1. Thisis the completedversionof ourshortfilmreview.Asitwasdesignedforaprintedsource itwas made on
InDesignoveradouble page spread,thiswouldmake iteasiershoulditbe ina magazine asit wouldopenand foldin
the centre line(1).We chose tohave the largerimage spreadacross 3 out the 4 columnsas thiswouldshow
conventionsof areal filmreviewinthatthere isalwaysadominatingimage thatattractsthe readertothe
product(2).Furthermore,the smallerimage breaksupthe textandaddsa more visual elementtothe review. We
have chosento use a columnstructure for ourtextas thiswouldshow the use of conventionsfromreal media
productsand wouldalsogive the page a neatand sophisticatedlayout(3).The large original titleisplacedinthe
centre of the page and overlappingthe image slightly,suggestinghow the ‘Promise’ isthe articlesfocus.(4)
The article was craftedto showthe differentlayersof the storyandto lookintothe lessobviousmetaphors.It
analyseshowSamrepresentsanemotionalcure toEllie’sillnesswhere asthe fatherrepresentsamedical cure,
therefore showingthe conflictwithinthe twocharacters.We wantedtouse the review asa methodof portraying
our more intricate detailslike the waythe fatherthrowsthe flowersawayashe isindenial thathisdaughterhasn’t
got longto live.We alsodecidedthatthe textshouldshow ourmore obviousaims,forexample the pull quote
describeshowwe tooka ‘mainstreamstoryline’and‘twistedittoa trulyrealisticsituation.’Thisforusas shortfilm
directorswasone of our maingoalsas it indicatedourabilitytolookpastthe Hollywoodapproachonthe storyand
reallydeconstructthe rawmessagesandplotthatwouldbe appealingtoa shortfilmenthusiast.
The imagesare a crucial device inportrayingthe keyeventsinthe film.Forexample,the large image expressesthat
Ellie isextremelyill andrequiresanindividual nurse tovisither‘weekly’.Alsothisisshown byherscarf coveringher
headgivingthe representationof Cancerora severe illnessthatcauseshairloss.Inthe smallerimage,we
intentionallyusedthisimage toshowthe father’srejectiontoSam’saffectionstowardsEllie.The factSamis holding
up flowersandDave’sfacial expressionissomewhatrejectingthisitshowsaclearindicationof the barrierbetween
Sam and Ellie andwouldleave readersquestioningwhetherEllieandSamwill everbe able togoto prom together.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(5)
2. Additionally,there are otherconventional featuresthatjustaddto the appearance of a filmreview. The name of
the short filmmagazine appearsinthe toplefthandcornerand thensmallerateitherside of the page numbers.
Also,the fact we include a‘keydetails’box would give the connotationsthatthisbox iswhatthe magazine doesfor
everynewfilmitpromotes,givingreaderfamiliaritytothe page.Aswell asthis,the use of critical response from
legitimate newspapersandfilmcriticswouldaddtothe overall appearance of the page as thisisa conventional
feature thatappearsbothon postersandreviews.The IndependentandThe DailyMail are both knownfortheirfilm
responsesbeingfoundonreview pages.Thiswouldthusaddrealismandprofessionalismtoourpage and make it
easiertopromote itas a real mediaproduct.
Overall Ithinkthe reviewisaneffective wayof depictingourshortfilmandit’snature.
