Writing the Article

http://www.howcast.com/videos/396569-How-To-Write-Car-Reviews

I've decided the best thing to do is write the article before I shoot any photos or plan the layout since the content of the article affects both of those things. To plan this article I need to decide what I want to say about the car and also who I'm addressing. I should also consider that the article will need to fit in a double-page spread alone, so it can't be too long.

Howcast.com feature a useful guide on writing a car review with bullet points of things to include. However I don't my article to be overly critical because it's not a consumer based review. I also need to find out some history on the car as I think this would be an appropriate addition to a nostalgic car review like this one.

Below are some notes on the car that will help form the basis for the article.

Target Audience
Based on the existing magazines I've looked at I would say my target audience would be primarily car enthusiasts (particularly Ford enthusiasts). Since the car isn't massively old the target age group might range from as young as people in their 20s to late 30s. This is because the article will chiefly appeal to people who remember the car from when it was new and who possibly owned one previously. So I want my spread to have a modern feel about it, or maybe something that's identifiably modern but has retro throwbacks in it's design. Since the brief doesn't state I have to use the style and guidelines of any specific magazine I can't use the target audience of the magazine as a whole to base my judgement on. But this will be the market I'm aiming to appeal to with this single spread.

Driving Experience

• Lively 1.25 zetec engine
• Zippy through the corners
• Fun
• Surprisingly fast if you put your foot down
• Good grip but noticeable body roll
• Good around town, maneuverable and easy to park

Comfort

• Seats are fairly comfortable
• Suspension fairly refined
• Good driving position (everything easy to reach)
• Limited headroom

Exterior styling

• Curvy, fairly modern styling
• Clean, pleasant

Interior Styling

• Dashboard looks cheap and a touch boring
• Some okay looking trim levels
• Nothing special

Practicality

• Cheap to buy cheap to run
• Reliable engine
• Not much boot space but acceptable for a car this size

The 95-99 MK4 Ford Fiesta with 1.25 zetec engine is what I'll be reviewing for this article.

Photographic Research

This is a collection of images I found by simply typing "Ford Fiesta" into flickr. I chose the ones I found most inspirational or interesting in relation to my project. The location and angle of the photograph drastically affects the connotations that are created around that car.

Urban Setting

For example shooting the car in a car park creates connotations of being urban and could suggest the car has street cred or is good at maneuvering around narrow city streets. This would match an article that, for example, praised it's agile handling and how it's fun to drive for a car that size.

In terms of colour I noticed that the grey tones of urban backgrounds seem to suit cars painted in rich or bright colours in the foreground. This emphasizes the vibrancy of the car and makes it stand out from it's otherwise dull surroundings. This could suggest that the car is vibrant in itself, it's different, it's exciting etc. My Fiesta is actually silver, so it would seem that shooting it against a grey background probably isn't the best way to show it off for the article, for fear of having it blend into it's surroundings.

As for angles and perspective, you can see different shot types used for each photo above which create different effects. The purple fiesta, shot from a distance with a zoom angle, looks more enclosed in it's surroundings because of the loss of perspective and the fact that there's debris in the foreground and background.

However the green fiesta is shot close up which makes it seem more aggressive and poignant because of the way the front of the car appears to stick out as it gets closer. I also noticed the lines created by the ceilings and road markings point towards the vanishing point which naturally draws your eye towards the center of the photo, that being the car. Thus placing more emphasis on the subject of the photograph and portraying it as the central figure.

The orange puma is shot at a slanted angle. This makes the image appear more unsettled which could suggest things like the car has a mad streak to it, that it's unpredictable perhaps and by extension more exciting to drive? Because of this angle the car also appears to be pointing upwards which makes it appear more aggressive and powerful in it's stance, and possibly more important.

Outdoors

Shooting a car outdoors creates different connotations. For example these shots of a Fiesta nestled in a muddy forest could suggest a number of things about the car such as being wild, tough, untamed, animalistic, aimed at the kind of person who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty (or his car) perhaps?

I like how the photographer has used selective colouring in this photo using the blue stripes and making everything else black and white. This is an interesting way of making the subject stand out from the background. Black and white photography can add mood to the photo or make a setting look more dynamic if the photographer captures contrast and texture. This is a good example of how you could use post-production to change how you portray the subject to the audience.

At Night

I think shooting at night has a very different feel to it than day photos. The dark setting, barbed fence and the 'danger of death' sign create a sense of danger about the photo whilst the way the car is positioned looking out of the photo could suggest an untrustworthy, menacing feel about the car.

There's also something unsettling about the loneliness of the car in this photo, as it is positioned off-center and with space around it (i.e. the empty parking space). The black of night covers the whole background behind the fence and the fact that the lights are on could suggest it's about to do something or that it's aware. Or at-least that it has a more active roll in the image. All these elements add to the sense of danger in this photograph.

In comparison this photo, which is also shot at night, has a much different feel to it. The lighting is different and the scene is well lit which has adds a much warmer feel to the photo. This contrasts with the previous image which now appears very cold in comparison. The car is also painted in a more vibrant colour and framed in the center of the photograph. All of these elements create a positive, more welcoming portrayal of the car. And if you consider that it's also in an urban area at night then it could have further connotations of nightlife, which could suggest the car is fun and sociable to the audience.

Moving Shots

Most of the articles I've looked at so far have featured images of cars in motion. This is a good way to make the car look really dynamic and lively. However for me it's a difficult shot to get as you need two cars and a clear stretch of road with no traffic or people. It's also difficult to get a steady shot without special equipment like steady-cams. For these reasons I will probably decide against shooting the car whilst driving however I may be able to frame a shot to look like the cars driving without it actually being in motion. This could be done by experimenting with motion blur effects in post-production.

Atmosphere

I could also experiment with filters to create different effects when shooting. For example this image has sepia-like tint to it which I think makes the shot look really atmospheric because of the prominent earthy colours.

Framing a Shot for a Double-Page Spread

Ofcourse I will always need to keep in mind that I'm shooting images that will later be used in a double-page spread. This means that I need to think about where other elements of the article such as headers, captions and body-type are going to go, especially if I'm setting type on-top of the image itself. I also need to think about how an image will look if spread across two pages as some of the information will be lost where the pages meet at the spine and may not look good.

These two images for example feature a decent amount of space around the main focus point to set type on to. Additionally I think they'd be quite suitable for spreading across two pages as well because there wouldn't be much valuable information that is lost.

Landscape images are best suited to be spread across two pages whilst portrait images might be best for inclusion on a single page. I will need to plan my images carefully before going ahead with the photoshoot.