Photographs for poster and magazine front cover feature

These are the original photographs that I took that were then to be manipulated for effect on 'picnik.com' and paint.net On set I decided to experiment with various styles of shots and here are a few of my favourites for my poster:


This photograph would be effective as the dominant image on my poster for 'Flat 39' because it portrays the core of the narrative: The female protagonist possessed by an evil force within the flat. The darkness of the image is effective as it connotes the horror genre perfectly and the use of the mirror as a prop in the image is significant because it is presenting two sides to the female's personality. The facial expression of the female portrays a sinister personality and on photoshop I will be able to manipulate the eyes of the female in the reflection to present a change in persona to the viewer.


For my magazine front cover feature I am going to use a long low angle shot of the female character as she is now recognisable to the audience therefore they will be able to establish what film is being advertised on the 'Total Film' magazine front cover. Also, I have established due to my magazine front cover research that there is usually a mid shot of the main character of the film in a higher key lightig than the poster (if it's horror) as the audience need to easily recognise the character, thus, the film itself. These were my favourite images:


I had to do a re-shoot of the images for my magazine front cover as I needed to ensure that I had suitable photographs to include in the 'usp' section of my magazine of the female character on set and never before seen set and location shots. I also needed to ensure that the image of the female was mid shot and relatively high key lighting so this is the new image that I now plan to use:

First edit of teaser trailer

This is the first edit of my teaser trailer. I uploaded this video onto youtube so that I could obtain some useful audience feedback in order for me to improve it.
It is important for me to get audience feedback regarding my first edit so that I can change aspects of it in order to maintain the horror atmousphere but also incorporate what types of edits/effects/camera shots they would like to see.



From my audience feedback I can establish that I need to make the following changes in order to improve my teaser trailer:

- Add production credits at the beginning of the trailer to establish the company and the genre of the film (through the dark colours)
- Rearrange particular edits for example, I need to add a 'fade to black' from the title shots to their following shots so that the transition isn't as harsh and obvious to the viewer
- Shorten the shots near the end of the trailer so that the build up of tension is quicker and more effective therefore adding to the adrenaline of the viewing.

'Total Film' titles

Here are a few examples of diverse 'total film' titles adapting to the genre of the film they are featuring on the cover. When I construct my film magazine cover feature I am going to ensure that my 'Total Film' title or the title of my magazine will effectively portray the horror genre evident in my film.

Shot list and Edit list

Shot list
1. Low angle LS of flat panning up
2. Eye angle LS of three friends walking
3. Eye-Low angle MS of three friends walking
4. Eye angle MS-CU of friends opening the door and walking up the stairs
5. Low angle CU of friends walking up the stairs, panning up
6. Title shot 'What happens when'
7. High angle CU of female opening the front door
8. Eye angle CU of bottom of the door closing
9. Eye angle CU of female locking the foor
10. Eye angle CU of female putting the latch on the door
11. Title shot 'The people you trust'
12. Slightly high angle LS of main bedroom
13. Slightly high angle LS of kitchen
14. Slightly high angle LS of spare bedroom
15. Eye angle MS of flat buzzer
16. Eye angle MS-CU of female answering phone - 'hello?' 'hello?'
17. Title shot 'Become the people you fear'
18. Slightly low angle LS-CU of female getting out of bed and walking past camera
19. High angle POV shot of looking out of a window
20. Low angle LS/POV of exterior of flat
21. High angle LS of female standing in the gardens
22. Eye angle MS of female running through the hall
23. High angle POV shot of running down the stairs
24. High angle MS of female rocking in the corner of a room
25. High angle MS of female rocking in the corner of a room
26. High angle POV shot of running down the stairs
27. Slightly High angle CU of female looking up in the corner of a room
28. Eye angle POV shot of running in the gardens
29. Title shot 'Flat 39'
30. Low angle MS of female standing in a doorway
31. Title shot 'In cinemas 2011'

Edit List
1. Straight cut
2. Straight cut
3. Straight cut
4. Straight cut
5. Fade to black
6. Straight cut from black
7. Straight cut
8. Straight cut
9. Straight cut
10. Fade to black
11. Straight cut from black
12. Straight cut
13. Straight cut
14. Straight cut
15. Jump cut
16. Fade to black
17. Straight cut from black
18. Straight cut
19. Jump cut
20. Jump cut
21. Jump cut
22. Jump cut
23. Jump cut
24. Jump cut
25. Jump cut
26. Jump cut
27. Jump cut
28. Fade to black
29. Straight cut from black
30. Fade to black
31. Fade to black

Inception - Analysis

For my coursework as well as producing a teaser trailer of 1-2 minutes, I must also produce two ancillary products: a magazine cover featuring the film and a poster.
I am going to analyse the magazine cover and poster for Inception to establish common trends and conventions that I will stick to when I construct my ancillary products.



The title of the magazine 'total film' has effectively adapted to the genre of the film it is advertising: thriller. Through the images of the tops of building which appear to look technological, the audience can establish that this film is of the thriller genre and the title of 'total film' suggests that the film is complex.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the dominant image on the cover suggesting that he plays a huge role in the film and that he is the main character. Through his facial expression the audience can establish that his character is a complex one and the audience can also make an intelligent judgement that DiCaprio is the main protagonist in the film.
The title of the film 'inception' is layered across DiCaprio letting the audience know that he has a dominant role in the film and the typography 'inside the ultimate head trip' is the magazines USP as the audience wish to read about this 'ultimate head trip' as the magazine is suggesting that they have information about it. The magazine also has other sections such as 'Tron, everything you need to know' and 'the 27 most mind-blowing movies ever!' This gives the audience another reason to purchase the magazine as the issue contains other attractions. The text 'Mind-blowing' is repeated twice on the cover to reiterate to the audience that Inception is a film revolving around the mind.



There are common features between the magazine cover feature and the poster. Both include the central image of DiCaprio. Both include the title of the film 'Inception' across Dicaprio's character. Both have similar colours, dark blues and blacks and red. These colours indicate to the audience the genre of the film. They connote a psychological thriller with sci-fi elements and the red colour stands out on both products suggesting that the film includes elements of danger. Interestingly, on the poster DiCaprio as the main character appears vulnerable and overpowered by his surroundings, this potrays more of the narrative of the film whereas on the magazine front cover feature DiCaprio appears very much in control and not vulnerable but quite the opposite, this suggests that film magazine features revolve around the main character and the idea of having a recognisable face/person so that the audience can be drawn to it.
In my opinion, this is very effective of ancillary products as the magazine cover feature attracts the audience through the character as the audience have prior knowledge of the film so know that he represents the film whereas posters are more complex and reveal more of the narrative which attracts the audience as the poster effectively 'speaks more' than a film magazine cover feature.

I will be using this idea for my ancillary products by concentrating more on potraying the narrative on the poster and having a recognisable face/image on the magazine front cover to allow the audience to familiarise themselves. I will also use similar colours on both products so that the genre is constantly reinforced. I will also make the title of the magazine cover reflect the genre of the film, perhaps through colour of style of typography of images within the title of the magazine.

Sounds for my teaser trailer

During the editing process i need to include certain music/sounds to accompany the edits so that the right atmousphere is created for the audience viewing the teaster trailer. I have used www.freesound.org to search for the kind of sounds I want, for example, 'a door banging' and 'eerie music'. I type phrases such as these into the search bar on the website and then listen to the sounds that appear and select the one that I think will suit my teaser trailer best. I then save the sounds and insert them into adobe premiere so that I can edit them to my liking and so that they fit the shots/edits correctly. This is a screen shot with the search bar and an example of a search I made, with all of the possible sounds I can save and insert into my teaser trailer