Some briefly edited photos

Photoshoots 1-3

Photoshoot 1

In the first photoshoot I conducted, my model, Ruby, first dressed up as an actress. I took lots of photos of her which I can use for part of my magazine and website which will be about an actres promoting an upcoming film. I am happy with how some of these turned out, and I will likely use one of them for the front cover. Next, I also took photos of Ruby in character for her film, so I can use stills from the movie inside the magazine and on the website. I took inspiration from various drama films, including One Fine Morning and A Good Person, as well as from the poster for Call Me By Your Name, as I love how striking the low angled shot looks against the bright blue sky. 

  

  

Photoshoot 2

In this photoshoot, I took lots of photos of my second model, Aahna. The images taken in the studio set-up are promotional images for the film and those taken outside are the "in character" ones. I am also happy with how these photos turned out, as some of them are close to the mafia tone I was going for, especially when put into black and white. I took inspiration from the many mafia/ crime films over the years, like Goodfellas and The Godfather for their moody, striking cinematography. 

Photoshoot 3

For this photoshoot, I thought it would be useful to photograph a wider age range of "characters", so I asked my mum, who is Japanese, to wear traditional Japanese clothing (a kimono) and took photos of her in a woodland/ marsh area. The inspiration for this was old Japanese arthouse films, in particular horrors, so although the raw images didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, I knew I would edit significantly to create a highly stylised look. I was inspired by films such as Orochi (1925), Kuroneko (1968), and Onibaba (1964) for their vintage, ethereal aesthetic.

Planning notes

Magazine name - Cinematic

Names of original films made up for the magazine/ website:

- Ruby's film: not yet decided

- Aahna's film: not yet decided

- Vintage Japanese horror/ slasher: not yet decided 

- Concept original Studio Ghibli film: The Missing Piece

- The House in the Sky

Magazine 1 - Ruby

Front cover - her as an actress

Contents (no order)

- old-style Japanese horror x2

- 4 more photos of Ruby both in and out of character

- anniversary column: Schindler's List, Return of the King, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels  - one or two small images (non-original)

- lots of articles, interviews, reviews etc

Magazine 2 - Aahna

Front cover - in character (bw) side profile leaning on railing

Contents (no order)

- Ghibli-style film poster

- in-character photo of Aahna leaning againt wall (bw)

- 1 to 2 photos of Aahna's actress photoshoot (colour)

- anniversary column: The Exorcist, The Wicker Man, The Outsiders

- lots of articles, interviews, reviews etc

Website

Latest story - large image at the top of the page - Ruby leaning on wooden stairs (in character)

Studio photoshoot - another image of Aahna

Ghibli promo images - 2nd drawing?

Member exclusive alternative cover - Japanese horror

Still from Ruby's film - looking at mirror

Still from Aahna's film - leaning against pole (bw)

Another story - Roman Holiday at 70 (non-original image)

Another story - Robert De Niro turns 80 - looking back on his career (non-original images)

Another story - New York filming locations - own image

Another story - Review of house in the sky film - own image

Another story - "The eyes, chico" close up of Ruby's eye - article about iconic eye close ups in cinema over the years - 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner etc 

Another story - Oppenheimer/ Barbenheimer impact?

This month's issue - Aahna

Last month's issue - Ruby

Cinematic's 50 greatest films of all time - The Godfather/ Harakiri/ Citizen Kane etc

Merchandise - Cinematic exclusive Ghibli pins, phone cases, Cinematic hats etc

Editor's letter

Potential cover lines/ copy

How the bombshell and the bomb-maker saved cinema

The eyes, chico - how those gorgeous close-ups have been used in film over the years

"It's about time" - [Aahna's film's director] on her female-lead mafia thriller

Japanese horror - A lavish call-back to arthouse Japanese horrors of the past which thrives in its ethereal trickery and deliciously gross gore

Roman Holiday at 70 - a timeless tale of true but tempoary love

The Return of the King at 20 - still a trailblazing triumph

Schindler's List at 30 - as important as it's ever been

dressed as an unassuming coming-of-age flick, [Ruby's film's name] is a zeitgesity tale of loneliness and peservering optimism for our climate of isolation.

Studio Ghibli release first promotional images for the hotly-anticipated "The Missing Piece"

30 second video: director/ cast/ critic discussing?

Script:

Studio Ghibli film poster

Considering all of the images in my magazine and website will be from either live-action films, locations or actor photoshoots, I thought it would be interesting to have some animation as well. This would widen the magazine's coverage of different forms of film, and would also increase the aesthetic range. To do this, I took inspiration from Studio Ghibli films, as they are loved world-wide, feature nostalgic, comforting animation, and would also enable me to represent part of my identity, as I am half-Japanese. So, I came up with an idea for a future Studio Ghibli film and used a digital art app to draw my own original poster for a film I have called "The Missing Piece", which is about a girl who visits her grandmother in the countryside. Here, she finds a mysterious red and blue mask which has a missing piece in its forehead. Curiosly, she herself owns the missing piece and has worn it on a necklace for as long as she can remember. When she places it back into its rightful place, the mask seems to come alive. She then goes on a journey of discovery where she learns that she is the heir to a magical forest kingdom and can control elements like water and the wind. She is forced to use these powers to protect her new-found kingdom from outside forces which threaten to disturb their peace. 

Inspiration:

Screenshots of the different design stages and the final poster:

Flatplan sketches

 Website:

Magazine covers:

Magazine contents pages:

Deutschland 83: Political, social and cultural context of East/ West Germany

 

Planning: Pitch

Link to powerpoint: https://southendhighschoolforgirls-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/17-hpet_shsg_org/EdkxpkCLEWpJiyFAVb6espoBpiC0AfWs5U29Al_-7nPFkA?e=2hAgme

Generic Research: Sight and Sound's website

• The use of social media links is definitely a feature I will replicate on my website, as my target audience are young and very active on social media, so they would likely be interested in following my brand's Instagram, Twitter and Letterboxd accounts and more.

• This is an interesting feature I might include, as it increases audience engagement, and positions the brand as being interactive and looking to help the audience with any questions they have. It alo increases the likelihood of receiving more subsrciptions/ contributions, ultimately aiding the success of the brand.

• Similar to Total Film's website, I like the use of a small box in the top left corner to indicate the category of the content, as this makes the website clearer and easier to navigate for the audience. It also makes the website look organised and well-thought-out. I will also replicate the use of a still from the film above the title of the article. 

• I will likely include at least one, if not several, of these buttons, as this allows the audience to explore further and promises much more content than just the latest stories displayed on the home page. 

• This will be a prominent feature of my website as it will promote the latest issue of the magazine, which is important for gaining more subscriptions and sales of the magazine.

Generic Research: Total Film's website

• I like this feature of Total Flm's website, as it showcases both their print and online editions, and I wil try to emulate this in my website to show the digital convergence of my brand. 

• Here I like the use of the word "exclusive" in the top left corner, as this positions Total Film as having added value and makes their content more desirable for its rareity and exclusivity. 

• I will definitely try to emulate this story, as not only is it exclusive to Total Film, but it also emphasises the star value of Sweeney while also promoting an upcoming Sony Marvel film. 

• Again, I will emulate the use of the word "news" in the top left corner to distinguisg stories from each other and categorise them clearly for the audience. 

• Total Film's website banner is very simple and not at all cluttered, and I would like this to be the case for my website as well. One prominent feature, however, is the "Subscribe button, and this will definitely be a feature of my website as well, in order to promote my brand and gain revenue and support for the magazine. 

Generic Research: Empire's website

• I like the simplicity of  Empire's website and how clearly the sections are labelled on the banner, and I would like the emulate this in my website to aid audiences' ease of navigation and create a seamless, pleasurable experience.  
• The post "Top 25 Best Coming-Of-Age Movies" is a nice feature, and I could emulate this for one of my target audiences' favourite genres as this would point to the fact that my audience focus heavily on watching already-released films at home rather than limiting themselves to just new releases at the cinema.
• The dominant story on the homepage is a review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which adheres to Glatung and Ruge's news value of recency, and also implies that reviews and the opinion of critics is important and valued by the audience.
• I also like the idea of having VIP features, as this creates a sense of exculsivity and worth that may be appealing to the audience.

• I will definitely choose to emulate the "latest" section of Empire's website, as this appeals to the audience's need for fresh, new information particularly in a world dominated by 24/7 news and social media.

• Again, this is another feature of the website that I will choose to emulate, as reviews of films, esepecially recent ones such as these, are frequently read and highly valued by audience members.

• The Mission: Impossible story is an eye-catching feature as it is separate and larger than the others due to its recency, and links to a detailed break-down of the trailer for the upcoming film, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. This therefore appeals to avid film fans interested in the details. The story also features a large image of Cruise, and there is a large red icon in the centre, inviting audiences to read on, as the arrow creates a sense of action, movement and direction. 
• The other features are all varied and range from covering classics like The Matrix to upcoming projects like Gladiator 2. This appeals to the media-literate audience and indicates their wide cultural competency, as they are positioned to be either aware of or interested in such content.
• The other features ranking Chris Pratt's best 10 movies and debating which Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack is the best shows a wider range of content rather than news and reviews only. These features are more light-hearted and opinion-based and are highly relevant after the recent release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

• These shopping links also appeal to the ABC1 audience who are likely to have some disposable income to spend on film-related gifts/ merchandise such as these.