Development of my magazine front cover

By Tarun Knapp

The model I used is the same character featured on the film poster, this creates a cohesive look throughout my ancillary tasks. The model it dressed in all black , I chose this as her clothing because black resembles death and is closely related to fear and horror. In addition the black contrasts with the models pale skin, which makes the image come across as ghostly

The back ground it white, I chose to take my images in a white room because the image produced will be lighter and clearer which is beneficial on a magazine front cover as I wanted the image to stand out and catch the audiences eye.

I directed the model so that her stance looks threatening and devious, I achieved this by placing her shoulder towards the camera. This looks similar to an animals stance before pouncing, this helps to show the audience that the character is malevolent.

The character it also looking directly into the camera, this engages the audience as the character is making direct contact which helps build a relationship between the viewer and the character.

To make the image look more professional I cut it out using the lasso tool, this has allowed me to control which strands of hair will feature on the front cover. I have made the image black and white, as this makes the image look more sinister. In keeping with my colour scheme, the characters eyes are a piercing blue. This creates a central point of focus for the viewer. In addition her eyes match the title of the magazine, this creates a link between the featured film and the magazine.

The font style for the title it extremely simple and clear, this is useful as it will catch the eye of a reader. In addition the title stands out due to its size, the font is made this size as its the most important piece of text. The title is blue because I wanted to relate it to my film deactivate, in addition the colour is bright which will draw in attention.

I have added a thin banner along the top, this outlines the main films featured in the magazine. This is appealing to the audience because people who read total film are industry experts, therefore they want to know quickly exactly what films are going to be featured in the magazine. Rather then people who just want to browse through the magazine. The banner is placed here because its easy to see within a stack which makes it easily visible to potential audiences. The font is a lot smaller as the copy is less important

I have added addition information on the left hand side, the text it placed here because naturally people read from left to right. I have added text because the intended audience want in-depth insight into the filming industry. The text ranges in font size depending on the importance, for example ’15’ is the largest front because it is the most significant to the viewers wants and needs. Views want a range of films which they can read about.

I used the liquefy tool to change the shape of the characters nose, naturally the model has a rounded nose which made her face look young. I narrowed the bridge and tip of her nose, this makes it look sharper and harsher. As a result the character comes across less innocent. I also used the tool tomake the characters arm thinner,this makes her look more skeletalwhich in tern makes the character appear evil.

In order to layer text on top of my image, I have added black blocks. This makes the text clears to the view can easily read it.

Using the burn tool, I have darkened the characters eye browns as well as her lower eye lid. Through darkening her eyes, the character appears to have a darker personality which people link to an evil person. In addition I have darkened the characters hair, when I changed the original image to black and white the majority of the image was grey. By making her hair look darker, she appears more frightening, this style is seen in many horror films for example: the grudge, orphan and poltergeist .

To make the image look more professional, I smoothed out the lines around her head. This has created a cleaner look which is more appealing. In the bottom left hand corner I have placed a barcode, this features on most magazine front covers. It has been placed here because it doesn't distract from the image, and its the last place a person looks.

I have rearranged the text in the top right hand corner, I have made the 15 bolder so it stands out even more, and I have made the text more compact, for example the word ‘best’ no longer falls over the image instead it has dropped down a line. To make certain copy more prominent I have added effects for example; I added a blue drop shadow to the number 15, and a soft grey shadow behind the word deactivate. This gives a 3D effects which increases the magazines visual appeal.

I felt that although the title stood out, it looked extremely flat and uninteresting. I chose to add a bevel and emboss, this has given the title some shape but its still very clear. I have developed the circular sticker to make it more appealing, I have used a gradient along side a blue soft outer glow. This makes the sticker bolder and more eye catching.

As previously stated the intended audience want in-depth information, this is why addition information has been allocated to the right hand side.

At the bottom of the page I have included a website for the magazine, I have chosen to add this because the majority of people use the internet. If industry experts read magazines surly they use the internet to gain further information. As this isn’t a vital aspect of the front cover the font size is very small.

To help the audience relate to the magazine, I have added a quote. The quote gives the reader an insight to the type of film, To highlight this I have used a blue soft outer glow. This helps the quote stand out amongst the rest of the text.