advert first draft plan

Layout for a newspaper advert

Typically, a newspaper advert layout is created so it is short, simple and to the point. There is brief information about the subject being advertised which is placed onto an A4 sized paper. The information on the advert can be displayed so it is either;

- Take up half the page 
- Take up a quarter page along side an article feature
- Take up a whole page

The aim of a newspaper advert is to grab the audiences attention using a unique selling point for their product. This can be done using newspaper ratings, star systems, slogans and ancillary product features (e.g. 2 disc DVD's). It is also important for newspaper/magazine adverts to use imagery and interesting texts to grab the audiences attention and to give an insight as to what the product is about, who are the characters and what is the title of the production. 

This can be done through use of mise en scene, in which the characters should be dressed appropriately according to the genre of the production so it doesn't mislead or confuse the audience into thinking anything different of it. It can also use colour schemes the match the texts to the imagery, or relate the colours to the genre so it gives the audience a more clearer idea about genre and whether it appeals to them. It is important for me to take all this into account when creating my advert as it is important to create an instant connection with my audience and to show them clearly what my production is about.

Advert analysis - Empire magazine

This advert was displayed in Empire magazine and was advertising the release of a film coming out on DVD called This is England. It has been scaled to A4 paper and was displayed on the back cover. 

As seen in the advert, the key focus was selling the product to the audience so it appeals to them in some way, in which it has used ratings and DVD features as their selling point. The quotations used for this piece take up majority of the space and has been centralised and uses big bold text on a blue background, which has been used so it'll be the first thing to capture the audiences attention. There is also an image on the bottom left of the advert showing the DVD and advertising additional DVD features in big bold white text on a black background. 

The texts used in this advert take up the majority of the space used, and the image itself shows a long shot of all the characters in the film being advertised, in which they are all lined up along a wall and there is no significant indication about characters e.g. the protagonist, the helper, the villain, etc. The main titles used are the biggest text on the page. The titles alternate in colours, in which are in white blue and red which is iconic to the colours of the British flag, and also works with the title "This is England". The text typography used is urban and edgy, which gives the audience more clues and details into the lifestyle of the people in this film and what its about. 

The urban vibe created from this poster can also be found within the mise en scene. The characters costumes are casual, both males and females are wearing trousers, in which females wearing trousers goes against the archetypes created by media texts. The characters are leaning against a large blue fence, in which is rusty and worn down and also one of the titles "A film by Sharie Meadows" has been created so it looks like it has been sprayed on as graffiti. In the distant background of this advert, there are tall flats peering over the top of the fence, in which you'd typically expect to see flats in an urban run down area. 

Ancillary products; photos

These are the photos I will be using for my ancillary product, in which were taken by Charlotte Fensom and I have had permission to use them for my product;

double page spread first draft

double page spread layout plan

This is the plan I have created for my own double page spread. To the far left, there will be a giant picture of one of the cosplayers dressed up in cosplay and there will also be smaller images from the documentary under the text. The titles will be centered in the middle of the page with the subtitles under, and the page numbers at the top. The text font I will use will be the same as the font used for my documentary title;

The colour scheme will be themed based on the colours worn by the cosplayer, in which her outfit (Alice in wonderland cosplay) is white and blue, and so this will be the colour scheme for the double page spread. 

double page spread research - NME magazine

This layout has been used for the music magazine NME. This layout uses conventional codes and conventions expected to be seen to represent a genre, which is what I will be looking at to give ideas about how I will represent the cosplay genre to my target audience.

The colour scheme used for this double page spread is pinks and blacks. The conventional use of using pink colours links in with the stereotype that it appeals to a more feminine audience, in which links in with the use of the female protagonist (Nicki Minaj) presented on the front cover of the double page spread. This works in contrast with the black colours, as black is associated to be a more negative colour, and so in this case could be use to show a "darker side" to the singer presented on the front cover.

The layout of the double page spread shows the main title of the article in big letters on the far left at the top, in which the picture of the woman being discussed in the article has been placed in the centre of the page and also layered a little bit on top of the main titles so she will be the focal point of the piece. The article text has then been placed under the main titles and centered around the image, each paragraph has also been numbered so the audience know what order to read the text in. there are also page number printed in small black text at the bottom of these pages, in which this has been done so the audience can keep track what page they are on when reading through this magazine. 

The image of Nicki Minaj has been used to appeal to the audiences taste and also reflects on her musical genre by the use of costuming and makeup within the mise en scene. In the photo, she is wearing a zebra print leotard, in which we can tell its zebra print as it uses the familiar pattern we associate with zebras. This could represent her personality and tell the audience she as being "wild". Her makeup matches the colour theme used for the background, in which her lips are bright pink and her eye makeup is black, in which matches with her outfit. on her hand, she has the word "icon", in which could tell the audience she is an important musical figure.