For my draft dvd covers, I made 3 different drafts using ideas from each of the 3 dvd cover I originally analysed for my research, for each draft I experimented with the use of bright colours and patterns as from my research I found that most children's dvds used bright eye catching colours and patterns to attract attention from the audience, for my drafts I used oranges, purples & blues as I thought these colours were sutiable for both male & female audiences but were eye catching enough. I tried 3 different layouts, one with an image allined to the left, with the dvd title and series number on the right, also with a company logo at the bottom right hand corner. I feel that although this layout isn't too cluttered having an image on the left hand side wouldn't be big enough to have more than one character in an image so would work best if the image had one character in which my dvd cover wouldn't. Another layout i tried was the image being in the middle of the page with the dvd name at the top, and company logo at the bottom right hand side. I like this layout the most as it is set out in a way that is eye catching but isn't too cluttered, the image of the characters is the main focus as it is in the centre of the page, it is the first thing the target audience would look at and recognise the characters from the tv show. The name of the dvd at the top also is an important feature as following the route of the eye, it is what you would read first then followed by the image and then the company logo which is in the exit areas this shows that it isnt a really important feature but people still do read it. The final layout i tried has one main image and 4 other images, a dvd name & series at the top & a company logo at the bottom right hand corner. I think that this layout is too cluttered due to the use of 5 images, although the audience would recognise the characters their isn't a need for more than one image as one image itself would be recognisable. The use of both DVD name & series number at the top is an important feature to me so the target audience & their parents know it is the right dvd they are buying, it being at the top shows that it is the first thing they read.
For my draft magazine covers I experiemented with 3 layout types which were similar to the ones I analyised in my research, with this I also experiemented with colours & fonts, I used oranges & yellows because they were bright and eye catching & also because they could appeal to both male & female audiences as it is a gender nuetral colour. I also used fonts such as comic sans & ariel as these are both 'childlike' fonts, they are 'curly' type fonts which would appeal more to a child than a 'non-curly' type font as 'curly' fonts are more fun & look nicer to a child. The first layout i used was a masthead at the top of the page, a main image as a background, a colour block at the side with scattered coverlines around the magazine and a company logo at the bottom. I've used this order because it is easy to follow using the route of the eye and also used a colour block to break up the image a bit more so it is more eye catching, also the company logo is added to show it is part of that company but not a main feature of the magazine. the coverlines are scattered as it draws more attention to each one and also make them more interesting to look at. The second layout i used has a masthead at the top, main image background and scattered coverlines, for me this isn't a very effective layout out as it isn't very eye catching, to make this more eye catching i would add a pug to it so it stands out. the scattered coverlines would help make it more appealing as it isn't ordered but the main problem is that there isn't alot of colour on there making it very boring. My final layout has a block colour at the bottom, a masthead at the top, main image background and ordered coverlines, the block colour helps make the cover more eye catching and interesting as it is different and not the same all the way through, for me the ordered coverlines make it very boring as all the text is one big chunk. I think in order to make a good magazine cover I need to use a area of block colour as well as a main image so there is more than one thing to look at, i need to use scattered coverlines so they are easier to read and not in one big chunk and i need to add a pug to add more eye catching details and a masthead that people would recognise from the tv show.
For my photography, I have decided that I only need one or two images of the group of people I plan to use, one for my DVD cover & one for my Magazine cover. This is because I only need more main image for each and using a group picture shows all the characters and makes it familiar to the audience. I thought by using two different main images, for example it could be different with the group pulling a different pose, that you could then tell that the DVD cover has one image & the magazine cover has another and therefore is different
