Article Changes

I had intended to produce an article regarding the 'Star and Shadow Cinema' in Newcastle, attending a screening and the venue itself. However, due to time and cost issues, I was unable to do so, therefore, planned to write an article about the 'Darlington Art's Centre' and its 'Film Club'. Costs are important to my client (The Northern Echo) as they are an organisation who are facing financial difficulties. I was unable to find permission to photograph the even, and time constraints were always present, therefore I opted out of this article, deciding to write my short article about 'Jan Swankmajer's 'Alice' instead. Had more time been available, I would have written my 'Art's Centre' article as a feature, appearing 'headlining' alongside 'Flick Back and Relax' and the 'In Conversation With...' articles.

Creating My DPS For 'D'Arcy Jacques' Article.

 Having completed the initial stages of my 'Flick Back and Relax' article and spreads, I began the creation of the InDesign document that will become the basis of my 'D'Arcy Jacques' article. I created the double page spreads, and then began designing the title and header, keeping in mind my 'Flick Back and Relax' layout and the colours within my branding.

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As you can see, there are some signature elements to both of the headers. And at this point, my DPS looked like this: 

It is clear how this could be made to be very similar to my 'Flick Back and Relax' article, however, I decided that the articles would then be too similar, not showing enough design skill, or differing enough to look interesting. I decided that the two articles would look the same, just with different images. To break down these boundaries, I decided to re-create my D'Arcy article, using some more artistic details and trying to differ from my 'FBaR' article. 

You can see the basis of this below. 

As you can see, I have completely changed the article by making one main change, the use of black. Having inserted my images, I saw that they all have completely black borders. I decided then to add an entirely black back ground to the article, which would contrast 'FBaR' article completely. Focusing on the black and white theme, I adapted my insert quotes and played with the idea of the complete contrast in colouring, I would then apply the copy text in white for style and readability purposes. 

Also, to add a slight injection of colour, and keep the brand name in mind, I added this to each of the pages:

Having made these adjustments, I feel that I have tested myself more, whilst creating an original product that does not completely adhere and stick to the guidelines that are based on 'FilmComment' and would simply create an article that is the same as my first.

'D'Arcy' Article Images

Having completed my photo shoot, I was able to select the images for my article. Looking through them, I selected a small number that I would definitely use.

From these images, I was able to create the following edits, to insert in my article, helping to aide the messages of the article text, as well as creating images that my TA would enjoy.

Front Cover Image

Having completed my photo shoot, I was able to use my front cover image. Before inserting it onto the page, I wanted to edit it, to create and image that had the feeling of an 'old film star photo', one that was perhaps taken on a film camera, with a slight grain, that simply adds to the artistic aesthetic, which my TA crave.

I selected this image [which was my very last shot in my shoot] for the cover, as it is by far the most relaxed, and emits a melancholy, moody and dark tone, almost in a Film Noir fashion, which is exactly what I wanted. 

Although the image looks ok here, the black back-drop fading away nicely and the shadows encroaching her coat well, it simply was not artistic enough for my front cover, or my TA.

To begin with, I cropped the image, to focus on the model more, with less background.

 I then created a vignette. To do this, I selected the 'Elliptical Marquee Tool'. I circled where I wanted the eyes to be drawn, so specifically the face, hair and some shoulder.

So that when I adjust Brightness and Contrast, it does not create a solid line, creating literally and oval in the middle of my image, I clicked refine edges. Adjusting the settings on here, allows me to create a graded vignette, which is far more subtle and professional, and you can see how the image is feathered.

Then, by 'Select>Inverse', I was able to select the area that surrounds the focal point of the image, and adjust the brightness and contrast.

You can see from this that the image is now looking far more professional, and artistic. At this point, I decided that, using the 'Spot Heal Tool', I would remove some slight marks on the skin of my model, but not to the extent that the image begins to look 'airbrushed', simply to create a more flattering image.

At this point, I wanted to create a slightly more artistic, and 'retro' looking image. I began by using the 'Distort > Diffuse Glow' tool which would slightly desaturate the image and it would then gain a slight grain.

Now, despite my lighting, this image has somehow escaped the 'starry eyed' look, with this being only slightly visible. To enhance it, I used the 'Dodge Tool', to reinforce the reflection.

This difference that this change alone makes is incredible, appearing to sharpen the entire image and draw the eye in to the focal point of the image. However, it is still not quite artistic enough, so I decided to use the 'Burn Tool' to enhance the shadows, lips and hair.

This image is now suitable for my front cover.

Photo Shoot

Originally, I had planned to use two soft boxes, one from the lower right and one from the higher left diagonals, as seen below.


































However, after consulting with my lighting technician, I decided that I should use a different layout, that would allow me to fully light my model, and give them 'starry eyes' [due to the link with being an actress]. To do this, I set up the two soft boxes directly in front of the model, where the camera would be, one high and one lower. I then placed the camera in between the two lights during shooting.

Initially, my technician set the two soft boxes at the same power, creating this image:

I decided that this image was slightly too bright and looked too clinical, I then turned the power down slightly on the bottom soft box, to create this image:

I felt that this lighting suited the model's skin tone far better, and the slight shadowing created a more sensual, dark mood, that with editing, could be enhanced greatly.

I began shooting and these are my images:

 In order to try and get the model to create a natural pose, I would say roughly what I wanted, then tell her to look at the floor, then when I say, for her to look up, meaning that the pose remains natural. I feel that this worked and the images do not look too posed and have a 'film star-esque' feeling.

Article Planning Document

Schedule

 This documents allows me to see and track exactly what I must do each week of production. Sticking to this will mean that my project will be completed in time and be of a high standard. Through the use of my free periods at college, I shall be able to complete any elements which I do not complete within the designated class time.

Article Insertion

Having completed my article, I pasted the copy text into my existing double page spread, to see (with the revisions) how the text fitted/ filled the pages, and what adjustments would be required. Due to the now slightly shortened length of the article, the copy text did not fill the pages to their entirety, as I had planned. To combat this, I began with changing the font size, in whole numbers, e.g from 11.00 to 12.00. In doing this, I found that article became too long for the pages by around three paragraphs. To combat this, I reduced the line spacing to 14pt. and adjusted the font accordingly. As entire units were too large when changing my font, I graduated my enlargement from 11.00 by single units, 11.01 - 11.03 - 11.04 etc, until settling on 11.09, which was the ideal size for my article.This has allowed me to have an almost 'finished' article, which can be revised slightly were my time scale to allow it.

Photo Shoot Plan