Top tips for creating a print based media text such as a film poster, magazine cover and contents page, or a DVD or CD cover:
- Use the The familiar tools used by media texts to communicate ideas through technical, visual and audio techniques of your chosen A type or category of media text; TV, film, magazines, newspapers, websites and video games are all examples of genres. to make it look professional.
- Use photographs and artwork that you have produced yourself, not someone else's.
- Make sure that you have carefully considered how you want your photographs to be composed before you take them. Do a Pre-production visit to a location to check suitability. Derived from the word reconnaissance. of possible locations and cast your models to suit your design.
- Making an effort to achieve a high quality photograph on the day will mean that you will have to worry less about trying to fix it using picture editing software after the photo shoot.
- Use your research to help you decide on font styles, the layout and design, the The ways in which a media text uses language to speak to its target audience - for example, formal or informal. and other codes and conventions that are associated with your chosen genre.
- Small details, like parental advisory stickers, bar codes and certifications on a CD or DVD cover, will make your print based media text look professional.
- If producing a magazine front cover and contents page, or a feature article, try to establish a The overall design concept used by a magazine, website, or media company which includes logos, fonts, and colours. for your publication, this will help link the pages together.
Using the codes and conventions of your chosen genre will help make your print text look more professional