A major change during the filming process was changing the actor who would play Michael. Barnaby, a student at our sixth form, was supposed to play this character as he fitted the description and would be available to film during the school day. However, his commitments outside of school meant that his schedule clashed with ours too often to be able to get filming done. Instead Lucy's brother, Matthew, stepped in to play the part and although he couldn't film in the school day, he agreed to film after school. He was also ideal for the shots we needed outside of school as most of this was at Lucy's house which was most convenient for him.
Another change we made during filming was to the script. We have very little speech in our trailer so it was important that it sounded good. The script was originally:
Holly: "Bad things have been happening to me"
Amy (voiceover): "So what's the problem?"
Holly: "Help me"
However, as we were filming we decided it sounded unnatural and scripted which would make the trailer seem unrealistic and therefore less scary. We also decided that we preferred the first line as a voiceover rather than a close up of Holly crying which we had originally planned as this fits better with the slow, calm pace at the start of the trailer as we want the tension to build up throughout the trailer. We settled on the final script being:
Holly (voiceover): "Weird things keep happening to me"
Amy (voiceover): What do you mean?"
Holly: "Help me."
It is important that our film has a unique selling point (USP) to make it stand out and different to other films, especially as the thriller genre has specific conventions commonly used which we are also including.
The USP for our film is that it is a combination of supernatural thriller and horror thriller, as it includes elements of both. We aim to make the audience believe that the strange events which occur throughout the film are due to supernatural, however it is revealed towards the end that it is a friend who is responsible for the crimes. The crimes include kidnapping and murder which are gorey, a typical convention of horror but on the other hand the unexplainable events incorporate the supernatural element, along with the characters interest in it, explained at the start to plant the idea of supernatural in the audience's head. By having a combination of 2 thriller sub-genres, it also means that our demographic is wider as the film appeals to more people, those who enjoy supernatural films, and those who enjoy horror.
Another USP for our film is that it is British, set in England with British actors. Thrillers are typically American so it means that we appeal to not only American but also British audiences, again widening our demographic.
Thrillers are typically certified 15+ or 18+. Our film targets both males and females aged from 15-25, therefore the age certificate for 'In The Shadows' is a 15. The group felt that this was a suitable age rating because the film includes violence, suspense, kidnapping and murder which would be unsuitable for a young audience to watch. We considered raising the age certificate to 18 due to the amount of violence in the film, however as the violence isn't actually shown, only implied and left to the audience's imagination we left it as 15. In addition to this, because our demographic is teenagers/young adults raising the age certificate would limit our targeted audience and result in a smaller audience for the film.
Research also helped us to make the decision of what to rate In The Shadows. 1408 is a thriller we studied in class, it includes suspense and the supernatural, similar to our film, and is rated at 15. The Woman in Black also features these things and is a 15 uncut and The Purge is rated 15 for it's strong violence and language. By comparing our film to others, it helped to give us an idea of what age is most appropriate for the film, considering the levels of violence and suspense that is included.
Before we began the filming process it was important we planned when we would be filming. We needed to organise filming during school time for the footage in a school setting and filming in our own time for the footage at home and at night. To organise this we planned timings during lesson and created a group chat for the members of our group to make communication outside of school easier and make decisions together. Here is an example of this:
We chose to have one of the main settings as a secondary school for our trailer. This is a setting that our demographic can relate to as it is something everyone has experienced and can understand. During research, we found that schools are common setting used in thrillers, for example The Gallows and Carrie. By using a relatable setting it makes it more scary for the audience as it seems more realistic and something that they could be affected by themselves. We filmed in areas of the school that included typical iconography such as lunch tables and desks to make the setting obvious for the trailer.
The field that features numerous times in our trailer is a key setting for the film. Unlike the school it gives a sense of isolation and loneliness, something which adds to the fear factor as there is nobody around to help if trouble occurs. In addition to this, the field is lined with trees and bushes, easy hiding places, which we show with long shots and establishing shots to emphasise the feeling of isolation and eeriness. The Last House on the Left, a thriller we studied in class, is set in almost complete isolation as it is mostly set in woods where there are no other people, or a lonely house at the end of a street in the countryside and next to a lake. This created fear as the audience worries that there is no help around, in addition to the fact that there was no power either.
Holly's house and particularly her bedroom are settings that we chose as it is a relatable place to create fear in the audience (as mentioned earlier). In addition to this, the inside of her house has a typical appearance to make the character and setting seem normal, and therefore this is also relatable for the demographic. Home is somewhere people associate with safety, however by including shots of Holly running away from something downstairs and the powercut threatens the sense of being safe at home, implying that it cannot keep danger out therefore creating fear. This setting is used in Carrie as it is common for thriller films to use relatable and realistic places like home as a technique of building fear and making it last after the film finishes.
Before filming our trailer for 'In The Shadows', we had to assess the risks that could happen during the process in order to avoid any accidents.
The first risk that we had to be aware of was damaging the equipment. This was a threat because we needed to film in the rain and it was important the camera didn't get wet or it might stop working. To avoid this, we held an umbrella over the equipment and didn't film any shots that required moving the camera as it was safer to keep it still so rain couldn't get to it as easily under cover. We also made sure someone was responsible for the camera and tripod at all times to look after it and ensure that it was safely put away into the bags the equipment belongs in when not in use.
A second risk during filming was a shot that we had planned when one character pulls the hair of another character. This risked hurting her particularly as it was likely we would need more than one take to get it right so we decided to change the shot so that you only see a hand reach for the character and she falls backwards out of shot. This allowed her to be in more control by falling rather than actually having her hair pulled and although the audience can't see the attack, it is implied through this shot and therefore just as effective.
Another risk worth our consideration before filming was a close up shot we had planned of a candle being blown out. This was a risk as it was important nothing/no one got near or touched the flame as it could burn or set something alight. To avoid this we cleared everything on the table first and were careful when lighting the candle. As we wanted a close up shot but didn't want any equipment near the flame we placed the camera further away and used the zoom to make it seem closer without any risk. When blowing out the candle we kept a fair distance away and put the candle on a plate in case of any wax dripping or even the candle tipping.
The final risk we had to be aware of was filming in a public park. We wanted a shot of 2 characters on the swings and another shot of them swinging on its own. As it was a public place we had to make sure that nobody else was in shot or near in case of being hit or someone falling off which risked them getting hurt. To avoid this, we filmed in the park during the evening when nobody else was around so we could concentrate on filming and our safety rather than other people around.
Before beginning the filming process we needed to have a clear idea of the structure of our trailer and the shots we would need. To do this we created a storyboard to keep track of the order of shots, what needed to be included, duration of each shot etc to take with us throughout filming and editing and stay on track.
This presentation is our first pitch of the ideas for our thriller film, 'In The Shadows'. We presented it to our class mates and teacher in order to get a second opinion of our ideas and listen to any queries or suggestions they had for improvement. Each member of our group were assigned 3 slides to present:
Me:
- Unique selling point (USP)
- Target Audience
- Production company & logo Lucy:
- Plot outline & narratives
- Characters
- Generic conventions
Victoria:
- Trailer conventions
- Music
- Setting/Locations
When presenting to the class we expanded on what the information already on the slides and went into more depth and explanation to make it clear why we made the decisions we did.
Aged 17, Holly is an average student who begins the film with lots of friends and has a fairly 'normal' life and appearance; her growing interest in the supernatural being the only thing which makes her 'different' to others. The film revolves around Holly's life as her friends begin disappearing leading her to believe that she is being haunted and resulting in Holly completely isolating herself. We chose the name 'Holly' for the protagonist of our film because of the plant which is spiky and therefore suitable for this character because of the way she scares people away and doesn't let anyone near. We had also considered the name 'Rose' due to its thorns but decided against it because of the connotations of love and romance which is usually associated with the flower. She is played by Shauna Ellis.
Michael - Antagonist
Aged 17, Michael is not exposed as the antagonist until the second half of the film and is assumed to be of no great importance throughout the film other than an unwanted friend of Holly's. It is revealed through flashbacks that Michael was Holly's best friend as a child but as they got older he was pushed away, leaving him with few friends. As the film develops, Michael becomes obsessive of Holly and desperate which spirals out of control leading to his attacks on her friends. In attempt to avoid being suspected Michael fakes an attack on himself which is later revealed but keeps the audience guessing and unaware, making it a shock when he is exposed. Michael's appearance is normal as we don't want him to stand out, he is quiet and has good grades. We chose the name 'Michael' for the antagonist as it is a common name and doesn't suggest he is anything out of the ordinary as we don't want him to attract much attention. He is played by Matthew Robson (despite original plans with a different actor).
Amy
Aged 17, Amy is Holly's best friend but is pushed away when Holly notices what is happening. Amy is the first victim of Michael's, not only because of his jealousy but also due to the fact that Amy begins to question Michael as she had never liked him. It begins when her things start to go missing and eventually is killed by ingesting poison. We chose the mane 'Amy' because it is a stereotypical girls name and means 'dearly loved' which is what Michael is so jealous of. She is played by Lucy Robson.
Natalie
Aged 17, Natalie is a newer friend of Holly's who introduced her to the supernatural, leading to her sudden interest in it. She is another victim of Michael's but is not killed, only kidnapped in order for her to miss her arranged meeting with Holly. It is Natalie who exposes Michael through a text to Holly pleading for help. We also chose the name 'Natalie' because it is a stereotypical girl name. She is played by Eva Bennett.
Sarah
Aged 42, Sarah is Holly's mother and a close friend with Michael's mother causing Holly and Michael to grow up close. Sarah encourages Holly to stay friends with him despite her constant complaining and is unaware of the crimes throughout the film.
One of the first things we needed to do during the planning of our trailer was establish a clear plot and narrative to follow. This is the rough outline of our plot:
The film is based on 2 long-term family friends, Holly and Michael, who have grown up together and have always been close. However, as Holly gets older she tires of Michael's clingy and needy behaviour, Michael desperately attempts to hold onto their friendship fearing that otherwise he will lose her to the new friends she is making. Holly has a growing interest in the supernatural, encouraged by her friends Amy and Natalie which is clear from the beginning of the film. To begin with, the girls treat it as a joke but begin to wonder what they have caused when Holly's friends begin losing things and having strange and sudden accidents. These events escalate as Holly and her friends experience more and more strange happenings until one day Natalie goes missing.
Holly and Amy fear it is their own fault so don't report Natalie's disappearance, taking it upon themselves to find out where she has gone. Meanwhile, Michael continuously pesters Holly with text messages and phone calls, assuming it is in the hope of repairing their friendship Holly ignores him until answering a phone call to find he too has been attacked. As the troubles of Holly's friends get increasingly worse, she eventually isolates herself believing it is the best thing to keep her friends and family safe. Eventually, Amy encourages Holly to meet with her but to Holly's despair never arrives and is later found dead.
Holly begins to grow suspicious of Michael and it is finally revealed that Michael is responsible for the crimes and strange events that have been occuring throughout the film. His jealously of Holly's other friends had spiralled out of control resulting in the vicious killing of Amy and kidnapping of Natalie who is found alive, but in order to rule himself out had faked his own attack.
During lesson we were given some film titles of thrillers to analyse. This included the name, font, any effects used and colours. In this research I noticed some similarities between the film titles. For example, most titles were written in a sans serif font in capital letters, ensuring that the name is clear and easy to read quickly. Common colours used were red and black, red typically connoting danger and black connoting death and evil. Most of the titles are short as this is easy to remember, dynamic and sharp. The films with names longer than one word are all set out with just one word on each line or two if the name is long, making it seem staggered rather than too long.
The Da Vinci Code is a mystery thriller directed by Ron Howard. The trailer is unique in the way that it is very vague and doesn't show any content of the film, no characters and no settings are shown giving no insight to the audience of what the film might be like, creating a mysterious effect which is what is intended to make people want to see what happens. It lasts 2 minutes, 3 seconds but only consists of 8 shots as zooms are often used which makes the duration of the shots longer, long camera movement also means lots is shown in a single shot. No characters are shown throughout the trailer and a single narrative is briefly implied through the intertitles and voiceover. The voiceover is an American male voice which is stereotypical of action, horror and blockbuster films used to inform the audience of the plot and set up the film as the rest of the trailer is vague and brief.
There is only one music track used in the trailer which I have found during my research is typical of thriller/horror trailers as this is the same in The Gallows and Carrie trailers. It is orchestral, eerie and slow to match the voiceover but suggests adventure and is continuous from the beginning to about 30 seconds before the end when the intertitles and institutional information is shown. 'Swoosh' sound effects synchronous to the intertitles appearing are also included to add to the mysterious atmosphere. The film is certified a 12a but from the trailer we can guess that it targets adults aged 25+ rather than a younger audience as the voiceover implies violence and death in the film. The symbols and historical painting also suggest that it would be more of an interest to the older generation.
The trailer doesn't give away much about the narrative but draws in the demographic through the intertitles and voiceover. The voiceover suggests the genre of mystery and thriller to attracts an audience whilst the intertitles advertises the well-known production and distribution companies and star power such as 'Tom Hanks', helping to create good expectations for the film. Overall there are 8 intertitles, including the director, worldwide release date and "No matter what you have read", "No matter what you believe" to build suspense and the audience's interest.
This is a replica I created of The Proposal film poster using Adobe Photoshop. I chose to use this programme as I already knew how to use the tools I needed to copy the original. For example, the Magnetic Lasso to cut the image out and how to change text to the exact colour I needed to match. To begin with, I struggled to make the word 'proposal' an accurate match as the letters were too spaced out when typed in the same text box. To fix this I had to put each letter in a separate text box in order to move the letters closer together accordingly. I chose to replicate this film poster as I knew I would be able to accurately copy it on Photoshop, unlike other posters I looked at which had special effects that I didn't know how to replicate using the programme.
These are 2 film posters for 'Into the Storm' and 'Grown Ups' both of which are high budget films. Into the Storm is an action-thriller film whereas Grown Ups is a comedy, therefore their posters are laid out differently with different colours and information.
Firstly, the Into the Storm poster focuses on using very dark colours such as black, greys and navy blue. This makes the white film title stand out which is important as it is the most necessary piece of information on the poster. The only vibrant colour on the poster is the orange fire which stands out in the middle against the dull colours immediately conveying that in the film there is danger and destruction which also suggests the genre of film and basic plot. On the other hand, the Grown Ups poster mostly uses bright colours like orange and blue. This makes it eye-catching and connotes that the film is lively and funny, a contrast of the Into the Storm.
The majority of the information shown on both the posters are the same, however the Grown Ups poster includes the names of main actors in the film which Into the Storm does not have. By showing this it advertises the star power as they are well-known actors, helping to build positive expectations of the film. Into the Storm doesn't use actors names on their poster as overall it has a more simple layout and less star power to advertise.
Information that is included on both posters is the film title, tagline, cinema release date and a main image to draw the audience's attention. The titles of each film is written in capital letters and a larger font size than all other text to make sure it is seen first by an audience as it is the most important piece of information. They are also colours that juxtapose with the background colour it is on to stand out more. The taglines "There is no calm before the storm" and "Boys will be boys...some longer than others" are also written in a colour that contrasts with the background and both positioned either above or below the title in a smaller font size, The Grown Ups tagline connotes the comedy genre as it conveys that the film is about adults behaving childish and the Into the Storm tagline also connotes it's genre of action-thriller as it is serious and conveys the danger in the film.
Both cinema release dates shown on the posters are in a red font either above or below the film title. This is because it is a bold colour that stands out against the background and next to the titles as it is important information but still a smaller sized font as it is not a vital. All text on both posters are in sans serif font, this makes sure that the important information is clear and can be read quickly by the audience. Finally, both film posters use an image as the main focus point of the poster. The Grown Ups poster uses an image of all the main characters on a water slide. This gives the audience an idea of the plot along with the title and tagline and also shows the well-known actors as star power. On the other hand, the Into the Storm poster has only one character included, facing away from the audience as the more important focus is the hurricane which takes up most of the poster. This once again gives the audience an idea of the plot which surrounding the events of this hurricane.
This is a film magazine cover than I created on Adobe Photoshop promoting my teen angst film I made at AS Level last year. I chose to use Photoshop as I have already learnt how to use the tools I need such as the magnetic lasso. I also used Microsoft Powerpoint to make the smaller images on a larger scale and then transferred them to Photoshop as this was easier than creating them directly onto the cover.
I chose a colour scheme of bright pink and purple as these are stereotypically feminine colours to catch the demographic's eye of 15-25 year old females. The main image on the magazine is of Megan, the main character of the film which immediately indicates what film is being advertised.
Four other teen angst films with the same target audience are advertised on the cover too. This is to promote further interest in the magazine for the people we are targeting and create an interest to make them want to read the magazine.
I decided to study an Empire magazine cover to help and inspire me for when I make my own film magazine cover promoting my teen angst film created last year at AS Level. I focused mainly on the layout of the front cover and how it appeals to it's demographic of males aged 18+. I also compared it to other film magazines I have previously annotated to see what is common and more important to include on the cover. I found that colour is very important in targeting the right audience and the main focus on the cover is the promotion of a single film, but still advertises other films of the same genre which can be found inside the magazine to draw people in.
Carrie is a horror film produced by Misher Films and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Screen Gems. I chose to study this particular trailer as it is a high budget film of $30 million which I can compare to the low budget trailers that I have already studied. I also chose it because it is a horror film which I can take inspiration from when creating my own horror film trailer.
There were 2 Carrie trailers produced, the one I studied being 2 minutes 33 seconds long and made up of approximately 134 shots with very quick cutting in areas. There are 4 main characters in the trailer; Carrie, her mother, her prom date and the 'mean girl' of the film, along with many other characters which only appear quickly such as teachers and other students. However, it is clear that Carrie is the main character as she appears most throughout the trailer and clearly portrays that the film plot surrounds events in her life.
There are approximately 9 settings shown in the trailer; Carrie's house and garden, outside her high school and inside the school corridors, classroom, library, swimming pool & changing room, the prom hall and a street. Although most of these setting surround Carrie's house and school, the trailer still shows a large amount of places within which connotes the film is action-packed and always moving forward.
Throughout the trailer, there is only one music track used, the same as The Gallows horror trailer which I have previously annotated. The music is non-diegetic and begins playing over half way through the trailer at 1:38. The music is calm and slow with a female singing, occasionally pausing to show several quick shots of destruction which contrasting with the atmosphere portrayed by the music. In addition to this, the trailer begins with the mother slowly singing a calm and happy song. It is diegetic with no background music and is not a music track, yet it still contributes to the eerie atmosphere along with the slow camera work leading up to the house which is just as effective.
Non-diegetic sound effects are also added to make the trailer seem more scary and dramatic. For example, screaming, drums, crackling of fire, sirens, buzzing of lights etc and synchronous bangs, crashes and cracks to emphasise something happening on screen and to draw in the demographic.
Overall, there were 14 inter titles in the trailer. They include the name of the main actress "Chloë Grace Moretz" as star power, short sentences that give suggestions to the plot and information on the film, such as "In every neighbourhood there is one family with a secret" and "Based on the acclaimed novel by Stephen King". By telling the audience it is based on a successful book and has well-known actresses helps to build good expectations for the film, encouraging people to watch it.
By studying this high budget horror film trailer I am able to compare it to the low budget horror film trailer of The Gallows that I have already annotated. I found that both trailers used fast pace editing to build suspense although this trailer did it much quicker with a total of 134 shots whereas The Gallows trailer only had 86 shots in a similar amount of time. On the other hand, they are both similar in the fact that they both only use one music track which is unusual yet effective in adding suspense for both horror trailers. By comparing the low budget and high budget trailers I can use the similarities and differences to inspire my own horror trailer and make it look better quality like the high budget trailer.
Catfish is a documentary-style film produced by Relativity Media and distributed by Rogue Pictures. I chose to study this trailer as the film had a low budget of $30,000 so I will be able to take inspiration from it when creating my own low budget horror trailer. I have already annotated the trailer of a horror film so I decided to study another genre of film to see how they compare.
The trailer is 2 minutes 21 seconds long and includes a total of approximately 71 shots. There are only 6 characters shown in the trailer; Nev and his 2 friends who work the cameras, Megan, and her mum and sister who are only shown briefly on Nev's computer. Nev is clearly portrayed as the main character as it follows his story and he appears on camera most, however despite rarely being on camera, Megan is also portrayed as an important character as she is the main focus of the trailer and film.
Throughout the trailer there are approximately 9 settings shown; Nev's house and bedroom, a dance studio, a street, inside the car, an office, an airport, Megan's house, a beach and a theatre stage. This is a wide range of setting which makes the film seem action-packed and busy, connoting that there is a lot of travelling in the film due to a lot of shots in the car, this also gives an insight into the plot.
There are 3 separate music tracks used in the trailer, which is common for trailers to do. The trailer begins which non-diegetic background music that is upbeat with a simple melody and suggests a happy atmosphere. Around 45 seconds into the trailer the music transitions into another non-diegetic track. It sounds as though it is being sung by a choir and is slower than the last song, which fits with the trailer as it reveals there is something suspicious happening, however it remains happy sounding. The final track begins about 1 minute 30 into the trailer when the first footage of Megan's house is shown at the end of a long, dark drive way. The music is still non-diegetic and slower than the last track. The music is low and quiet to seem mysterious and emphasise the eerie atmosphere.
Non-diegetic synchronous sound effects such as phone beeps, typing, camera clicks etc are used which particularly emphasises that the film is focused on online events which is why the sound of these devices are made to stand out. Diegetic voices of the people in the film talking to the camera is what informs us that it is a documentary-style film, breaking the verisimilitude as well as the hand-held camera work which also suggests this. Additional sound effects such as hisses and mouse clicks are used when inter titles appear on the screen to catch the audiences attention and draw them in.
There are 13 inter titles overall in the trailer. They include reviews from well-known magazines and newspapers, for example; "A shattering conclusion. - New York Magazine". Positive reviews from reliable sources people are familiar with helps build good expectations for the film. The inter titles also give key information on the plot to give the audience an idea of the basic story that the film follows.
By studying this trailer after The Gallows horror trailer, it's helped me to compare the differences between a horror trailer and a trailer of a different genre which will be useful for when I create my own horror trailer. The Gallows trailer had quicker cuts between shots than the Catfish trailer to help build the tension, something that is very important when advertising a horror film as this is what people want to feel. As a result of this, the horror trailer also had a larger amount of shots altogether. I also found that The Gallows trailer used only 1 music track throughout it, whereas the Catfish trailer used 3. By using only 1 song it helped keep the eerie atmosphere of the trailer, on the other hand the mood of the Catfish trailer changes from happy to mysterious which is why it was suitable to use more than 1 song. In addition to this, the music in The Gallows trailer cuts and pauses in certain places to emphasise the tension which is also why only 1 song was suitable, unlike Catfish which has music playing throughout the entire duration of the trailer.
The Gallows is a horror film, coming out on July 10th 2015. It had a low budget of just $15,000, produced by New Line Cinema, Blumhouse Productions, Management 360 and Tremendum Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. We will later be creating our own horror film trailers so we annotated this particular trailer because it is horror and therefore we may be able to take inspiration from it, especially as it is low budget.
There are several different trailers for The Gallows, the one I studied being 2 minutes 18 seconds long. Overall, it is made up of approximately 86 shots with quick cuts between each which builds the suspense, typical of a horror film. A wide range of camera shots such as close ups and aerial shots also helps build the audience' interest as it emphasises the speed and makes it seem full of action, rather than dull to draw them in.
There are only a few characters in the trailer; 3 teenagers, 3 policemen and the spirit who we barely see at all yet is portrayed as the most important character in the film. We know this as the trailer informs us of the plot which revolves around the spirit being discovered by the teenagers. By revealing the plot it lets people form a judgement of whether they would enjoy the film or not. The trailer suggests one narrative and doesn't inform us of any sub-plots that take place throughout the film.
A cover of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nirvana is the only music track played in the trailer which is rare as there are usually at least two, however the well-known song helps it to be noticed. The music is non-diegetic and cuts and pauses several times to build suspense and emphasis on other important sounds such as loud bangs. The music begins at a slow pace and gets faster throughout before fading away at the end, to build suspense which is especially important when advertising horror as this is what the audience wants. Synchronous, non-diegetic sounds effects such as bangs, drums, clattering of locker doors, screams, creaks, shattering glass etc are used throughout the trailer to add to the tension and scary atmosphere which the film wants to convey to the audience.
There are 6 different settings in The Gallows trailer; the school hallway, theatre stage and backstage area, school hall, town streets and outside of the high school. From this we can presume that most of the film is set in and around the teenager's school but is kept action packed from the amount of different settings within it.
Inter titles in the trailer show reviews of the film and the names of other popular horror films created by the same makers of this film. This draws in an audience as it helps build good expectations for the film due to these previous successes and positive reviews.
My next task is to create a magazine cover promoting my own film so in order to help me with this process I annotated an already existing film cover of Total Film promoting 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'. This will help me to decide on a good layout for my own cover with the right conventions to appeal to my demographic. I used a Total Film cover as this is the magazine I have previously done a replica of so I knew more about the layout of their covers.
I created an almost exact copy of the Total Film 'Jupiter Ascending' addition front cover which promoted the release of the new sci-fi film. I mostly used Adobe Photoshop to recreate the cover as I already had knowledge of this programme and it has tools such as the Magnetic Lasso to cut out the figures and accurate text fonts to match the original. Whilst using Photoshop to do this, I learnt how to copy a colour from one image and transfer it to another image or text which was useful as I had to do this often with the gold colours. However, I also used Microsoft Powerpoint to create the smaller images such as the "33 Star-Studded Sci-Fi Movies" circle and then copied them onto the cover as it was easier to make them on a larger scale and then transfer and minimize them. The part I struggled most with was the Total Film title as it is metallic and therefore difficult to replicate on Photoshop. To overcome this problem I found a colour that was most alike to the original which I used.
