The Process of Creation (Double Page Spread)

To begin with, I first did some research before carrying out the photoshoot. This was done on things like lighting. These are a couple of the videos that I looked at.

Before starting to take the photos and to construct the actual page, I first made some flat plans of the ideas I had that could be used. These are here:

I then used a survey, which was answered by my target audience, on things like which flat plan they preferred and the type of article, colour scheme and other such things that needed including. I found that they were happy if the colour palette didn't exactly match up to everything else, since it was for a magazine. I also found they would prefer to read a review page, and that they wanted close up photos of the main stars.


From here, we carried out the photoshoot. Here are some of the orignal images that were used for both the post and double page spread:

These first four images are all from the first photoshoot we did. These were all close ups of our actors for Deluca and Sarah, which I had wanted to use for the double page spread, and possibly also the poster, though this was not yet something I had fully decided upon. This photshoot consisted entirely of  indoor photography, taken against a black background. Here we also used the lighting equipment to get the exact look we wanted.

These next four images are from the second photoshoot, carried out. These began with some indoor photography, using the same place as with the first shoot. These however, did not turn out as well since the background was too low to include the balloon. Whilst this could have been worked around, I felt that the outdoor photos worked better for what I had wanted. The next part of the photoshoot took place outside. This was much more experimental than the others, trying out things like the use of the umbrella and balloon, as well as neither. This is the shoot where the photo for my poster came from.

Once the article had been written and the images had been collected, I started the construction of the spread. This process is shown below:

The first thing that I did was to put together the simple, basic template, with the boxes where I wanted everything to go. Here I put a small box in the upper right hand corner with the word "Features" in. This was so that someone who may be quickly flicking through the magazine would be able to tell what sort of article they were reading and what they were about. I also put the title of the film in a red box, using the same typography as is used on the poster. I then had another red box on the right page where I would put facts about the film in, since this is something I found used to add more interesting information and substance to the page. Then, on the left page, there is the large black box where I knew I wanted to put the actual written article.

The next thing I did was to add the images. The image on the left page shows the character 'Sarah'. This is a smaller image since she is not the central or titular character, where as Deluca is, who gets a large photo taking up most of the left hand page. I used both these images as it helped the readers relate the article more easily to the film. The size also helps to draw people in as one of the first things they see will be these images. This is, again, why I used the photo of Deluca, as it is quite interesting, being him in a top hat. This does not directly relate to the film, though does give the readers and idea of the themes within the film. 

The next thing I did was to add the actual written article. I placed this on the black background, in a white colour, so that it would stand out. The text also uses a typography that I found is often used in most professional magazines. The article was placed where it is, since it does not require to be big or stand out too much, since this may make it more difficult to read. It is also the part of the page that does not really not to stand out, visually. Rather the page relies on other things like the black, red and white, colour scheme and images to pull in the readers. 

The next thing that I did was to fill the empty white space in the bottom. To do this I used a image that resembled film, where I filled in each cell with one of the illustrations that were featured in the film. I did this so that the would be another thing that could draw the reader in, as well as to so the exploration of religion and sin in my film. Whilst this is not explicitly showing and discussing these themes, like the central image to represent surrealism, it does give the suggestion of what will be found in the film. 

I then added the yellow bubble on the right had page. In it I added a quote that had been taken from the article. This was placed over an empty part of the photo, which helped make the page seem a little more filled and not leaving these empty spaces. It also works in drawing in the readers eyes, and so, their interest. To make it stand out even more, particularly against the image, I used the bevel and emboss tool, adjusting the levels as shown in the the screenshot. It also adjust the outer glow, to help in it standing out. 

I then, on the left page, added a rating for the film, which was 5 stars. This was, like the bubble, put over an empty space in the image. This was placed against the black background, so that it would stand out and draw in the reader's eye. This, again like the bubble, used the bevel and emboss tool so that it would stand out even more. 

The last thing I did was to fill in the facts, with things like the main crew and the cast, as well as some interesting facts concerning the sort of behind-the-scenes. I also added on the page numbers later, so the reader would easily know where they were in the magazine and could easily find it from a contents page, as was the common conventions of a magazine of this type.