Practice on writing my magazine article

I have chosen to proposition myself with the task of writing a review for a Hollywood film in order to prepare myself to write my own article and get some hands on practical work behind me before I complete the important task of writing a magazine article for my own film.

BRIEF REVIEW:
I chose 'Machete', a recent blockbuster as it has iconic themes and characters as well as a famous cast with plenty of action, drama and emotion over the course of its 105 minutes of running time.

'He knows the score, He gets the women, He kills the bad guys' Danny Trejo throws himself into these words as his character in Machete as an old school, hardcore Mexican with a violent history and increasingly violent present. The tale unfolds with clips from his past to his present status as a worn out middle aged immigrant searching for work and keeping his head down. However after a predictable run in with his previous arch nemesis from his history as a federal he shows a merciless, ruthless side to him that the audience have been anticipating since the start. Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino bring their own style as an auteur, from camera work to editing its overdone, tacky and predictable but in a way that is Tarantino’s style, coinciding with Rodriguez’ experience in films with south American settings including ‘Dusk till Dawn’ a film that gives the meaning to the word ‘cheesy’ overall this film offers everything it promised, it caters to the needs of its predetermined audience and more than doubled in grossing total compared to the budget.

What to include in my magazine article

From studying other film magazines and analyzing the articles I have come up with a method of writing my own article using the articles I have read as a loose guideline.

These are the options of aspects to include from the articles I have studied:

1. Brief synopsis of film
2. Q&A to cast and crew
3. Quotes about the film from cast and crew
4. Discussion of preproduction/ post production
5. Analysis of genre and theme
6. Over all verdict of film

I will carry on to refer back to these points when completing my article to keep focus and have a solid base for the context and content of my writing.

Publishing Programmes...

After looking through endless copies of film magazines yesterday I decided now that I have an idea of what I need my article to look like that I would need to decide on the software to use to create that look.

I spoke to my teacher and class who came up with a few options

• PHOTOSHOP

Is a highly respected piece of software for projects like this however it can take a long time to learn how to use it propery and I have almost no experience in using the programme.

• MICROSOFT PUBLISHER

I have a vague knowledge of how to use Publisher however I am not completely fluent so I will have a go at creating the look I want and see if I can pick up enough information to use it to complete my project.

• MICROSOFT WORD

Microsoft Word is the easiest option however getting the desirable look and theme of a magazine is not so easy and alothough it may be accessable it could end up looking mundane and uninventive if I use this software.

After much consideration and trying my hand at each programme I have decided to use Microsoft Publisher to create my magazine article, I want the option of getting my magazine article to look as similar to one from a real film magazine however I don't have the time to learn enough about Photoshop to be comfortable producing anything from it however Microsoft publisher is designed for projects like these, its also an easy transition from Microsoft word and so far have found it easy to work with.

Initial Magazine Preparation

To prepare myself to write my own magazine article about my production its important to think of my target audience, who am I writing to? Who would appreciate an article about this film? and how do I make this article seem professional?

First I have decided to compare film magazines to try and get a basic idea of what is entailed and what is being asked of me, these are some of the most successful magazines in the business

• EMPIRE

• TOTALFILM

• SIGHT & SOUND

The best idea seems to be to attempt a double page spread taking elements from all of these magazines to try and create something that looks professional, I have collected some pictures of some of the articles from these magazines to get an idea of what I need to include in mine.

Editing day - Take Three

After my lesson I spent a few hours in the edit suite just inserting some text such as title screens and credits for my film, I chose a classic style to go with the rest of my project and the style of my editing and camera work so far.

Title screen?

I have searched online for how to add text on Final Cut pro, I found many Youtube videos with the answer as well as a few websites to help me such as

Dummies

EHow

Editing day - Take two

I arrived at college to take advantage of the edit suite and fine edit my film, I had a slim chance of finishing everything today but I thought I may as well dedicate the whole day from 9 am until 3:30 pm to do as much as possible and maybe finish everything with time to spare so as I can fully dedicate myself to completing my ancillary tasks to go with my main product.

The fine editing has been going pretty well, I'm pleased with how a large amount of shots fit together effortlessly however a few of the transitions between certain shots seem quite jumpy and unprofessional, I've inserted fades with certain shots and audio to try help the scenes flow properly and there is now a noticeable difference between yesterdays work and todays.

I stuck to basic transitions as my storyline is about real life situations or at least a plausible plot line so I don't want scenes to wipe across the screen like an 80's sci-fi or dissolve into the next scene like a power point presentation. I want a basic story with a more natural narrative and time scale and for this it is important to not get to trigger happy when editing, to keep things looking as real as possible.

I'm having some trouble finding a way to insert a title screen or credits so it is something I will have to come in another day and figure out but overall I think the day was productive and I feel more relaxed about the amount of work left to do.