Magazine - Creating Film Magazine Front Cover

Creating Film Magazine Front Cover

The first step in the process of creating the film magazine cover was looking at codes and conventions of a magazine front cover. 

Tinika and I looked into research and found the main codes and conventions of a magazine front cover were: buzz words, a central image, a masterhead, anchorage text, banner, barcode, date, issue, price and further images.

The first thing we decided to do was create a few masterheads to see which one would look the best/we would prefer.

After creating mastheads, we decided that we would put a template together of what would be an ideal front cover for our film magazine. This would include some of the key features. We wanted to do this so we had a little bit of time to edit things we didn't like and add other things we had forgotten about.

We then received feedback from our media teacher about the layout and masterhead.

She told us the masterhead needs to change, the bar code and price need to move and buzzwords needed to be added.

Due to this, Tinika and I spent a lot more time editing the magazine and researching its codes and conventions. We used my previous knowledge of doing GCSE Media Studies and the fact I spent a year studying and annotating them to our advantage. 

Around the same time we received the feedback, I came across an editing website that allowed us to create pieces of work such as posters and magazine covers called Canva. 

As a result, mine and Tinika's magazine cover began to improve drastically. We made sure we responded to all the feedback given to us by our teacher and added some more colours to make buzz words stand out even more.

After we added all the features of a magazine cover and finally got an image for our film magazine, we decided to play around with the layout and a few of the subheadings we had scattered around the magazine. 

We decided we didn't like the look of the box around 'mega movie marathon.' We decided to chance this and the colour of our sticker as it wasn't eye catching enough for our audience to take it off the shelf. 

This is our magazine front cover that we are about to show to our class and teacher for feedback today and hope we don't have to make too may adjustments. 

Magazine - Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover

MASTERHEAD - A masterhead features on all magazine covers. It is usually placed at the top center of the page which tells the audience which magazine it is. As it tells the audience which magazine they're looking at, it only makes sense that it is the largest text that appears on the magazine. This makes it eye catching for the audience. Masterheads often have bold text or are placed in a box to make them stand out even more. 

IMAGES - Magazines always have a main, central image which takes up most of the space on the page. If it was a film or gossip magazine, the central image would usually contain a picture of the main character/celebrity. This magazine becomes more appealing as it is about a celebrity in the lime light. This magazine is using celebrity endorsement to sell their magazine. There may be smaller images around the central image to advertise other products etc. 

BUZZ WORDS - These are words which grab the audiences attention and make the magazine seem to stand out from any other. Using words such as "exclusive" when talking about an interview will make them seem like they are the only magazine with this exciting information. 

ANCHORAGE TEXT - This text often overlaps with images and is normally quite large on the magazine cover. It tells the audience what stories will appear within the magazine. These often contain quotes taken from interviews. This will be to sell the magazine and make it different from all the others available to an audience member. 

BANNER - This gives overall information about the magazine and what can be found inside of it. 

BARCODE, DATE, ISSUE NUMBER and PRICE - All magazines contain these. The barcode appears on the front of the magazine as usually the back page is a paid for advertisement, the date and price are normally quite small but still relevant so that the audience can see this information.

Magazine - Codes and Conventions

Researching the codes and conventions of a film magazine will help Tinika and I to understand what we need to include when creating our magazine front cover. The key features we include will allow us to appeal to our demographic and create a successful film magazine. 
Doing this in advance helps us expand our knowledge even more as to what is key in our research and planning and what we need to do throughout our process of filming.
As a result of this research, Tinika and I plan to use a Canon EOS 1300D DSLR camera to shoot high quality pictures for out central image on our magazine cover. This gives us plenty of time to take the right shot and picture of our protagonist.  

Magazine - First Draft

Magazine - First Draft

This is Tinika and my first draft of our magazine cover. I used the first font that I created and based my theme off other movie and teenage magazines. This is due to the fact that I want the magazine to appeal to my target audience of people aged 15 and over.

We haven't included an image yet. We are planning on using a picture we take from our film footage. Moreover, I think we will play around with the magazine text. I personally think the colours do not match our theme and the layout needs to be changed however, I think it is a good start. 

We have also established that we need to have a main image on our magazine cover and it will be shot in due course. It will be shot by a Canon ESOS D1300 DSLR camera which allows us to have a high quality picture. 

Magazine - Font Names and Ideas

Magazine Font Names and Ideas

These are the designs I made for the title of my magazine. I like all of the designs, although I can only pick one.

I want to make my magazine look fun and to appeal to my target audience which is aged 15 plus. However, it also needs to relate to the genre of my film.

I wanted a contrast between the heading and the background of my magazine which may be quite dark. This is to foreshadow the themes of my film, but I wanted it to look interesting. 

I created the headings using a software on a website I found which also allows you to create/design your own magazine cover.

I will ask my peers and people aged 15 and over what heading they like the best. This allows me to get the best feedback I can and will be beneficial in picking the best font. This allows me to have a better understanding of what my audience are looking for. I will aim to receive feedback from at least 20 people aged 15 and over.

These are the 5 different fonts and designs they have to pick from: