Saturday, March 26, 2016

Characteristics of Magazine

  Some magazines are presented with certain elements that appeal to a certain audience, such as People's Magazine, where they present an article with images and quotes that appeal to people who are interested in the sexiest person alive, or other topics. This works because they drive to appeal to the target audience, and not only help sales, but word of mouth on the magazine, as the one to check out for this information.
  Comic book magazines are not as popular, as I stated before, because they are mostly focused on stories, or just appeal to a certain audience of comic book fans. I plan to post certain characteristics, such as character bubbles, different word templates, and creative images that appeal to all audiences.

Links: Web. 25 Mar. 2016. <http://responsive.imancosmetics.com/images/pressimg/2008/people_11_08.jpg>.

Layout

  To start a magazine, you need a selling point and creative masthead/title to appeal to your target audience. My masthead, along with overall magazine format, will be done in a comic book format to appeal to avid superhero fans, such as Clint Magazine, founded by veteran comic book editor Mark Miller who writes about every fiction topic, such as upcoming comic books. This appealed to the editor of the blog, and wrote that it can even appeal to non-Miller fans. I think this was a good idea because the magazine could bring attention to readers who are not interested in comic books. But when a magazine does a layout, people become interested.
   I feel that this kind of format will appeal to not only superhero comic readers and movie critics, but to the general audience of magazine readers because not most magazines are done in a comic book format, so a first publication, and done right, will bring new audiences and allow creative influences to be explored by other companies. An example of this is Roy Lichtenstein, whose 1960's magazines were heavily divisive for his comic-book like layouts. Ever since then, most magazines have not follow this format, and if brought back, this could allow other readers that don't subscribe to magazines to want to because this format could appeal to comic book fans or editors, who may want to see their work in a magazine layout, or similar. 
 For my movies to review will be Deadpool and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice because these two movies are in theaters currently and one of the top 10 movies most people are talking about and going to see. Also, these two movies had controversy prior to their releases, especially Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, because these films were attempts to establish characters onto the big screen for future movies and connections to other beloved superhero films, such as X-Men in Deadpool's case. I would like to share my own opinion on these movies on a visual, but general, analysis of the movies because one was good, while the other was... Eh. Those reviews will be the primary focus of my magazine, and why I thought the final result was good or bad on a critic view. 

Links: "T E R S C H . C O M." T E R S C H . C O M. T E R S C H. Web. 25 Mar. 2016. <http://tersch.com/graphics.html>.
            Camp, Hunter. "Comic Review: CLiNT Magazine Vol. 2 #1 - Geeks of Doom." Geeks of Doom. Geeks of Doom, 24 May 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2016. <http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/05/24/comic-review-clint-magazine-vol-2-1>.
            "BoxOffice® — Twitter Index." Pro.boxoffice.com. Pro.boxoffice.com. Web. 25 Mar. 2016. <http://pro.boxoffice.com/statistics/analysis/twitter>.
            "Daily Box Office for Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - Box Office Mojo." Box Office Mojo. IMDB, 26 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Mar. 2016. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?view=1day>.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Contents of Magazine

  My magazine will be consisted of movie reviews, as stated before, and I know my format. I'm just conflicted on what to analyze.
  I have stated that I want to review every production aspect of the movie, from the plot to sound and more, but where do I start? Most reviews are not that detailed, and provide their own commentaries on it, such as Forbes, but what do they critique? Just certain scenes and their insights into their thoughts into the movie? This is why I want to write about the movies in depth, with visual analysis and some commentary about other production aspects, but not to make a joke out of the review.
 Forbes did a review on Avengers: Age of Ultron, but focused mostly on what the movie could lead to for box office predictions, and taking puns at the movie. It's Forbes magazine, so it's mostly about money, but what about Empire? That's a good example of a review because the review touches on the forced, mandatory exposition throughout the movie, yet the "near-flawless visual effects" in the movie. I disagree with that one because some qualities in the movie were not that good, such as the opening battle scene with some clunky CGI with the fight scenes, or the Seoul chase scene where some scenes felt rushed visually. Granted this is all my opinion, but that's what reviews are about. They offer opinions on movies, good or bad, and write about what they thought throughout the movie. I would like for my reviews to write about what maybe the movie is going for on thematic levels, or if the audience will feel satisfied visually.
  I only hope these reviews will be good or can be different from others, and I have to start somewhere... I still hope it works out in the end.


Links: O'Hara, Helen. "Avengers: Age Of Ultron." Empire. Empire, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. <http://www.empireonline.com/movies/avengers-age-ultron/review/>.
           Mendelson, Scott. "Review: 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' Is A Galactus-Sized Disappointment." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/04/21/review-avengers-age-of-ultron-is-a-galactus-sized-disappointment/#bcb336274a9f>.
  

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Superhero Movies!

  After some research and contemplating, I have decided to write my critiques on superhero movies.
   Not only do superhero movies appeal to the age group of ages 18-25, the targeted audience for most action movies, but when most magazines do reviews on movies, their main cover is a promotional image of the upcoming release that can appeal to any reader of the magazine. Most magazines focus on looking behind the scenes of the movie, especially before it comes out, but for my magazine, I would want to focus on the critical aspects of the movie I would analyze/review. I feel that reviews would interest a lot of people who are undecided to see the movie coming out soon because most people base their decisions on websites, such as Rotten Tomatoes, Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post, and more, to go see a movie. 
   Superhero movies are widely covered due to the expansion of movies in 2016, and tend to be what the audiences mostly look for. A good example would be Deadpool. Empire did a review of the movie that was graded on an "A-F" system and fully provided what they thought of the movie. Before going into spoiler territory, they explain the basic plot and include a quote on the side to give an idea of what they think about the movie's plot. 
  I want my reviews to fully cover what I think of every aspect, from plot to sound and overall production, because I feel that would differ from other magazines so someone can fully see what another person thought about the movie truly.

Links: Concepcion, David. "Why Super Hero Movies Are so Popular." Examiner.com. Examiner, 15 May 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.examiner.com/article/why-super-hero-movies-are-so-popular>.
           Breznican, Anthony. "This Week's Cover: Behind the Brawl of 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'" Entertainment Weekly. EW.com, 3 Mar. 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/03/this-weeks-cover-batman-v-superman-dawn-justice-ew>.
           Pile, Johathan. "Deadpool." Empire. Empire, 7 Feb. 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. <http://www.empireonline.com/movies/deadpool-2/review/>.
 

Monday, March 14, 2016

Potential Topic

   I have decided what subject I am going to do. For me, movies are a topic I have invested a lot of time into since I was in middle school, and want to write critiques on some movies.
   To write critiques, I have decided to incorporate material I have learned in AICE Media throughout the year, such as visual and sound aspects of the productions I review. Most magazine layouts for movie reviews are done in a two page layout format with bold headings that create a sell line that sums up the overall review, while main cover image is of the focus of the article or an image from the movie. Some aspects they include are the basic plot points, a little backstory about the director that reveals how that person became influenced to direct this movie, thoughts of the production design, and how the critic felt about watching the movie.
   I think writing critiques for movies I have watched in the past or when they first come out in the future will allow me to write how I really feel about movies I watch. I just hope it all works out for me. See you soon!

Links: Plumb, Ali. "Home (2015) Review." Empire. Empire, 13 June 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2016. <http://www.empireonline.com/movies/home-4/review/>.
           Dyer, James. "Interstellar." Empire. Empire, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2016. <http://www.empireonline.com/movies/interstellar/review/>.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Hello!

   Hi, my name is Matthew Bonfante, and welcome to my blog! For the next six weeks, I will be discussing about my magazine layout and what my article will be about. I had some topics in mind, such as entertainment (movies, television) or travel.
  Why I choose these topics are because film studies and media are subjects I am passionate about, and have been since I was in middle school. Travel is an area I am familiar with because I have visited places around the world and have gained knowledge about different cultures from different areas of the world.
  Yes, these are very different topics, but they are subjects I know well, and are most likely going to publish a layout on one of them. Unless something changes and I decide to write about something else, but I highly doubt it. I am excited about my magazine and can't wait to show the final product.