1. M A G A Z I N E
P R O D U C T I O N A N D
R E S E A R C H
B Y L I L Y P O T T E R
2. P R O D U C T I O N
I designed my magazine Review spread in Adobe Illustrator CS6, using
various tools in order to make it as professional as possible and to the
best of my ability. Firstly, before I began work inResearching relevant
symbols and also researching previous magazine review pages within my
desired magazine, Scream. I sourced fonts from the online website
‘DaFont’. This allowed me to chose an appropriate font that matched the
aesthetic of my film and also fitted with the magazines conventions to the
audience, so that it was legible to the audience. I sourced a font called,
which I think suited the horror theme of my magazine. I used previous
photos I had taken within production and also the photos used within my
poster photoshoot that fitted my aesthetic and displayed the genre of my
film yet did not reveal much about the plot to the readers. I also gathered
pictures and symbols commonly used within Scream’s magazine reviews
such as star ratings and page numbers changed the colours and size of
the text to make them more eye-catching and suited the style of the
magazine aesthetic. Throughout the editing process, I used many tools
and elements of Photoshop in order to create my cover and double page
spread.
For the article writing stage, I used Microsoft word. I used this
application as it is the easiest piece of software to draft large amounts of
work and easily change the style and format of the text. Also, there are
many elements of word that allow me to change the words easily and
effectively, which helps leave my written work look professional. Following
my initial article draft, I gave it to a peer to mark. Once they had done this,
I redrafted my article once more and put it onto my double page spread
sticking to the layout I researched previously.
3. F O R M A T
I have created a magazine double page spread as part of my brief. As my magazine has a horror film theme that is also shared
within my film, I looked at both movie and horror-related magazines. By looking at a wide variety of magazines, I was able to find
the key conventions each magazine shared to attract their audience. I researched a variety of magazines to see what would
target my audience effectively From my double page spread research, I decisively decided that I would prefer to use images
scarcely. Some of the magazines I looked at during this stage of my research included Empire. Scream and Fangoria.
4. C O N V E N T I O N S A N D V I S U A L S
• Typical conventions of a magazine review include:
• Film name and date release: This information is then followed by its genre and job roles, commonly the most important such
as Director, Producer and Main actors ect.
• Quotes: Quotes from other film reviews from well known magazines or references from the film such as its tagline are also
featured within a magazine review. This is utilised as a good introduction from the reader. However, this is not commonly used
much in short films as they don't typically have key quotes within the narrative.
• Introduction and Summary: The first paragraph of the review commonly sums up the whole narrative of the film. This may
contain aspects such as the length, location, character introduction and story line. This is often followed by a personal view of
the film from the perspective of the writer.
• Plot: The second paragraph of the tends to continue with the synopsis of the film and focuses on the whole narrative and
morals of the story. Although, the ending of the film tends to be avoided so the film is not ruined for the targeted audience who
are yet to watch it.
• Positive aspects: the following paragraph features the specific positive aspects of the film. This features a personal opinion of
the writer and suggested points of interest of the target market. This tends to focus on points such as, the narrative, camera
and composition, mise-en-scene, special or visual effects and the music of the film. This may be followed by lightened
negative points of the film, but not so much that the reader is persuaded not to watch the film.
• Characters: It is sometimes conventional for short film reviews to focus on the characters, specifically the protagonist and
villain of the film.
• Ratings: In films reviews it is conventional to summaries the review in the final paragraph, typically out of 5 stars. this is a
main aspect the audience will look out for before deciding to watch the film.
• Other conventions may include: images with captions/annotations (often behind the scene footage), Italics for quotes, the
date and name of the writer and when the article was written.
5. Common conventions present within the layouts include:
• Texts written in columns. The main paragraphs are commonly within the middle of the article.
• Main heading, tag line and subheadings to maintain organisation and displays a clear topic within the film.
• Images, often one main image within the article, this could be a shot from the film.
When creating the magazine article for my short film, I will ensure to add the above within my article, to ensure that
it exceeds the main conventions of a magazine review and provide my audience with the required information, as
well as attracting them towards my film.
6. A U D I E N C E
I think that the approximate age for readers of my
magazine would be around 16+ as I believe that this
age range are the most likely to watch and enjoy horror
films. In terms of gender, I think that my magazine is
gender neutral, but it may have a slight leaning
towards females, due to the main protagonist of my
film and the use of girl aimed dolls on my posters. For
social class, I would estimate that the demographic for
this magazine would be C1/2 and down. This is
because horror is a genre that is quite niche and the
films are often quite uncomplicated. They are also
often films that have a very simple structured linear
narrative and many are conventional. I think that my
magazine review meets the needs of the target
audience because it is very conventional and fits within
the aesthetic of the magazine review and my short film.
It has a bold masthead, lead article and kickers. It also
has a prominent model, which is quite sinister and
scary and is in line with the horror genre that the
magazine represents.
