Review page layout ideas

Here I've drawn up some possible ideas for our review page layout taking into account factors we decided were important, as our film is an independant, short film we decided a single page would be appropriate.

1.

Review page magazine considerations

It is important to consider the type of magazine our review page might feature in, depending on the film style and appropriate target audience. I have research a few film magazines in order to effectively decide where ours will best appeal to its ideal audience. I have used facts taken from the magazines websites, and written in red whether its beneficial to our film.

Sight and sound -

• Informed and independant film news and comment - Independant film news would be very useful for our short film, as it would not be a hollywood blockbuster and could effectively be promoted by a magazine such as this.
• In-depth interviews with leading film directors - Again could be useful for promoting our film, as the director (myself) is unknown
• Retrospective articles vividly bringing film history to life - Not really applicable as our short film would be a new, modern release.
• Reviews of every new release - Very useful for us, as our film would be a new release.

 Empire -

• Has a 'future films' section informing readers of upcoming film - Could be useful for the promotion of our film before it is released, or for any future work we produce
• Tends to focus more on the promotion of blockbusters, rather than independants - Our short film would be considered independant, therefore it would probably not be featured in a magazine such as Empire.
• Extensive reviews for a variety of media products; games, dvds etc - Again not really applicable as our film is short and independant, with no following merchandise.
• Very prestegious - named film magazine of the year - Getting a review in a critically acclaimed magazine such as Empire would indeed help promote and mainstream our independant film.

Total film -

• An extensive range of reviews, many of which are not mainstream - The fact that many of the feature movies are slightly obscure, could indicate that they like to review a range of film - useful for us because our film is independant and might otherwise not be promoted effectively.
• Also promotes film trailers online, encouraging readers to view new releases - Not applicable to use, ours is a short film, approximately 5 minutes long so making a trailer would be difficult, and not essential.
• Describes itself as a 'modern guide to movies' - Could prove useful to us, as our film is a modern release.

Uncut -

•  Described as 'music and movies with something to say' - Promoting independant film would be useful for us
• Does tend to focus on iconic film and music, with special 'legends' issues - Not applicable for us, our film would be a new indenpendant release and would not have the status required for this magazine.

Review pages

The following are review pages I found that I felt we could draw inspiration from, I like them all for various reasons; layout, colour, copy style etc.

I've analysed this review page previously, as I like its use of oposing colours and composition of images

The use of vivid red borders matching the copy really works for this review page. I also like the quote and starring system shown in the corner, so at a glance the reader can form expectations

The information is organised well on this page, with certificate rating and other appropriate facts listed clearly in the corner so viewers will be more encouraged to visit the cinema. The copy is well organised, in easy to read sections.

The image used here is very interesting, and gives the audience a clue as to the films narrative whilst creating an enigma



I like the use of full page image and large title.





Final poster

Our final poster with the extras added:

• Actors
• Production information
• Awards

(click on image to enlarge)

Extras for poster

To finish off our poster there are a few more features we may wish to add, as illustrated below:

Names of main actors

Quote from review

Slogan

Production information

 Awards

Director

Website

Production company logos

Any special features

Coming soon/ release date

Poster feedback

In order to make appropriate changes,  I have sought feedback on our poster in a few different ways. Specifically I have emailed the poster to a select few who match the ideal target audience member, to ensure our poster is appealing to them. The printscreen shows the attachment and list of email addresses highlighted.

Here are print screens of the emails I recieved back:

This individual felt that the main factor needing work was the copy, and the name of the film itself which I will take into consideration.

Again the only negative was the copy, which both of the individuals felt was not appropriate and did not match the standard of the rest of the poster.

 I have found this useful as it gives me a clearer image of how our target audience percieve our poster, and following this feedback I will make appropriate changes.


In order to receive more general feedback, I have asked twenty people a series of simple questions, shown below: (note that diagrams are used to illustrate majorities and are not drawn accurately)
Do you find this poster effective?

Twenty of twenty people asked said they felt our poster was effective, which tells us we have created something people feel has meaning, important to our film. No change needs to be made here.

What would you say is this posters biggest strenght? (chosen from imagery, lighting, colour, composition, editing, copy)

The majority of people asked felt our composition, and the way our images were displayed centerally to be our biggest strength, closely followed by the images themselves and the results achieved through editing. I feel this is a good result as everyone asked found something visual effective about our poster, and with a few votes for each we can ensure that our poster works as a whole. The only weakness here is the zero votes for copy, which doesn't nesecarily mean its bad but just that other things are better. Our poster is designed to be visual anyway so if we make any alterations to the copy, they will be minor as its not designed to be the focus.

What would you say is this posters biggest weakness? (chosen from imagery, lighting, colour, composition, editing, copy)

Everyone asked felt the copy was the posters biggest weakness, which is both a positive and negative thing. It shows that there are no other major weaknesses from the poster, which is designed to be visual and because copy is one of the least major factors for our poster, any changes will not have to be great. However because everyone asked felt the copy was the posters biggest weakness, we may wish to consider making alterations.

Would this poster stand out against others?

Only one person of those I asked felt this poster would not stand out amoungst others, when asked why they said "The colours could be brighter to ensure it catches your eye". This is something we will take into consideration, we could try slightly brightening the colours, making them more vivid however the gentle, hazy effect we want to achieve could be ruined by doing this, so any changes we make will be very slight as the vast majority agreed it would stand out.

  
Does it make you want to view the film?

Everyone asked expressed interest in viewing the film, which is important as ultimately a poster is selling the product. Although nobody said they would not be interested, I feel there are changes we could make to ensure our film recieves views, such as stating any awards it has won, once we have added the final pieces of information I am confident people will want to watch our film.

What mood and emotions are depicted from this poster? (chosen from happiness, sorrow, anger, confusion, combination, can't tell)

I am very pleased with this result, as the majority of people decided a combination of emotions was being portrayed, which is exactly the effect we wanted as when our character is swinging she feels euphoric yet still remembers the dispair she feels. I am not surprised by the other results, as the blurred image does create a sense of confusion and the pastoral, hazy colours do create a sense of happiness. I am pleased that no one decided anger was portrayed, as despite everything that happens in her life our character is never bitter or resentful. Nobody decided they were unable to decifer any emotion either, which is positive as our poster is portraying several reflecting the girls uneasy life, and the fact that no one selected 'can't tell' shows that they were all able to gain some meaning from our poster.

The questionairre has proven to be a success, as the majority of people sensed and felt exaclty what we wanted them to, with only a few minor alterations that could be made. I asked people what they thought of the poster while its still in its basic form, as our poster works visually and I decided that adding the finishing touches and logos beforehand may draw attention away from this.

Chosen poster strenghts and weaknesses

This is the poster we are going to use, as its the best in terms of imagery and colour. I am hoping to receive feedback on the basic poster design before we add the finishing touches in order to ensure our poster is as visually effective as possible.
Here are its main strenghts and weaknesses that I myself would notice:
Strenghts:

• Use of colour
• Effective lighting
• Image can be percieved on numerous levels
• Imagery acts as powerful metaphors, e.g. chains imprisionment

Weaknesses:

• The copy looks bland and uniteresting
• It could perhaps signify more personalitiy if it wasnt a simple sans serif
• The colour of the copy could be more effective