Dead Country Magazine Cover

This is the completed ancillary task of my magazine front cover, advertising my film 'Dead Country'. I used many conventions that I have found in other covers, such as dramatic use of colours and shades, bold titles emphasized using striking colours relating to my genre, as well as other things such as magazine date, issue number and price to add to the effect of authenticity.

Below is the original image I used for my magazine cover. 

Magazine Cover Flat Plans

I made various flat plans to draft my ideas of how the final magazine cover should look. 

The cover I decided to take most inspiration from was the final one, as I feel it would really be striking to have a close up of the zombie from my film, especially on a magazine cover. I also feel the title 'Cinemark' really stood out compared to the other ideas that I had come up with. 

Film Magazine Cover Analysis: Empire - Tron Legacy

I analysed the cover of an issue of Empire magazine and noticed several key concepts I could incorporate into my own magazine cover.

-Very powerful, bright masthead immediately attracts the public. I must follow this convention and create a bold and attractive masthead.

-A slogan that makes the story in the magazine sound un-missable, encouraging people to buy the magazine to find out more.

-Confidently bigs itself up with a high ranking title. In this case; magazine of the year. 

-The title of the main film in question is displayed in an attractive and relevant font, attracting potential fans of the film. I shall use this convention on my own magazine.

-Use of a self-supporting phrase implies that it is superior to other magazines, with the key word greatly emphasized. I will use take this approach with my magazine, stating why my magazine is better than others. 

-Offers other reasons to buy the magazine than just to read it, such as free gifts or collective value. A potential idea I could incorporate into my magazine.

-Other interesting stories displayed clearly on the cover to encourage the public to buy the magazine to find out more.

Filma Magazine Cover Analysis: Total Film - Star Trek

As I was going to make my own film magazine front cover, I needed to look at previous products for influence and use of conventions. First of, I used an issue of Total Film concerning Star Trek to analyse, picking up on various factors I should incorporate into my own magazine cover.

-Other stories in the magazine are mentioned at the top of the page, in a bright, eye-catching colour. I shall use startling colours on the important titles in my magazine

-The magazine’s masthead is bold and eye-catching, attracting the view of the audience. I will follow this style and create a powerful, attractive masthead.

-A statement of why the magazine NEEDS to be bought; in this case, implying that the story can’t be found anywhere else. 

-Main image at the center of the magazine draws the focus of the viewer. As well as attracting the attention of passers by, it lets them know what the main article is about without the need to read anything.
 I will follow this convention and have an eye-catching central image.

-The title of the subject film is bold and clear to attract potential reader/fans of the film. 

They also have a powerful statement about the film, with a key word highly emphasized. 

-Dramatic use of colours makes the magazine all the more interesting. I shall use the same style on my magazine.

-Mentions other films and stories mentioned in the magazine to tease the reader and encourage them to buy the issue to find out more. 

-Reveals the issue number, price and website, with the web address being slightly bolder to encourage readers to check it out.

Dead Country Poster

This is my final ancillary task of my film poster. 

I have followed various conventions from the horror genre, as well as conventions of a film poster itself, such as a rating from a well known film magazine and a website, among others. 

Below are a the original images I used in my poster. I simply asked a few of my classmates to pose in a zombie like fashion against a relatively white wall.

Film Poster Flat Plans

I have created a number of flat plans of my film poster, drafting out various ideas of what my final product should look like. I used various conventions that I have found in other products, such as use of actors' names, bold titles, a release date, a slogan and even a web address.

The plan I decided to take most influence from for my actual product is the final one, which I think when created using colours relating to the horror genre, such as reds and blacks, will create a highly stylised, eye-catching image.

Film Poster Analysis: The Dark Knight

Though not specifically related to the genre I am tackling, there are many conventions on this poster that I can apply to my own product.

-List of famous and talented actors really sell the film to the audience and a displayed clearly at the top of the poster. 

-Main image is of a key character, clearly a villain as they stand amongst great carnage, portrayed darkly with a gun in hand. This teases the audience with part of the plot, making them want to see the film to get the whole story.

-Background image creates great drama as it displays great chaos and destruction, a common theme in the film, which also reveals a bit of the film, in the sense of the scale of the disequilibrium.

-The title of the film is bright and clear, with an iconic symbol that relates to the film behind it, attracting the attention of the viewer. 

-Though not specifically a release date, the 'Coming Soon' at the bottom of the poster gives the viewers a feeling of anticipation as they await the film’s release.

Film Poster Analysis: 28 Days Later

As the film 28 Days later is quite an influential product on my own film, I decided to analyse a advertisement poster and note common conventions which I could apply to my own poster.

-Reveals the director at the top of the poster, who is well known for directing other successful films, raising the expectations and likelihood of other seeing this film. 

-Short, sharp phrases reveal a little of the story to raise interest in what actually happens in the film.

-Title of the film is central on the poster as it is the most important part, letting the audience know what film it is they should go and see. It is also very large and eye catching. I will make my film title follow the same pattern on my movie poster. 

-Reveals lots of information about the film at the bottom of the poster, using a dark colour so that it does not particularly stand out, such as the actors and production companies involved, both to credit them and perhaps even sell the film to the audience if they favour a particular actor, etc. 

-The films slogan creates an even more drama and interest to the audience, making them want to see the film. 

-Vibrant, artistic use of colours makes it more eye-catching to passers by, attracting attention and making people want to see the film, as well as creating a sense of mystery as to what the silhouettes actually are.  On top of this, the colour red is associated with horror and danger, fitting with the conventions of the horror genre.
I will use this artistic approach in my film, as my film also follows conventions of the horror genre. 

Film Storyboard

These are a the original plan of the shots for my film.

Updated Film Trailer

I have updated my film trailer, this time including dialogue. First off, there is dialogue in the form of an old radio announcement coming from the car, mentioning the violent attacks (unknowingly caused by the zombies) and recommending that individuals stay indoors.

A second line of dialogue is spoken by my lead female, questioning the sound she heard in the car park, caused by the zombie.

Distribution Company

 Motion picture distributors are companies or individuals who release films to the public, either theatrically or for home-viewing (DVDs, etc). It is also the distributors job to ensure enough prints of the film are made to service all contracted exhibitors, ensure that the film arrives at each exhibitor’s theatre before the opening date and returned to the distributor by the contracted ending date and ensure it is being shown in the right theatres at the right times. However, this physical film print and its delivery around he world is slowly being replaces by digital distribution.

As well as all of this, it is also the distributors job to manage the creation (if the products aren’t provided) and distribution of film advertisements, such as posters, trailers and articles.

In order to get my film out to the public’s eyes, I would need to select the right film distributor.

Columbia Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. The company is one of the leading film distributors in the world, and released such films as The Da Vinci Code and Casino Royale. Although they are a particularly strong distribution company, they would not be the distribution company I would select to distribute my film, as they do not typically release films of a similar genre to mine, and so I would rather select a distributor with more experience with zombie-horror production, especially in terms of the advertisement distribution. 

The production company I chose to distribute my film is Paramount Pictures. Paramount is also an American giant in the long list of distribution companies, as well as being the third oldest film studio in the world. The reason I chose Paramount pictures is because they have released many successful films of a similar genre, such as Paranormal Activity and The Ring. Also, they will be the company to release the highly anticipated zombie-horror film, World War Z.