2. Usage of bold reds, to highlight the
title of the magazine and the main
subject of the spread: Inception. Text besides the title is
slanted, giving the effect of
being drawn in for the reader
and bringing the focus to
Leonardo Dicaprio.
Sole use of gold in the center of the
page, in a confined space, text inside
contrasts back and white, drawing eye
focus.
Barcode; to show it’s
available to buy.
Neutral blue and grey
background, to
contrast with the
colourful text in the
foreground.
Vague and enigmatic
description to make the
audience want to know more
about the film.
Architecture in the background is
reminiscent of the style used in Inception.
To show the reader more about the style
and cinematography used in the film.
The way Leonardo Dicaprio is lit is
deliberately ambiguous. His face is
framed in shadow, his expression s
sinister and he is casually holding a
gun.
Vague tagline, referring
to Batman and tying in
to the main
advertisement, due to
both films sharing a
director.
Usage of the word ‘Plus!’ In gold
and with an exclamation point, to
make it seem exclusive and
important. It is also in the corner, to
show it is not part of the main
advertisement.
EMPIRE: COVER
3. EMPIRE: DOUBLE SPREAD
Colour contrast
between the
two characters,
indicating their
personalities.
Spock stands behind
Kirk, indicating he is the
deuteragonist to Kirk’s
protagonist.
Tagline: LOOK
CLOSER and bright
blue contrasting with
plain white
background draws
focus to the text box.
Main character is
bleeding and bruised,
showing there will be
conflict in the film.
Both character’s eyes are
sternly focused on the
same point, showing they
face the same threat.
Title of the film is the biggest
and boldest of all the text on
the page. Immediately drawing
attention to it.
Blue arrow is pointing to text, showing that
it is related to the picture shown and
drawing more focus to that particular
paragraph.
Subtitle is a pun of
Zero Dark Thirty,
drawing
comparisons
between that film
and Into Darkness.
Black bar along the bottom,
contrast indicates the subject
matter is different from the
rest of the page.
Background uses
plain greys and
whites, the
cleanness of it
and the lights in
the top left
corner indicate a
Sci-Fi setting
Neutral background
colours draw focus to
the main characters in
their vibrant uniforms.
This shows how
important they are to
the product.
Posture of the
characters is subtly
different, indicating
their emotional states.
Kirk has a slight slouch
and his arms are limp
in front of him. Spock
stands noticeably
straighter and his arms
are rigid beside him.
This is a very clever
way of showing their
conflicting
personalities.
4. EMPIRE: WEBSITE HOMEPAGE
Title of the Magazine is in bold
red, which makes it the most
prominent thing about the
muted homepage.
Headline is clearly
interchangeable,
ensuring the
website stays on the
cutting edge.
Picture of what was
probably the most
current issue at the time,
to encourage site-goers
to buy the magazine.
News on the
Wolverine film
ties into the
product
placement of the
magazine in the
top right corner.
Advertisement for
podcast shows
Empire to be a
multi-media
organisation
Small snippet of
Facebook page shows
Empire to be available
across multiple
platforms.
Advert shows
Empire has
branched out to
doing
endorsements
Site is categorized by the
different branches of
media available.
Interchangeable title
cards to help appeal
to a wider audience
of viewers.
5. Title of both the magazine
and the game they are
advertising is in bold red,
ensuring they are the first
thing the eye is drawn to.
Barcode, showing
availability for
purchase
Batman is framed in shadow
and the picture is devoid of
colour, showing how bleak
and serious his situation is.
Tagline for Deus Ex is in
bold red, making it seem
important. Usage of a
rhetorical question helps
draw the reader in and
want to know more.
Biggest word, highlighted in
capitals, is FREE, making people
want whatever is being given
away. This is emphasized by the
bold red being used once again.
Blimp rises above the
image, giving the
impression of being
three dimensional and
making the picture
more immersive.
Advertisements for games
placed right above the title,
which is naturally one of the
first things the eye will drawn
to. This makes it more likely the
reader will take an interest in
the ads.
Traces of a city skyline in
the background. Tying in to
the game’s setting.
PC GAMER: COVER
6. Title is in a bold red with capital
letters. Making sure the reader is
immediately drawn to it. This is
emphasized by the sniper scope design
in the o’s and the exclamation point.
Intriguing tagline,
describing how
addictive and
consuming the video
game can be.
Doom is very lavishly
praised and kept in high
regard by the author and
by proxy; the reader.
Snippets of the game
are shown, both
highlighted in red to
make them more
noticeable and
annotated by the
author to help explain
why Doom is as good as
he says it is. Each
annotation has a
tagline that uses red,
once again playing into
how the eye is drawn
to the colour, especially
on a negative
background like black.
Background is plain
white with a rocky
design in the left corner,
probably to make the
aesthetic feel similar to
that of Doom and help
the reader immerse
themselves in it.
Tagline ‘sucked into hell’ is clever, as it shows how
immersive the game can be, the red not only draws
attention, but also ties into the word hell, making
the tag all that much more memorable.
PC GAMER: DOUBLE SPREAD
7. Red highlights on the
selection bar and the titles
of the articles,
immediately highlighting
them as the more
important aspects of the
page for any web surfers.
Advertisement
targeted at
gamers,
appropriate for a
gaming website.
Not only a website for gamers, but also
showing how to best maintain a PC.
Showing diversity.
Constantly updating
newsfeed, ensuring
the website does not
get behind the times.
Social media icons,
display diversity of the
website and how it spans
across multiple
platforms.
PC GAMER: WEBSITE HOMEPAGE
8. Title is in bold red, along
with the price, to make the
buyer more inclined to
purchase it.
Important sounding phrases, designed to draw the reader in,
using buzz words like ‘ATTACKER’ and ‘PASSION’ Each
sentence is highlighted with a different picture and colour to
give them some individuality. The most graphic of the
pictures; the one labelled ‘Attacker’ is highlighted in red, to
show how important and brutal the storyline will be.
Barcode, to show
the magazine is
available for
purchase to the
consumer.
The line of sight is immediately
drawn to the centre of the
page, due to the usage of the
word ‘DEAD’ in all caps with an
exclamation point.
The word ‘free’ is
highlighted in red, to give
the impression of
importance and make the
reader want to find out
about. the free product.
Since the man in the foreground
is positioned directly above the
word ‘dead’ with a worried
expression on his face, we can
infer that he will be the possible
victim. While the man with an
ominous expression behind him
is likely the murderer.
TV: COVER
9. Large, brightly coloured
‘Megastar’ immediately
draws the reader in with
curiosity as to who that
is.
Bright colours all around the dame,
all are often traditionally associated
with femininity, like pink and purple,
suggesting a very feminine
personality on the part of the Dame.
Feathers and plumage are
both emphasised in the
picture and the article,
suggesting something
eccentric about the Dame
Edna.
Woman’s
position and
posture suggests
that she is
addressing a live
studio audience
Words ‘The Truth’
are capitalised,
flaring the curiosity
of the reader and
making them want
to find out more
about the article.
TV: DOUBLE SPREAD
10. The usual trend of
highlighting the title of
the magazine/website
in red is followed here.
Usage of blue and orange
contrast on the front page
makes the site more
aesthetically pleasing.
Advertisements for google
chrome shows the site
endorses other products.
Twitter link
shows the site
spans across
multiple forms
of social media.
Site heavily
advertises the
magazine,
including the low
price on the
front, which will
make web
surfers more
inclined to buy it.
Site shows the kind of
television it specialises in,
with ‘Soaps’ at the top of the
home page.
Site has more than
information about TV, it
also displays the
timetables.
TV: WEBSITE HOMEPAGE
11. Proposal
Working title: Media: The Whole Plate
Audience: My magazine will be based on current and
modern media, from TV to video games. Which will make it
most suited to the current generation of 16-24 year olds,
most likely male. Though there will be room for a female
audience. It will appeal to every social class, as each class
watches TV and film in some capacity.
Rationale: I’ve always had a strong interest in the tropes
and techniques used in modern media. So I already have a
fairly strong knowledge base in this area. This is what fuelled
my decision to create a magazine that focuses on the
current tropes used in media, as well as a general review of
the quality of some modern shows, films and games. Films
will be easier for me to analyse after my last project, where I
had to write, act in and edit a short film of my own. All of
this game me a much more solid idea of how to make and
market a passable film. The same ideas will translate on a
smaller scale to TV and video games.
my own product. I will also look at magazines featuring
gaming as their tagline, to see what kind of products gamers
are usually interested reading about. Finally, I will research
television magazine, to see what kinds of shows are the
most heavily advertised and what shows are the most
popular. This will help me appeal to a wider audience, as
well as appealing to several different tastes.
Project Concept: I am going to make a magazine highlighting
and reviewing the Tropes and techniques used in modern
media, specifically some current TV shows, Films and video
games. My goal in this is to create a product that spans
across multiple platforms and appeals to a huge range of
people, due to its multi-media presentation. The magazine
will be split into three parts, TV, film, and game, possibly
colour coded to make them easier to navigate. Each part will
contain an analysation of the most common tropes used in
whatever particular show the issue is focusing on and will
also include a review for said product. I will look into other
magazines that focus on media for my inspiration, primarily
Empire magazine, which is known for its usage of tongue-in-
cheek humour that I would like to replicate in
Evaluation: I plan to evaluate my work based on how well I
blend three of the most important aspects of modern media
together in one magazine. As well as making sure not to
overspecialise in one particular area. I will also evaluate my
work based on how well I can display knowledge of the
tropes and techniques in all three aspects.
13. Magazine cover- experiment reflection
To start with, I knew my magazine would be called “The Whole Plate”
because of it’s focus on three of the main aspects of modern media;
T.V, Film and Video Games. So first, I decided on using multiple fonts
to reflect this in the title. As well as a black banner behind it, to make
the orange words stand out more. I had difficulty deciding on what the
main image of the cover would be, in the end, I tried blending
together three separate images, one for each focus, into one big
image, with some degree of success, though it still didn’t look right to
me.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18. Reflection: double-spread
My double spread relies mostly on
bright, eye catching pictures to draw
the focus of the reader, with bold
reds, contrasted against black. The
tagline for the article is a rhetorical
question, which subconsciously makes
the reader want to know the answer. I
am very happy with the format of the
spread and hope to replicate
something similar in my final project,
though I might put a bit more thought
into the pictures I use as well as some
annotations.
I’m not sure about the font I have
used in the spread, I think it could be
a lot more visually interesting while
still being easy to read. So in my
future project I will attempt to find a
more impressive font, for both the
article and the tagline.
I would also like to look at the size of
the pictures I use. Rather than just
two big pictures and a fairly small
amount of writing as is shown.
Instead I would like to have lots of little pictures with quite
a large amount of writing, since I want to make a magazine
based on media, there will certainly be a lot more for me
to say than can be contained in just one page. Finally, I
would like something other than a white background
behind the letters, as it’s not very interesting just to have
plain white. Instead I might use darker black or blue
colour. All-in-all, this was a good start and brought me a lot
closer to what I want my final design to be like, so I am
overall quite happy with the experiment product
produced, as I feel that with some fine tuning, it’s already
very close to what I want to make.
27. Bibliography
1. Teddy Blass. (2010). Empire Magazine Gets Nolan and Inception Fever. Available:
http://www.nolanfans.com/2010/06/03/empire-magazine-nolan-and-inception-fever/. Last accessed 20th
February 2018.
2. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ne1S_noKvm4/VF_VnC20YTI/AAAAAAAAALw/WJ_dRACXlQg/s1600/empire-in-
cinemas.jpg
3. N/A. (2018). Empire Homepage. Available: https://www.empireonline.com/. Last accessed 20th february
2018
4. N/A. (2011). PC gamer US. Available: https://downmagaz.com/game_magazine/5432-pc-gamer-us-
october-2011.html. Last accessed 21st February 2018.
5. Jake Godin. (2013). May 1994 - The peak of PC Gamer's Doom obsession. Available:
https://www.pcgamer.com/may-1994-the-peak-of-pc-gamers-doom-obsession/. Last accessed 21st
February 2018
6. PC Gamer. (2018). PC Gamer home page. Available: https://www.pcgamer.com/. Last accessed 21st
February 2018.
7. N/A. (2018). Tv Magazine. Available: http://cdnimages.uniquemagazines.co.uk/Large/35143619.jpg. Last
accessed 21st February 2018.
8. H Bauer Publishing. (2018). TV Choice. Available: https://www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk/. Last accessed
21st February 2018.
