2. Cork film festival 2017
-The magazine has the standard layout and follows the general convention of all film festival
brochures, with the same structure, clearly displaying the sponsors and the people involved
on the first pages, then following up with all the possible events to attend during the festival.
-The language used throughout the brochure is formal meant for the more educated
individuals interested in the film industry, whereas the color scheme is a contrast of light and
dark in order to make certain parts of the brochure stand, for instance much of the
background is colored blacks or dark blues, with the areas of text being bright yellows or
oranges.
-The images used throughout have clearly carefully been composed for usage, as well as
likely also photo shopped for clever visuals a standard photo can’t achieve.
-Font styles are very standard such as Calibri, the only editing done to them is the change of
size and color, otherwise this text is purely meant to inform, not capture the attention of the
audience.
-The website of Cork film festival integrates idea from both Aesthetica and the Finnish
industry, using a simple design and color scheme with easy to read text and also utilizing a
trailer to describe their festival, however of using a twitter page although they undoubtedly
have one, is the system of having a newsletter, with this process they can keep all followers
of their programme up to date with the latest news.
3. Aesthetica film festival 2017
-Much of the contents of this brochure matches the description that of the Cork film festival, a huge
difference however is the text style and the color scheme, it is primarily composed of a contrast of
white backgrounds and black colored, with the occasional exceptions of adverts part way through
using colored backgrounds designed more for capturing the audiences attention, as these colors
make them stand out from the rest of the pages, as well as using this effect to mark the end of
segment of the brochure.
-The design to the Aesthetica
Website is similar to that of it’s
brochure, in that it displays all it’s
information clearly for any readers
to see without putting a bunch of
ads to the side to draw their
attention elsewhere, as well as
placing a trailer at the top of their
homepage to show off the annual
film festival.
4. Finnish film industry
-In comparison to the film festival posters ‘Finnish’ has very little in common with them, the
main similarity is the text, again using basic black text used to inform rather than captivate, a
notable exception to this rule is the cover as seen on the left which uses a visually appealing
image of a coastal area using darker colors, which then contrasts with the text which is large
and white to help stand out compared to if it had been against a bright background.
-This magazine makes use of an increased amount of images to capture the attention of the
audience, however the majority of them are informative, this is done by including the concept
art for the movies themselves, this can include a snapshot from a scene in the movie or even a
scene that wasn’t even placed into the final product. Another popular method used to capture
the attention of the audience is by including pictures of celebrities in the latest blockbusters in
order to grab the attention of the audience as a wide majority of the population will be
interested in the latest news concerning their favorite Hollywood icons.
-This magazine also makes more use out of the mast heads, using large titles to give a brief
summary to the audience without going into detail to spike curiosity.
-The layout of the website is a sleek and modern design which is accompanied by a dark color
scheme similar to that of it’s magazine, the homepage is comprised of the latest news
concerning the company and it’s twitter page in order to receive efficient feedback from their
audience.
5. Total film issue 266 2017
-The previous magazines have been aimed at the more educated reader, this however is a regular
magazine covering the general media of film, using the techniques that many other magazines
employ in order to grab the attention of the consumer, this includes a bold unique styled title, a
hot topic currently in the media in order peak the curiosity of the reader in this it’s the latest in
the star wars franchise ‘The last Jedi’
-At the bottom of the magazine is the cover line ‘Will Smith Xmas gift guide’, using a popular icon
will draw attention of anyone currently reading the magazine as you would be under the
assumption that they are interested in the celebrities, plus many people never know what to buy
for Christmas so this is an excellent way to sell copies.
-While the magazine definitely includes a significant amount of informative text, it is laid out
differently compared to others for example it is set up in loop around images at the center of the
page, this particular magazine also makes an increase in usage of images, particularly scenes from
new or famous movies such as the new ‘Bladerunner’ or ‘The wingman’.
-Total films’ website focuses on drawing the audience in with interesting news stories regarding
the latest in cinematography, whether this be arguments between stars on set or simply movie
theory controversies, anything that sounds interesting to the reader whether what is being
displayed is true or not. This accompanied with the bold text and eye catching pictures make this
a popular website to be visited.
6. Canal walk gaming expo 2017
-With gaming magazines like this there are immediate noticeable differences not just with the
content displayed, for instance there is a noticeable lack conventions that go with magazines
generally, instead the entire page is taken up with advertisements as the idea is to try and sell all the
products they possibly can, and this year has been a popular year for the consoles with the release of
the Xbox 1 S and even VR now finding it’s way into mainstream media as famous games have found
their way onto the niche market such as Skyrim, Doom, Fallout and Super hot, as well as the VR
headset becoming more affordable for people. (the price tags on the magazine are priced in the
South African rand which is approximately 0.054 the value of the British pound)
-The aim of this is to offer the audience the latest in gaming, details about the game aren’t provided
to save room and to try and convince the reader that it’s a good deal as a new game is somewhat of
an unknown anomaly is the media. However due to this being part of gaming expo they also
advertise all the different events going on at the time, which is also a feature present in all film
festival brochures including the two listed above.
-The homepage to the canal gaming expo is rather plain for a gaming website, the convention of
these websites is to use eccentric color schemes and large text followed by exciting pictures to
capture the attention of the audience, this one however is a simple white background with basic
black text, with a rundown of events, deals, venues and dates.
7. Edge magazine
-The design and layout of edge magazine is incredibly similar to that of total film
magazine, in that there are many eye catching images on the screen setup around the text
for additional effect.
-The main reason behind this is because they are both hosted by the same server and
company who would use similar design for all their magazines as it’s this design that gets
the views, the primary differences of these magazines are the color schemes, this one
using a combination red, white and orange, and total film using a combination of reds,
whites, blacks and blues, the type of advertisements on one page, for instance this one
has video ads whereas total film has more professionally made print ads, and finally
obviously the news stories.
8. Empire magazine
-Empire magazine too uses eye catching news stories much like edge in
order to efficiently get the news stories across, but in comparison to
edge, this magazine rates and reviews movies based on the opinions of
their critics and the audience giving their general reviews.
-They also use a more simple color scheme and text style, likely done like
this in order to have the viewer focus on the facts rather than the
decoration, despite this however they still display ads on their site but
this is to profit from people viewing their page.
-In addition unlike edge, empire has done news stories and reviews on
popular TV series such as ‘stranger things’ and ’the walking dead’.
9. Retro gamer issue 161
-Retro gamer magazine has stuck with the theme of old fashioned games by using a green and pixelated style
cover, which was a graphical setting used by the first Gameboys and occasionally the Gameboy advance, plus
many consoles that came before this.
-To carry on this theme they will naturally use snapshots from retro games, hence the name. In this case it’s
images from the Pokémon red and blue games that took the Western media by storm and has been going
strong ever since.
-Of course like any magazine they have also included ads on the cover including the ‘latest’ in gaming in the
blobs and stars, as well as sticking with the convention of using large and bold text to capture the attention of
the audience. With the main cover line stating “an exclusive interview with Junichi Masuda”; one of the lead
designers behind the Pokémon franchise since the ’Ruby and Sapphire’ twin games released on November
21st 2014 for the 3Ds, this will have been placed on the cover because an interview with one of the lead
minds behind one of the most famous videogame franchises in history would have been a huge sales point.
-Another feature this magazine commonly utilizes is the inclusion of bright and flashy images from the games
of yesteryear, with quotes about said games in the column beside them, used to emphasize the impression
that particular game had in the media, whether that impression was good or bad or even controversial.
-As the games included in the magazine all have separate color schemes, the designers have made it so there
isn’t a strict color scheme on the page itself, simply changing the colors to match the theme of whatever is
currently being displayed, this will have been done to ensure that no matter what page the reader turns to,
the selected color scheme will never Look out of place.
10. Websites
• Cork film festival brochure 2017-http://corkfilmfest.org/
• Aesthetica short film festival 2017-http://www.asff.co.uk/
• Finnish film industry-http://ses.fi/en/home/
• Total film 266-http://www.gamesradar.com/totalfilm/
• Canal walk gaming expo 2017-https://canalwalk.co.za/events1/canal-
walk-gaming-expo/
• Empire magazine-https://www.empireonline.com/
• Edge magazine-http://www.gamesradar.com/edge/
• Retro gamer magazine-https://www.retrogamer.net/
11. Proposal
Working title: Next gen magazine (An idea taken from the development of a new console is called the next gen)
Audience: My audience doesn’t specifically have an age range or gender target, the idea is to create a magazine that
covers the gaming industry as a topic for anyone who takes gaming as a hobby or career more seriously and is interested
in being informed about this segment of the media, as a result of this, the magazine would most likely appeal to the
psychographics of wanna be’s/achievers, the reason behind this is because the magazine would be informing them of the
industry and if these are the type of people who supposedly want to do better in this area, the additional information
this magazine would grant would be appealing to them. Social status is also generally not too much of a concern,
however the reader may have to be more educated (abc1) in order to understand all lingo used in the magazine, as well
as enough wealth to be able to afford a platform for gaming, as this magazine is not aimed at non-gamers.
This magazine would be useful for anyone who takes part in the gaming industry, primarily due to it covering all aspects,
from the companies and the latest news regarding them, how gaming is currently being viewed in the media and even
the most anticipated upcoming releases, which is useful data for anyone looking to advance their experience in the
gaming industry. The reason as to why this magazine doesn’t have a specific age or gender barrier is because I believe it’s
the work of a limited mind to think that gaming stops at teenage boys, when in reality gaming is a media enjoyed by
people of all age categories and genders as there are so many different games of different genres in the industry there is
generally something that appeals to everyone, the same rule applies to peoples’ sexualities, as this magazine is suitable
to everyone regardless of their sexuality. The magazine would likely be on an international scale, this is because on a
regional scale a magazine that reaches a certain area would be a very limited space for a something that covers such a
broad topic, a national scale is better but because the magazine would also be tackling topics world wide such as
companies overseas it makes more sense to distribute it internationally. The use for this magazine is primarily for
information and to learn, as well as to seek advice on this section of the media.
12. Proposal
Rationale: The first project I completed surrounding ‘Irn Bru’ has given me the knowledge and skills that I need in
Photoshop in order to manipulate images in software to make them different and this is a crucial part of magazine
design, making the infographic and print ad have also taught me how to setup different layouts to a print to either
make them line up or to make them more aesthetically appealing. Studying media has given me the insight into the
industry that I need in order to understand not only how magazines are designed but also the research that goes
into making them. I also have a passion for paying attention to the latest news regarding the gaming industry of all
aspects, and it’s this that has inspired me to do a magazine based on the project. I acquire this knowledge through
news stories found online, generally recommended to me by a browser, the primary portion of it however comes
from YouTube with channels that cover the news in gaming and the newest controversies, these channels can
include ‘Whatculture’ and ‘OutsideXbox’, but even less popular gaming channels like Gopher touch on these
subjects and express their opinions on the matter, the input also comes from forum posts dedicated to discussing
the latest events.
13. Proposal
Project concept: The initial idea for the project is to create an informative magazine on the gaming industry, this
includes everything involving games, old titles, upcoming releases, news on the largest videogame conglomerates,
designers and producers and all points in-between, a general overview of the industry as a whole. I will need to
continue the line of research I currently do if I am to be successful, however that won’t be enough, I'll also have to
research the history of gaming, and even though I have looked into this subject before it will require further research.
On top of that I will also have to conduct research into the technology that has been used to develop games in the
past and how that technology has been adapted and upgraded in order to improve the capacity and quality of games
today, that is to say how we transitioned from the Nintendo 64 to the PlayStation and Xbox, the first sign of advanced
gaming tech, historical research also requires study into how gaming has been received in the past this includes when
they were critically acclaimed hits such as ‘Resident evil 4’ which to this day has an occult following and to many is
still a fan favorite, to the parts of gaming that weren’t as well received, such as the ‘Manhunt’ franchise and of course
‘Mortal Kombat’, which has been a victim of the media since it’s inception.
Likely the front cover of the magazine is going to display the hottest topics in the news at the moment, one topic that
sparks the interest of people the most is controversies, almost everyone has a side in these arguments and are
curious to know the details, most anticipated games are also a good thing to place on the cover, since they haven’t
been released yet readers will want to discover as much as the can about them before the actual release date. The
double page spread is likely where I would contain the stories such as development in technology, the history of
gaming, and news regarding the game development companies today, and much like magazines like ’Retro gamer’ I
would most likely use a mixed color scheme depending on the images I display so that it always matches and doesn’t
contrast, and naturally use large, bold text as this is most likely to capture the attention of the reader.
14. proposal
Evaluation: The primary method I will likely use in order to evaluate the work is by creating a survey by the end of
the project in order to receive feedback from an audience and use this to aid me in my evaluation, this is a method
used widely by many online columns as well. I will also reference existing projects to compare my work to, to see if it
is up to standard, how many conventions of a magazine that it’s following etc, much of this evaluation will likely be
included in my on-going weekly analysis posts.
15. Website work
-This is the first website page I created using ’Wix’ a free online
website creator , which out of the programmes I used, vastly
preferred, this is down to Wix having a much easier to understand
layout, or it may have just been easier for me to understand, either
way I able to immediately start up the programme and create a web
page with relative ease. I liked the color scheme that I used to create
this website, this is
because they went
very well with the
theme of it, film noir
has always involved
dark colors as well as
themes, as a result the
black background
contrasted well with
the grey text, however
tom improve it further
I could’ve included
videos to make the
website more
engaging.
16. Website work
This work was completed using the website ‘Wordpress’ to more mixed results. I was unable to complete as much work and to the standard I
would’ve liked, this was mainly due to the confusing layout of the website, I was unable to get a grasp on the tools available and how to use
them effectively, that I was unable to get much done with this website. The advantage to this website however is that the template allows it to
look more professional, whereas wix didn’t have this feature as present.
17. Magazine practice
The magazine cover on the right was created by using exclusively Photoshop, the
partial DPS on the left however was created with Indesign involved, and as result I
had an easier time of fitting the images while keeping them detailed.
18. This is my finished cover to my magazine
design, while it represents the design of a real
magazine, the background restricts how much
content can be displayed, if I have time by the
end of the project I will see if I can re-create
this design. From left to right shows the
process of my design work.
19. My ‘old world blues’ poster however is very simplistic, including hardly any of the details commonly found on a
magazine cover, for instance it has a significant lack of cover lines and blobs and stars to take up the cover. The images
placed on the cover of the magazine are not very obvious, people who are not well informed on American stars of the
time will not know the topic of the magazine, in this case it’s musicians like the Inkspots and Ella Fitzgerald. However at
first this would not be obvious, as a result more cover lines would have been useful to explain the context of the
magazine.
On top of this the color scheme of this magazine is very bland, the justification I had for this was that the photos I found
were in black and white so I thought it would be best to have color of the background match the images, however given
that the first colored photos reached the common market in 1907, there would have undoubtedly been colored photos
of the stars for the cover, and therefore it would have been fine to use a more vibrant color scheme.
Additionally while it is obvious what the mast head is on the cover, what isn’t obvious is what it’s describing. The term
‘old world blues’ refers to those so obsessed with the past they can’t see the present or future for what it is, which
while it holds relevance to the 60’s is hardly relevant to the musicians, and is not obvious at first.
20. Magazine practice
This was one of my final products
of a DPS for my practice
magazines, using Indesign to
properly fit the photos, followed by
exporting them in order to
properly move them over to
Photoshop I was able to complete
a DPS of a magazine to a
reasonable standard however it
can still be improved, primarily
through changing the color scheme
and style of text used to make it
more engaging to the reader, I
could’ve also made the images
interact with the text more, for
example making the images go
slightly behind the text provided it
didn't make the text hard to read.
21. Indesign
-Indesign is another editing software created by adobe, the makers of Photoshop, one of the key differences between
these two pieces of software however is that one of them is good at processing images(Indesign) and the other is good
at resizing them while keeping them in detail (Photoshop.
-However the issue that arises from this is that both programmes are required in order to properly transfer any image
to Photoshop to not only keep resolution but also to keep the placement accurate, Indesign itself has a way to bypass
the accuracy issue however by using grids, these are guidelines that are customizable before being placed, this allows
you to keep track of where you are placing everything to make sure it lines up, this as a result makes it look more like an
official document rather than a hastily thrown together article.
-To further reinforce this image, it is also possible to wrap the text, by doing this you can make it so the text is placed
around the image to your choice, overlapping it, going round it or just simply avoiding it altogether to name a few
options.
22. Mast head
Image
quote quote
Quote relating to
image
Topic relating to the
double page spread
Blobs and
starsCover line
Blobs and
stars
image
image
text text
headline
25. • 8th December finish front cover
• 12th December finish DPS
• 15th December finish website
• (Complete any finishing touches over the weekend)
Production schedule
