.

Alex: What’s wrong?

Lisa: Your nut of an Ex. She's crazy.

Alex Comforts Lisa with a Hug.

Day Int. Cutaway to Natalie throwing a dart into a picture of Lisa.

Day Int. Cut Back to Alex and Lisa’s home. They are now lying on the sofa cuddling.

Lisa: She's out to get me.

Alex: Leave it with me.

Night Ext. Back of Natalie’s head pulling a dark hood over her head. Natalie smothers Lisa over her mouth.

Night Int. Natalie is throwing away Lisa’s stuff.

Day Int. Alex comes home to a newly emptied house.

Alex: Lisa?

Day Int. Natalie slowly walks in front of Alex. Alex is shocked.

Alex: Why are you here?

Natalie: What do you mean?

Alex: Where’s Lisa?

Natalie: Oh not this again. Alex you’ve been with me just me. You were given medicine for this.

Night Int. Unknown Location. Lisa is tided up on a chair, Natalie walks in behind.

Natalie:(Spitefully) He isn’t coming. He thinks you don’t exist. That may be true soon.

Day Int. Alex is looking for signs of Lisa. Natalie comes home and makes him take a pill.

Natalie: Take this hunny.

Night Int. Alex’s phone rings and he answers.

Alex: Hello?

Lisa’s Mum: Is Lisa there?

Alex: What?!

Lisa’s Mum: Alex what’s happened to Lisa? I haven’t heard from her in a while.

Night Int. Unknown Location. Natalie and Lisa are face to face.

Natalie: You’ve ruined everything! He was going to be mine! (Pacing) He was mine! He is mine! This is it!

Lisa: (Screams)

Budget Plan

Another Level Productions: BUDGET
Production Name: Attached    Prepared By: Adelle Radley   Date: 06/01/2012   Length of Production: 2 minutes approx.

	BUDGET
Script & Rights	£0.00
Producer's Unit	£0.00
Director's Unit	£0.00
Talent	£0.00
Above the Line Total	£0.00
Extra Talent	£0.00
Talent Expenses	£0.00
Casting & Rehearsal	£0.00
Production Staff	£0.00
Art Department	£0.00
Set Department	£0.00
Prop Department	£10.00
Special Effects	£0.00
Wardrobe Department	£50.00
Hair & Make-up	£20.00
Still Photography	£0.00
Camera Department	£60.00
Sound Department	£2.00
Lighting Department	£0.00
Grip Department	£0.00
Transportation	£5.00
Crew Expenses	£0.00
Location Expenses	£0.00
Location Office	£0.00
Film & Lab/ Tape Stock	£3
Production Total	£147.00
Film Editing	£0.00
Video Editing	£0.00
Titles	£0.00
Music	£2.00
Post Production Sound	£2.00
Digital Video Post Production	£0.00
Film & Lab Post Production	£2.00
Tape Stock/ DVDS	£3
Post Production Total	£9.00
Insurance	£120.00
Office Expenses	£2.00
Fund-Raising Expenses	£0.00
Distribution	£0.00
Contingency	£25.00
Overhead Total	£147.00
Grand Total	£303.00

Story Board

Here are my Story Boards for all my shots. While doing my story boards I noticed two of my shots were very similar so i removed one so now there are only 44 shots. So here are my 1 - 44 shots in story board form! I am not partically good at drawing so please excuse it ! :)

Shots 1 -6

 Shots 7 - 12

 Shots 13 - 18

 Shots 19 - 24

 Shots 25 - 30

 Shots 31 - 36

 Shots 37 - 42

Shots 43 - 44