Ancillary Double Page Spread Research

By Tesfah Watkins-Scott

Introduction

The silent comedy that Marcus & I will be producing will need to have some sort of film review which will actually give feedback about our particular film with some sort of rating. The double page spread review will need to be viewed as appealing by our target audience as they would be the audience that would allow our short film to become successful when seen. As I decided to research into film posters for the first ancillary product, I think that it would be wise to do some research on the second ancillary task also which is the review or double page spread.

For the double page spread review I will be presenting some research that I have done to help me create a successful review page whilst involving professional skills and conventions that have been used in other magazine reviews.

1st Review: Spider-Man 2

The font that has been used for this masthead is quite unique as it only uses lower case lettering, and also each letter is created using both straight edges and also curved edges.

Furthermore, I like the way that the masthead has not been made to look overpowering which could cause many problems as it would cause the reader to not notice other aspects of the review for example the main image.

Also, I feel that using two different shades of colours for the background works well in this case. Due to the fact that both colours have come from one colour which is ‘blue’ allows the whole masthead to seem as one, but also makes each section of the masthead look distinctive.

This is the strapline which is placed just underneath the masthead. With this particular type of double page spread which is a review a conventional technique that is used is to put a strapline underneath the masthead or the title of the film which will have a variety of ratings for the audience to view and decide for themselves.

I feel that using a dark colour for the background of the strapline and a bright colour for the text will definitely work well. However, due to the fact that I will be doing a review on a silent comedy I have yet to decide whether my double page spread will be in colour or in black & white.

When viewing this particular magazine review I have become very fond of allowing there to be some sort of verdict at the end of the review which will present to the audience the actual rating for the film from the public (conventionally presented with stars) which will show the audience that the magazine will involve them.

The use of columns is very important when creating a double page spread. It will allow the magazine to look less cluttered and busy to the audience. Also, as you can see using columns will allow the text on the page to look structured and professional which will therefore increase the chance of a sale.

Due to the fact that this film is known for being action packed I feel that using one large image for the double page spread is useful. This is because, they want to show the audience how exciting the film looks with every detail which you wouldn’t see with a smaller image because all of the other aspects of the page would probably end up overpowering the main image.

From previous research from studying AS Media Studies I have realised that most articles/reviews start with a drop cap. Using a drop cap to start the review will appeal to the reader straight away and will prevent the actual article from being overpowered by the main image or masthead.

The technique of using a pull quote allows the readers to have a small insight into some of the information that will be involved in the review. I have noticed that when magazines use pull quotes they tend to use one of the most important phrases that is in the article to keep the reader interested.

2nd Review: SALT

I feel that visually this pull quote looks much more adventurous than the pull quote used in the previous magazine review. However, I feel that the colours used do not really work together due to the background colour and the font colour being bright.

Furthermore, I have noticed that the colours used for the pull quote have actually been used to link in with the colour scheme of the whole double page spread. Although, I feel that the area where the pull quote has been placed is quite unusual. Conventionally, pull quotes are normally placed in-between the actual article so that it catches the readers eye straight away.

I feel that the use of borders that has been used for this particular review works well. Doing this allows the page to look more organised and structured. Furthermore, when using borders if they match the colour scheme of the actual magazine like this example, then they look very appealing towards the audience

I feel that the font used for this particular film is quite basic. However, because the genre of the film is action I feel that this font goes with the review due to the fact that it suits the type of film that is being exhibited. The use of using the same blue colour for the font which has been used for the masthead works well as it allows the two sections to link together. This will show the audience that the magazine has been well thought out and sticks to the colour scheme.

The main image that has been used for this review will look very appealing towards the reader. This is because, from this one main image the reader will be able to figure out the type of movie that is being reviewed.

For this magazine they have actually put the issue date of the magazine which makes the magazine look much more professional.

I like the way this particular magazine film review makes the use of columns to structure the layout of the text for their review. Also, they have created columns which actually surround the lower half of the main image which will allow the actual article to look more appealing to the magazines audience.

I like the fact that the article includes promotional information about the particular film. This will allow the audience to know more about the film’s background. Also, the use of changing the font colour for each section of personal information allows the reader to view it much easier.

The use of page numbers on this particular magazine works well as it is quite small, which means that the audience will not be distracted by the page numbers instead of reading the review or viewing the main image. Furthermore, when the audience go through the magazine they will notice the page numbers which allows the double page spread to look much more professional.