Institution Research and Chosen Institution

To search into which production company I should use for my film I looked into comedy thrillers and semi-independent films and found out who produced each. I found that several films of similar genres are backed by the same companies so I looked into these companies more, finding out about their history and other films they have made.

I found that Working Title and Studio Canal is good to use since they produce small films but get them funds from Hollywood companies. They have produced Edgar Wright's comedy thriller/horror films so this means I could use them for my comedy thriller since it is a British semi-independent film that would still be shown to many.

I also looked at Marv films since they have produced films that are closer to my genre such as Kick-Ass and Kingsman. I may use this since they fit with my film genre more. If I do use Marv then I will also use a Hollywood company in the inter titles since all of their films do. 

Little White Lies Magazine Cover Photoshop Practice

We practiced on photoshop to create something similar to our final magazine cover. Since Little White Lies use graphic art I searched that in and found a nice graphic image of Marilyn Monroe so made up an issue on her and used the conventions from the magazine as a reference.
I've used photoshop for several years so I am confident with it and could easily produce this cover.
When editing I used Marilyn Monroe's signature and then used some pre-font from photoshop to create the title. I also added a puff and used similar colours to the background.

  I went for Little White Lie's more common design that has less text since when I attempted to add text it was difficult to read. From this I have learnt that I will use a dark background so that the colours won't clash and will be easy to read. I will also need to practice actually doing my own art for the cover.

Little White Lies magazine cover analysis 2

• The central image shows the main character from the film, This Is England by Shane Meadows which uses a punk artistic style with graffiti in the background to suggest the social realistic genre. The character, Shaun is making eye contact with the viewer yet with a angry expression. However the pose and provocative swearing draws in niche audiences since this isn't usually seen on the front cover of a magazine. The graffiti reading Lol  which attracts teenage audiences since the director wanted the film to be viewed by 15 year olds yet it is also a reference to one of the character's named Lol
• The issue name is loosely centred at the bottom of the cover which also breaks conventions of a magazine yet also suggests the angst nature of the film and that it's about thugs and punks. The font is graffiti and in the style of the Sex Pistols which implies that the film is set in the 70s or 80s 
• His costume further suggests the idea of punks and combined with the colours, further suggesting  that the film is set in the 80s
• This issue is shown to focus on This Is England as well as UK films and talents  which will target UK audiences the most as well as acknowledge them.

There isn't much difference in this magazine cover to the first LWL that I analysed but I have learnt another way of advertising to niche audiences by being outgoing and solely basing the cover on one topic. 

I want to use LWL as my initial inspiration so I will use it's layout yet use my own image and writing. 

Production Schedule

To keep on track with filming I have colour coded a plan for when I need to film, baring in mind that one of my actors gets his work schedule weekly so I will take advantage of the days that he is off.
Before I film at all I need to record for film studies coursework so I will use the time starting now until the 22nd to do so. I will also use the school days we get off, especially the Christmas Holidays.
I also need to film scenes with Kris before I get my hair cut since one of my scenes shows my character having her hair cut when the switch begins, but I need scenes beforehand to show the character development and change in the film. I want to film everything before we go back to school so that I can begin to edit with the time left until the end of January.

Magazine Cover-What Artistic Style to use + Plan

Since there isn't much change in text for each of Little White Lie's front covers I am going to just decide what artistic composition and style I should use.
Firstly I could make one like the 2nd cover, and show half of each of my character's faces each. I also like the contrasting sickly bright colours and facial expression. However this cover style works for just one actor, showing their different characters. This also show's a clear comedic genre.
On the other hand I could make my cover like the 3rd cover and overlap each of my character's faces to show how they've swapped bodies which with the contrasting colours would show the boy vs girl or good vs evil theme.  The dark background would advertise my film as more of a thriller which is okay but this way it would only target half my audience.

My plan for my magazine cover would use a similar composition to the 1st cover by LWL. I want to have my female character with a blank expression and heart shaped sunglasses on whilst the viewer can see the male character in the reflection of her glasses, grinning at the audience. This would infer a small idea to the narrative of the film; that it's about a couple against each other, and this can connote mainly the thriller genre, but some comedy elements to it too.
I would draw this out as a plan first, then take images and draw this on photoshop.
For the colours I will use contrasting bright colours such as the pink and blue or pink and green then draw the image in a type of retro style similar to the Drive cover. I will then use my analyses of other LWL cover's to do the text.

Little White Lies magazine cover analysis

• The central image shows one of the main characters from The Darjeeling Limited movie by Wes Anderson. The image appear to be a photo that has been photoshopped to look artistic,  conforming to Anderson's style. (Every Little White Lies cover attempts to resemble the style of the film through their style of drawing). Not unlike other magazine covers, the actor in character is looking directly at the audience, making eye contact. However the artistic style is so unique itself that that alone will draw in niche audiences. The image itself suggests comedy due to the head bandage and plasters as well as the Monty Python style in the art but also drama due to the expression.
• The Masthead is in small Western Styles typography in a circle which adds a further uniqueness. The tagline "Truth & Movies" creates bland humour as it is ironic to the title of the company, which may have been used since many semi-indepedent movies have different forms of comedy.
• Each issue cover is called "(The title of the Movie) Issue" which suggests the cover is focusing mainly on The Darjeeling Limited alone. 
• Unlike many, this magazine cover has several titles from the other articles used so that the cover looks less empty . The phrasing used is very different and regularly uses play on words and partial alliteration such as "Magic in the music"- this further suggests that articles look at more than just narratives or actors but also different features of films. 
• There are no convergent links which again is very unique but this may be due to the fact that the magazine appears to be focusing more on one movie than several movies There is also little text and nothing in either pug which breaks the conventions of a regular magazine cover.

From analysing this magazine cover I might want to make a cover that's more from an independent magazine unlike Variety. Though most of Little White Lie's covers only show one person, I can still find a way of showing my two main characters by having one wear sunglasses and the other be reflected in them. This gives further ideas for my trailer since I want the artistic style of my cover to resemble the vibe of the film.  

Variety Magazine Cover Analysis

• What is eye catching to the audience is the fact that the cover is black and white which suggests sophistication and a serious tone to the magazine. Variety is usually in colour which will make this issue appear more exclusive.
• The traditional font in black and white also conform to the serious tone that Variety want to portray. The use of an unsaturated colour palette can also infer that Variety are willing to try a variety of new things, which is true to their name and therefore reliable
• The masthead is placed behind the central image since Variety is well known enough that people can see half the text and know what the magazine is. 
• The Puff next to the masthead which is featured on every cover reads "Dec N21" which is the issue number of that month
• The central image contrasts the serious tone since is shows Mark Ruffalo & Jessica Chastain laughing and smiling. Ruffalo is making eye contact with the audience yet Chastain has her eyes shut which portrays a sweet, light hearted image of the two which draws in female audiences who will view their relationship as sweet.
• They are also dressed formally which gives them a sophisticated image. Their dark clothes also fit in with the late season that this issue was released
• The lighting shows a contrasted image but is pleasant to the viewers eyes as there is lighting from in front and behind the models
• The framing of the image covers 3/4 of the page with no secondary images so that it doesn't appear distracting and therefore the articles can be inferred as easy and relaxing to read. The lack of much text also shows this
• The tagline, "Actors on Actors" suggests that the main article will be about actors talking with or talking about other actors and actresses which will draw in different audiences who enjoy each
• From each pug at the top it reads the names of 3 more articles that are featured in the magazine where bold is used to draw the audience to the most interesting point of that article
• Towards the bottom the convergent link reads "Plus 13 more Inside, p,30" to show that there's a lot for the audience 

From analysing this magazine cover it appears that Variety aim towards and older audience who want something relaxing to read. Since my film is a comedy thriller this magazine cover may not work so well to replicate as I want the audience to be excited and thrilled by the cover. Next I will analyse a Little White Lies magazine cover since they appear more exciting and are used to advertise semi-independent films. Nevetheless this magazine cover was still good to analyse incase I want to show both my main characters on the front cover. 

Diary Post 4- What to analyse next?

I have analysed several film trailers as well as film posters and now I have a clearer idea of the film I am going to make, I can analyse magazine covers which will fit my film.
Since my film is going to be semi-independent I don't want to analyse anything from Total Film or Empire. Instead I want to look at magazines such as Variety, Little White Lies and maybe the Hollywood reporter.
Though Variety and The Hollywood Reporter aren't film magazines they will occasionally focus on actors or directors and since my film has two main characters they are useful to look at since they'll put several people onto one cover. Little White Lies is also interesting since they focus on semi-independent films which are still popular yet they use art styles. This would be fairly easy for me to interpret into my own ideas since I do art. However Little White Lies don't show two people together, so instead I could focus the cover on one of my main actors.
I'm not sure which magazine I want to use as my primary inspiration so this is why I'll look at several. If I still don't decide I may make two magazine covers and chose one that I like the best.