Latest version of my review page

Here is the most up to date version of my review page. The layout is almost completely finished and the text is not yet written. I have sorted out the problem with the gutter and the centre line by deciding I want a 2cm gap between each column. The A3 review will fold in the middle of the tree in the picture of Tina so as not to disect any of the writing like it threatened to do before.
I have also made the Love facts from match.com box a bit more interesting by making it pink and adding a darker pink stroke around it; then I included three love hearts to make it more appealing and interesting to look at. Once the body of the review is added in, the whole spread will look more realistic.



The choices I made for my review page...

I chose to roughly base my film review page on Empire magazine. I am aware that it would not seem plausible for my short film to be featured in such a commercial film magazine and so I decided that the best way of making this believable, is by saying that my film won the Virgin Media Shorts award 2010, and that Empire magazine wanted to show its readers some of the best shorts of the year.

I had to make many vital choices while designing my review page- I wanted it to follow the main codes and conventions of music magazines, while also highlighting digital excellence.
I chose to have a header on my spread and I noticed that this was common in most film magazines as well as Empire. My footer, 'short reviewed' gives the reader knowledge of what the page consists of before they even read the review. It also included the date and the issue number; again, another common feature used by Empire.
I chose to add the title of the film, '(mis)match.com' in bright pink letters for a number of reasons; one, it links to the film poster thus connecting the two products, two, it connotes femininity and three, it attracts my intended female target audience. I bolded the word '(mis)' to further highlight that the film explored the bitter disappointments of online dating. I used a block font to make the title easy and clear to read, and to connect the film more explicitly with the internet.

The standfirst tells readers a brief description of what the review will be about without giving too much away. I changed the font to Times New Roman and made the colour dark grey so as to differentiate from the title as well as making sure the standfirst did not overpower the rest of the review.
The block light pink lines frames the film information and acts as a barrier from the title and the body of the review.
I used a drop cap as this showed digital excellence while also conforming to the codes and convetions of many music magazine review pages. My review was written in the ragged right format so it is easier to read.
I used two images on my review page- one main image of Tina sitting on the park bench alone; this was a vital shot as it summed up the whole film in one picture. The other smaller image is of Alan, the 'good' date which I feel is also a significant shot in the movie.
The use of the pull quote was a means of enticing readers and making them aware of what the review talks about- it also presents the film in a good light!

These are the priliminary choices I have made for my review page. The other parts on this first draft will soon be altered accordingly.

Review Page

Having looked at a range of different review pages, I realise that I am going to have to focus on the digital excellence of the page, yet also be aware to conform to some one the important codes and conventions of a review page. I want it to be inviting, yet not so busy that it turns peoples attentions away.

Step 1: I chose to have my review on a double page spread as this gave me more room to write and design the page appropriately. I added the title of the film in pink so it linked to the film and the colours used in the film and the poster; I also made the words (mis) bold so they stood out more- I used a different font for the title compared to the rest of the review as a means of highlighting it. The smaller tag line beneath is a short sentence explaining the film. This I chose to do in a dark grey and in Times New Roman font so it differenciated from the title yet was easily visible. I used a lighter grey for the rest of the basic information in the header and footer as this would make sure that this information didn't overpower the review. The rectangular image takes up a large amount of space as it is the key image in the film- it is also very eye catching. The caption of the photo is on the right hand side- it not only tells the readers who it is, it also explains how vital this image is within the film itself.

Step 2: I added some information about the film so that readers would know what kind of film it was and the basic plot outline. This is common of film reviews and so I conformed to this code and convention. I chose to add thick bold lines above and below the film information as this acted as a frame around it to make it stand out, and to separate it from the main copy.

I then added a box of other information, 'Love facts from...match.com'. This gave the readers some general information about the issue the film focuses on and provides some light hearted relief from the main review. It is also a way of drawing people in as everyone loves to find out some general facts! I framed this in a light pink border, the same as the thick lines which frame the film information above. I chose to use Edwardian Handscript font for the first part of the heading as it looks like a more romantic font.

Step 3: Although the writing on this page is not the real review, now I am able to visualise more specifically what the final spread will look like. The body text takes up about half of the A3 page yet it is interspersed with a picture and an information box about match.com so it is not too overpowering. I want the font to be readable so here I chose Times New Roman; I also made the font black so it is easier to read. There is still some tweaking I need to do, but this is the basic idea of what my final review will look like.

Editing my short film

I have been using IMovie HD to edit my short film. It has been a long process but I have learnt a lot from it. I have had to learn to crop both video and audio clips and to move them so they begin where and when I want them.
Through the editing process, I have also gained a greater knowledge of sequencing in order to construct a coherent narrative.
I have also learnt to add visual effects, such as a grainy 'old movie' effect for the flashback sequence, which help contribute to the final image of the film.

Screen shot of IMovie HD as I edit my film.