Monday, 12 May 2014
First Draft of Trailer
The First draft is over 4 minutes long, which is way too long. So I'll need to cut this down quite a bit. Also I need to add music and a voice-over.
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Evaluation: Question 2
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I am really pleased with the outcome of my 3 finished products, especially the 'Empire' magazine cover, as I feel it imitates that of a real 'Empire' magazine really well.
The combination of my main and ancillary text was very effective as the combination of more than one product increased the want to watch a finished film product. They had a synergy, in which they worked together to increase a desire for the product, separate they were effective, but put together, they were even more so.
I feel that this is because each one sparked a slight amount of interest, and created an air of mystery around the product, the poster got you thinking 'why is he reaching out like that and why isn't she responding to it?', the magazine cover made you think 'the film must be good if 'Empire' is featuring it on it's front page' and the articles inside describe the film a little more. Finally the trailer gave you a larger insight into the film, and helped the audience decide whether or not they wanted to see it.
The ambiguity of my film was reinforced through all 3 products and as they don't give everything away they are left asking questions, and to get the answer to those questions they must watch the film. I feel the products worked together because they each give a little taster for what is to come.
The use of the pictures in both let you see who was involved in the project, and if you like the actors then you are more likely to want to go and see the film.
The continuity of the picture of Abby in the red dress instantly made this a sort of trademark for the film, and it creates synergy by using both the same actor, and the same costume and hair, on both the poster and the magazine cover. The fact that the actors used on the poster are also the same used in the trailer keeps up the continuity of the pieces, as it isn't disjointed, i.e. I haven't filmed the trailer with one person, then decided to change that person for the ancillary texts.
The colour scheme also created cohesion, as there was red used for the line, dress and writing of 'coming soon' and the website on the poster, and red used for the masthead and dress on the magazine cover. However, red wasn't a big colour on the trailer, except for the red of the website, written very small on the credits slide, but the title 'Heaven & Earth', which is written in the same font and colour on both the poster and trailer, created cohesion between these two products. And the use of the title 'Heaven & Earth' on the magazine cover, although it wasn't written in the same style, created synergy, as it still used the name of the film, which kept the name in the audiences' heads, promoting the film through repetition.
My credits slide My title slide
In my trailer, continuity with these slides was kept by the use of a clean font, and a clean white background.
Another way in which the trailer and poster were combined is the mentioning of the film website, something which I haven't actually created, but that if it had been, would definitely have worked well in the synergy of the products thanks to the mentioning of it in the trailer and poster.
The use of block credits in the trailer and poster combines the two together, although not so effectively as things I have mentioned earlier.
My finished magazine cover My finished poster
Another element which combines the products together is the use of background. The plain white background which I have used for the title slide and credits slide is the same as the background which I have used for the poster, and the city background used in the magazine links with the trailer for setting. The fact that there is more greenery in the magazine cover helps in this sense, as there is more greenery than buildings, that is, the outside of buildings, (as there were many rooms filmed) in the trailer. Perhaps it could have been more effective to have a background of the lift for the magazine cover, as that is a large part of the trailer. However, I don't think it would have looked as good, and the city scene works well with the magazine as it is a nice tranquil picture, which suits the RomCom theme.
Overall, I feel that my three products have great synergy, and work together to promote the film very well.
I am really pleased with the outcome of my 3 finished products, especially the 'Empire' magazine cover, as I feel it imitates that of a real 'Empire' magazine really well.
The combination of my main and ancillary text was very effective as the combination of more than one product increased the want to watch a finished film product. They had a synergy, in which they worked together to increase a desire for the product, separate they were effective, but put together, they were even more so.
I feel that this is because each one sparked a slight amount of interest, and created an air of mystery around the product, the poster got you thinking 'why is he reaching out like that and why isn't she responding to it?', the magazine cover made you think 'the film must be good if 'Empire' is featuring it on it's front page' and the articles inside describe the film a little more. Finally the trailer gave you a larger insight into the film, and helped the audience decide whether or not they wanted to see it.
The ambiguity of my film was reinforced through all 3 products and as they don't give everything away they are left asking questions, and to get the answer to those questions they must watch the film. I feel the products worked together because they each give a little taster for what is to come.
The use of the pictures in both let you see who was involved in the project, and if you like the actors then you are more likely to want to go and see the film.
The continuity of the picture of Abby in the red dress instantly made this a sort of trademark for the film, and it creates synergy by using both the same actor, and the same costume and hair, on both the poster and the magazine cover. The fact that the actors used on the poster are also the same used in the trailer keeps up the continuity of the pieces, as it isn't disjointed, i.e. I haven't filmed the trailer with one person, then decided to change that person for the ancillary texts.
The colour scheme also created cohesion, as there was red used for the line, dress and writing of 'coming soon' and the website on the poster, and red used for the masthead and dress on the magazine cover. However, red wasn't a big colour on the trailer, except for the red of the website, written very small on the credits slide, but the title 'Heaven & Earth', which is written in the same font and colour on both the poster and trailer, created cohesion between these two products. And the use of the title 'Heaven & Earth' on the magazine cover, although it wasn't written in the same style, created synergy, as it still used the name of the film, which kept the name in the audiences' heads, promoting the film through repetition.
My credits slide My title slide
In my trailer, continuity with these slides was kept by the use of a clean font, and a clean white background.
Another way in which the trailer and poster were combined is the mentioning of the film website, something which I haven't actually created, but that if it had been, would definitely have worked well in the synergy of the products thanks to the mentioning of it in the trailer and poster.
The use of block credits in the trailer and poster combines the two together, although not so effectively as things I have mentioned earlier.
My finished magazine cover My finished poster
Another element which combines the products together is the use of background. The plain white background which I have used for the title slide and credits slide is the same as the background which I have used for the poster, and the city background used in the magazine links with the trailer for setting. The fact that there is more greenery in the magazine cover helps in this sense, as there is more greenery than buildings, that is, the outside of buildings, (as there were many rooms filmed) in the trailer. Perhaps it could have been more effective to have a background of the lift for the magazine cover, as that is a large part of the trailer. However, I don't think it would have looked as good, and the city scene works well with the magazine as it is a nice tranquil picture, which suits the RomCom theme.
Overall, I feel that my three products have great synergy, and work together to promote the film very well.
Locations I have used
-This is the common room, I used it for Purgatory, the crying scene, to take photos, and a painted wall for the running towards each other scene, I also used this lift:
-The alleyway near school, which I used to film the walk.
-The residential area, which I used to film the running-over scene.
- South block hall, which I used to film the 'AA' group. Although there was background noise, this worked because most groups like this are in village halls and there would be other groups going on at the same time. So the background noise is supposed to be these other groups going on in the distance.
- The ERB sitting area, which I used to film the therapist's scene.
-Room 77, by the window, which I used to film the doctor's scene.
-Room 77, by the board, which I used to film the reception area of the doctors surgery.
Evaluation: Question 1
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ?
My trailer follows the typical conventions of a romcom trailer:
It begins with her normal life before 'him' then goes on to how she met 'him' and leaves the audience wondering if they will ever get together (obviously they will, they always do). My trailer follows this traditional narrative arc.
The only way in which my trailer drastically differs from a real media RomCom trailer is the quality of location, costumes and props. However, this is explained by the fact that my trailer is promoting more of an
indie film than a mainstream RomCom. Scenes like Purgatory were deliberately bad, as I wanted them to seem bad to the audience, and the angel wings (which I substituted normal angel wings for as they were too expansive) were used for a comedic effect, as well as the toy stethoscope which was used to promote the badness of God's disguises. This is some ways I have turned things like a low budget and limited places to film to my advantage.
I have generally used continuity editing, to give a sense of real-life, except for the scene in which the girl comes back to life, where the screen fades to white and then back to colour but in a different place; when it fades out she is running towards the male lead, and when it fades back in she is waking up in the 'real' world from being run-over. I have also used non-continuity editing for when the male and female lead run towards each other in slow-motion.
As my storyline is quite complex, I felt I needed a longer trailer in order to help the audience understand what was going on (this is also the reason for the large amount of dialogue and the voice over), but, after managing to cut down the length of the trailer, as it started off too long, my trailer ended up being within the anticipated 2:41mins. However, I don't feel that it is too long as the trailer flows quite well.
I have added in a BBFC logo, with the films name on the certify that it is suitable for PG viewing, as there is only one bit of hinted at violence (the girl being run over. However, this is only hinted at as the audience sees a car hears brakes and then sees a black screen). According to the restriction guidelines my trailer is a PG, as many romcom trailers are (due to the fact they contain little to ok violence, like my trailer)
The production company logo, which I have added in at the beginning along with the BBFC logo, has been placed in the typical place; before the trailer starts. Other things like the 'coming soon' and title of the film come at the end, so it is fresh in the audiences minds.
My BBFC logo A Typical BBFC logo
I have created a production logo for the beginning of the trailer. It is for my 'Take 5' production company, and simply features a clapperboard snapping shut. This is shown at the beginning of the trailer, after the BBFC logo, to follow the conventions of RomCom trailers.
The title slide comes close to the end of the trailer, before the humorous part in which the doctor attempts to hit the female lead with a chair. This is where it is usually placed.
It is on a plain white background to draw more attention to the writing, which is the title of the film, 'Heaven & Earth', written in the same font and colour as on the poster to create a sense of cohesion between the products and to give the film a brand.
You can see the similarities of the title slide here:
My title slide (500) days of summer title slide
I have added a 'Coming Soon' title slide near the end of a trailer, after the title slide, as this is where trailers usually have this.
The slide has a plain white background, and simple, easy-to-read text. The 'coming soon' is in a bigger font so the audience knows to look out for it in cinemas, and the movie website is written in a smaller red font at the bottom to make it different to the other writing on the slide, as this is something the audience can look at before the film's release. The credits are written in the typical credits font and I have imitated the use of smaller font for the people's titles, e.g. 'director of photography' and the larger font for the names. Everything is centred to keep the slide neat.
My Coming Soon title slide
The music is calm, as the piece is romantic so calm music accentuates the romance. Also many romcom trailers use calmer, happier music to make their audience feel good.
How my trailer differs from the norm:
-During my research I found that many RomCom trailers had written interjections, however, I wanted to use a voice over rather than words so there are no written interjections.
-RomCom trailers often start by showing the two of them separately, then end up showing the two of them together, however, I began by showing the two of the together, then showing them apart (although he could see her, she couldn't see him.)
My preliminary products; the poster and magazine cover, followed the norms of their respective genres.
The magazine cover imitated exactly that of 'Empire' film magazine, from the masthead, to the yellow and white bold writing (mostly in caps), to the little yellow '+' at the bottom of the page. I did this to ensure that my magazine cover looked as close to a real 'Empire' magazine as possible.
You can see the similarities here:
A real Empire magazine cover My Empire magazine cover
I have use the following things because they are used in the magazine:
- The 'Empire' masthead. However, mine is in front of the photo, whereas the photo is in front of the masthead in the original.
-Yellow and white coloured fonts which alternate on every other line. I have attempted to get the same font but had to settle for this one as more similar ones cost.
- All caps except for 'Starring', 'Plus!', 'First Look!', 'The on-set exclusive!', 'And 101 more!' because these parts weren't important and they weren't in caps on the magazine which I based mine on.
-A picture of the main character in the middle of the front page in character, except mine is closer-up than the original magazine.
-A background which relates to the film. Mine is of a city as this is where the film is set, whereas the original magazine is of the Caribbean as that's where it's set.
-A button in the top left-hand corner of the page, with the same writing written in the same way, except for the film title, in which I have substituted 'Pirates 4' for 'Heaven & Earth'
- A bar code, except I have placed mine underneath the masthead as the layout was slightly different.
- A yellow '+' in the bottom left-hand corner, which describes a different film to that featured.
- Similar article titles for the main featured film, except where it says 'Pirates 4' and things related to that, I have changed it to 'Heaven & Earth' and things related to that.
- The 'Plus' article, except I have changed the film names to more recent ones, and the '102 more' to '101 more' as I thought it sounded better.
-The date and price of the issue I have placed above the 'M'. Although this isn't seen in the original issue I have based mine on, most other issues of 'Empire' have this feature in the same way as it is on mine.
My poster also followed conventions, having the credits at the bottom of the page along with the 'coming soon' and website and the actors names at the top of the page, above the respective actor, I used typical fonts for these parts. Other things like a clean white background, and having both of the lead roles on the page also followed conventions of a romcom poster.
However, having the title near the bottom of the poster challenged conventions slightly, as not many posters have their titles there (they tend to be at the top or in the middle of the page). Despite this, I think the title works better here as it is one of the last things the audience will look at on the page, so is one of the last things they will think about.
The contrast and similarities of my poster and a real one:
A real romcom movie poster My romcom movie poster
Things the same (or similar), which make my poster stick to RomCom poster conventions:
-The line in going down the middle of the page, although mine is red.
- The two main characters on either side of the line, although they are the other way round to the 'ugly truth' poster, and instead of leaning on the line the male lead is reaching out for the female lead and the female lead is standing nonchalantly.
-I have added the 'coming soon' and website at the end of the page in the middle, and in bold and red, to fit in with the 'ugly truth' poster.
- The credits are centred at the bottom of the page and are written in the same style.
- The film title is written in the film brand font and colours, to fit in with the title slide on the trailer, and is near the bottom of the poster, above the credits. However, my film title is slightly higher than the 'ugly truth's title, as I wanted the line to separate 'Heaven' and 'Earth', as the two characters are separated in the film.
- The actors names are written in the same font as the 'ugly truth's names, and are above their respective actors. The surnames are underneath the first names and are in bold, as people are more likely to recognise the surname.
My trailer follows the typical conventions of a romcom trailer:
-a mix of voice over and 'real' sound is used frequently,
-the lighting tends to be soft daylight, (Whenever I could I tried to film on sunny days to create this, however, this didn't always work out. Also, in the scene where the male and female leads are walking, I wanted a foggy day, which it was, to create an air of mystery and separation.)
-medium close-ups, reverse shots and long shots are used most often,
-the trailer often ends on a humorous bit,
-the production company logos and age certificate are shown at the beginning,
-the release date and title are shown at the end.
and imitates the layout of a romcom trailer:It begins with her normal life before 'him' then goes on to how she met 'him' and leaves the audience wondering if they will ever get together (obviously they will, they always do). My trailer follows this traditional narrative arc.
The only way in which my trailer drastically differs from a real media RomCom trailer is the quality of location, costumes and props. However, this is explained by the fact that my trailer is promoting more of an
indie film than a mainstream RomCom. Scenes like Purgatory were deliberately bad, as I wanted them to seem bad to the audience, and the angel wings (which I substituted normal angel wings for as they were too expansive) were used for a comedic effect, as well as the toy stethoscope which was used to promote the badness of God's disguises. This is some ways I have turned things like a low budget and limited places to film to my advantage.
I have generally used continuity editing, to give a sense of real-life, except for the scene in which the girl comes back to life, where the screen fades to white and then back to colour but in a different place; when it fades out she is running towards the male lead, and when it fades back in she is waking up in the 'real' world from being run-over. I have also used non-continuity editing for when the male and female lead run towards each other in slow-motion.
As my storyline is quite complex, I felt I needed a longer trailer in order to help the audience understand what was going on (this is also the reason for the large amount of dialogue and the voice over), but, after managing to cut down the length of the trailer, as it started off too long, my trailer ended up being within the anticipated 2:41mins. However, I don't feel that it is too long as the trailer flows quite well.
I have added in a BBFC logo, with the films name on the certify that it is suitable for PG viewing, as there is only one bit of hinted at violence (the girl being run over. However, this is only hinted at as the audience sees a car hears brakes and then sees a black screen). According to the restriction guidelines my trailer is a PG, as many romcom trailers are (due to the fact they contain little to ok violence, like my trailer)
The production company logo, which I have added in at the beginning along with the BBFC logo, has been placed in the typical place; before the trailer starts. Other things like the 'coming soon' and title of the film come at the end, so it is fresh in the audiences minds.
My BBFC logo A Typical BBFC logo
I have created a production logo for the beginning of the trailer. It is for my 'Take 5' production company, and simply features a clapperboard snapping shut. This is shown at the beginning of the trailer, after the BBFC logo, to follow the conventions of RomCom trailers.
The title slide comes close to the end of the trailer, before the humorous part in which the doctor attempts to hit the female lead with a chair. This is where it is usually placed.
It is on a plain white background to draw more attention to the writing, which is the title of the film, 'Heaven & Earth', written in the same font and colour as on the poster to create a sense of cohesion between the products and to give the film a brand.
You can see the similarities of the title slide here:
My title slide (500) days of summer title slide
I have added a 'Coming Soon' title slide near the end of a trailer, after the title slide, as this is where trailers usually have this.
The slide has a plain white background, and simple, easy-to-read text. The 'coming soon' is in a bigger font so the audience knows to look out for it in cinemas, and the movie website is written in a smaller red font at the bottom to make it different to the other writing on the slide, as this is something the audience can look at before the film's release. The credits are written in the typical credits font and I have imitated the use of smaller font for the people's titles, e.g. 'director of photography' and the larger font for the names. Everything is centred to keep the slide neat.
My Coming Soon title slide
The music is calm, as the piece is romantic so calm music accentuates the romance. Also many romcom trailers use calmer, happier music to make their audience feel good.
How my trailer differs from the norm:
-During my research I found that many RomCom trailers had written interjections, however, I wanted to use a voice over rather than words so there are no written interjections.
-RomCom trailers often start by showing the two of them separately, then end up showing the two of them together, however, I began by showing the two of the together, then showing them apart (although he could see her, she couldn't see him.)
My preliminary products; the poster and magazine cover, followed the norms of their respective genres.
The magazine cover imitated exactly that of 'Empire' film magazine, from the masthead, to the yellow and white bold writing (mostly in caps), to the little yellow '+' at the bottom of the page. I did this to ensure that my magazine cover looked as close to a real 'Empire' magazine as possible.
You can see the similarities here:
A real Empire magazine cover My Empire magazine cover
I have use the following things because they are used in the magazine:
- The 'Empire' masthead. However, mine is in front of the photo, whereas the photo is in front of the masthead in the original.
-Yellow and white coloured fonts which alternate on every other line. I have attempted to get the same font but had to settle for this one as more similar ones cost.
- All caps except for 'Starring', 'Plus!', 'First Look!', 'The on-set exclusive!', 'And 101 more!' because these parts weren't important and they weren't in caps on the magazine which I based mine on.
-A picture of the main character in the middle of the front page in character, except mine is closer-up than the original magazine.
-A background which relates to the film. Mine is of a city as this is where the film is set, whereas the original magazine is of the Caribbean as that's where it's set.
-A button in the top left-hand corner of the page, with the same writing written in the same way, except for the film title, in which I have substituted 'Pirates 4' for 'Heaven & Earth'
- A bar code, except I have placed mine underneath the masthead as the layout was slightly different.
- A yellow '+' in the bottom left-hand corner, which describes a different film to that featured.
- Similar article titles for the main featured film, except where it says 'Pirates 4' and things related to that, I have changed it to 'Heaven & Earth' and things related to that.
- The 'Plus' article, except I have changed the film names to more recent ones, and the '102 more' to '101 more' as I thought it sounded better.
-The date and price of the issue I have placed above the 'M'. Although this isn't seen in the original issue I have based mine on, most other issues of 'Empire' have this feature in the same way as it is on mine.
My poster also followed conventions, having the credits at the bottom of the page along with the 'coming soon' and website and the actors names at the top of the page, above the respective actor, I used typical fonts for these parts. Other things like a clean white background, and having both of the lead roles on the page also followed conventions of a romcom poster.
However, having the title near the bottom of the poster challenged conventions slightly, as not many posters have their titles there (they tend to be at the top or in the middle of the page). Despite this, I think the title works better here as it is one of the last things the audience will look at on the page, so is one of the last things they will think about.
The contrast and similarities of my poster and a real one:
A real romcom movie poster My romcom movie poster
Things the same (or similar), which make my poster stick to RomCom poster conventions:
-The line in going down the middle of the page, although mine is red.
- The two main characters on either side of the line, although they are the other way round to the 'ugly truth' poster, and instead of leaning on the line the male lead is reaching out for the female lead and the female lead is standing nonchalantly.
-I have added the 'coming soon' and website at the end of the page in the middle, and in bold and red, to fit in with the 'ugly truth' poster.
- The credits are centred at the bottom of the page and are written in the same style.
- The film title is written in the film brand font and colours, to fit in with the title slide on the trailer, and is near the bottom of the poster, above the credits. However, my film title is slightly higher than the 'ugly truth's title, as I wanted the line to separate 'Heaven' and 'Earth', as the two characters are separated in the film.
- The actors names are written in the same font as the 'ugly truth's names, and are above their respective actors. The surnames are underneath the first names and are in bold, as people are more likely to recognise the surname.
Props I have used
I have used a phone in the running over scene:
This is an iPhone because I wanted to create the impression that the lead female was a successful businesswoman, as such she would have a lot of money, so could afford an iPhone.
Fairy wings which Tom wore, and a toy stethoscope which Kristi wore in the doctors scene (along with the lab coat):
I used the toy stethoscope because I wanted to enhance the badness of God's disguises.
The toy fairy wings were to create an element of humour, as you would not expect a stereotypical male angel to have pink fairy wings. I did this because the good-looking angel wings were way over-budget, so I decided to go for cheap wings and make it a joke instead.
This is an iPhone because I wanted to create the impression that the lead female was a successful businesswoman, as such she would have a lot of money, so could afford an iPhone.
Fairy wings which Tom wore, and a toy stethoscope which Kristi wore in the doctors scene (along with the lab coat):
I used the toy stethoscope because I wanted to enhance the badness of God's disguises.
The toy fairy wings were to create an element of humour, as you would not expect a stereotypical male angel to have pink fairy wings. I did this because the good-looking angel wings were way over-budget, so I decided to go for cheap wings and make it a joke instead.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Possible Fonts
I looked a long time for fonts I could use.
These are the ones I liked:
Avanti http://www.dafont.com/avanti.font
Colaborate http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Colaborate
Existence - light http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Existence-Light
Geo_sans_light http://www.dafont.com/geo-sans-light.font
Gnuolane http://www.dafont.com/gnuolane.font
Lt_oksana http://www.dafont.com/lt-oksana.font
Market_deco http://www.dafont.com/market-deco.font
I mostly used colaborate for the magazine cover, which you can see in the article previews.
These are the ones I liked:
Avanti http://www.dafont.com/avanti.font
Colaborate http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Colaborate
Existence - light http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Existence-Light
Geo_sans_light http://www.dafont.com/geo-sans-light.font
Gnuolane http://www.dafont.com/gnuolane.font
Lt_oksana http://www.dafont.com/lt-oksana.font
Market_deco http://www.dafont.com/market-deco.font
I mostly used colaborate for the magazine cover, which you can see in the article previews.
Evaluation: Question 4
I have created a prezi to answer part of this evaluation question, here is the link:
http://prezi.com/7zgldoylqaxc/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Next I will talk about various editing techniques and the media technologies I used for editing my photos.
All photo editing I did in photoshop. The following show the steps I used in photoshop during editing:
Adding a new background to a photo:
I did this for all the photos I took, as I felt that the previous backgrounds weren't good enough.
For my 'Empire' magazine photo, I used this photo, which I took on a day out, as the background.
As it was of both a city and park scene I felt it fit in with the urban feel of the film, which is set mainly in a city.
However, I used only a small section of the photo, as I didn't want the railings, cars or pillars in it. So I used the top right-hand corner as the background.
.JPG)
Step 6: To make the lashes look more realistic I turned on show transform controls in order to alter the length or angle of the lash.
http://prezi.com/7zgldoylqaxc/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Next I will talk about various editing techniques and the media technologies I used for editing my photos.
All photo editing I did in photoshop. The following show the steps I used in photoshop during editing:
Adding a new background to a photo:
I did this for all the photos I took, as I felt that the previous backgrounds weren't good enough.
For my 'Empire' magazine photo, I used this photo, which I took on a day out, as the background.
As it was of both a city and park scene I felt it fit in with the urban feel of the film, which is set mainly in a city.
However, I used only a small section of the photo, as I didn't want the railings, cars or pillars in it. So I used the top right-hand corner as the background.
For the other photos I simply added a white background, as they were for the poster and I wanted the poster to have a clean look.
To add a new background I used Adobe photoshop.
First of all I opened up my edited photo of a person and created a new layer, adding in a photo of the background that I wanted to use (I'll refer to this layer as background). I unlocked the layer of the photo containing the person (for ease I'll call this layer person) and put this layer on top of the wanted background.
Then, using the quick select tool, I selected the person from the 'person' layer.
Once this was done I right clicked on the selection and clicked refine edges.
I set the smoothness to 22, feather to 2 pixels and shift edge to -3. Then I went around the hair with the brush tool, and set the output to new layer with layer mask.
I went round the new hair with the burn tool to make the white 'halo' lessened.
I basically follwed the steps from this video:
Shadow:
I added shadows to the photos I used in my poster following these steps:
Eyelashes:
As I felt that Abby's eyelashes weren't thick enough in the Empire photo, I added in eyelashes.
Step 1: Original picture.
Step 2: I set the brush tool to size 2, and the hardness and opacity to 100%.
Step 3: I
created a new layer, and named it eyelashes.
Step 5: With the pen tool I drew a line and curved it to look like
an eyelash. Then I right-clicked on the pen line, clicked stroke path and
selected brush.
This created an eyelash, using the brush settings I had
selected before. As it was too dark, I changed the opacity of the layer to 50%,
and the light to soft light.
To create more eyelashes I simply pressed alt and dragged,
this made new copies on different layers.
Step 6: To make the lashes look more realistic I turned on show transform controls in order to alter the length or angle of the lash.
Step 7: I neatened the layers by putting all the eyelash copies into
a folder and named it group 1, for the first group of eyelashes.
The first finished layer:
Step 8: To make the lashes look even fuller I copied the folder and
moved the eyelashes to lengthen and thicken their look.
Before eyelash editing:
After eyelash editing:
Airbrushing:
Airbrushing the skin for the photo I used for the magazine cover took a long time.
I followed the steps from this tutorial:
This is how I airbrushed the photo:
Step 1: Used dodge and spot healing tool to brighten eyes and remove some blemishes.
Step 2: I created a new layer and copied the teeth onto it. Changed the layer settings to 'screen' and lowered the opacity to 20%.
Step 3: I decided the eyes were too bright so I copied them onto a new layer and lowered the opacity to 80%
Step 4: I used the eye dropper tool to select a colour of the skin that I liked, then I used the brush tool to paint over the skin using this colour. Lowered opacity to 30%.
Step 5: I copied the original layer and called it smoothness, then used surface blur to smooth the skin.
Step 6: I copied the original layer again and called it detail. went to Filter > Other > High Pass and set the radius to about 5 pixels.
Step 7: I made a new layer and highlighted areas using dodge and burn tools, then lowered the opacity to 20%.
Step 8: I added the eyelashes on.
Finished picture:
All photos before editing:
All photos after editing:
Here I have also added on a new layer for the magazine's masthead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)