Thursday, 13 February 2014

Photoshop - Current DVD Covers

Current DVD Covers

In one of my first blog posts I looked at a couple of current DVD covers as inspiration. As I have progressed through my design and research stage it became apparent that I would need to look into this section deeper in order to gain more knowledge but also come up with different ideas in order to chose the most suitable. For this reason I have analysed many current DVD covers in order to help me make my own decisions as to what works well and what doesn't work quite so well. Within this blog I have uploaded the DVD cover and made comments on its appearance and its overall suitability commenting on what I like and hence could take forward into my idea.

Sex And The City 2:
The colour scheme of this DVD cover is very professional and sleek. The colours of SJP's dress compliment the background perfectly. The background is not in film footage but does portray the basis of the film as it is set in Dubai. The idea of only one main character doesn't appeal to me although it does work well. I think I would prefer my film cover to have all the main characters rather than just the one. The title of the movie sat in the centre of the picture works well however I don't feel like the colours used for this stand out very well against the already gold/yellow background. I like the idea of having all four actor names along the top of the cover  and the age rating in the bottom right hand corner.
The spine of this DVD uses the same background as the front cover (it wraps around). This does look effective however on a personal level I'm not sure I like this over a plain spine. The film title is clear and positioned at the top which works well. The spine includes the age rating and the company logo which is good however these are both positioned at the bottom of the spine. although this does work I would like to compare this to one which has these two items separated to see which works best.
The back cover for this DVD starts with a large quote taken from a magazine about how good the film is. I like the idea of having some kind of quotation however I don't feel this is the best place for it. underneath this is the story line information. This is very standard and I don't feel the most effective way. I wouldn't use this in my design. The long image of all four actors on the back is effective and give off the correct impression of the film. I would like to compare the images on the back of more of the covers in order to see which look most effective however I do like the way this particular one is positioned. As most standard DVD back covers this film has all of its language features, running times etc... positioned along the bottom of the cover. This does work and is standard however I am interested to find out if any I analyse position this anywhere else and what effect this has.

 
 
 
Dear John:
From simply looking at the cover of this DVD you would expect this to be a film set in the summer time due to the beach background. The image set in the centre is very simply but effective. It covers the two main characters which Sex And The City didn't and hence scores higher for me already. The two actor names are also positioned along the top of the cover with the film title directly underneath. The colours used for this is surprising and the way the title colour is split between the words is also something you don't see very often. I personally don't see what the colour pink has in common with the film however it does stand out and this way justify the choice. The main DVD age rating for this film is positioned in the bottom left hand cover. When comparing this position to that of Sex And The City I personally prefer the age rating in the right hand corner and hence my age rating will be positioned here on my cover. This cover has a star rating which looks highly effective and also gives the viewer an idea of the quality of film they are about to watch. This is definitely something I would like to try on the front cover of my DVD case.
The spine of this DVD uses the sky of the image on the front cover. The DVD age rating is positioned at the bottom of the spine with the company logo positioned at the top, this gives me the comparison I wanted from Sex And The City. I personally prefer all the logos together at the bottom of the spine as apposed to them being separated. The spine also has a smaller version of the main image from the front. Although this aspect does work I feel it isn't needed and hence I wouldn't chose to use this when designing my own spine.
From simply turning over this DVD cover I immediately feel this is more effective than Sex And The City. It is instantly more exciting with more going on and more colour. The first thing I notice from this back cover are the quotes. There are three quotes from different sources about the film. This is effective and by using the pink text also stand out. The main image on the back of this cover is effective and of a good size however it is the other four images which catch my eye. I like the way they are framed and mixed together. This also acts as a wall between the film information at the top and all of the DVD information at the bottom. As just mentioned all of the information from language to running time are positioned at the bottom of the back cover as standard.



 
 
 

theHoliday:
The cover of this DVD is very different to those I have looked at previously. This uses two main in film footage images, one top and one bottom with the title in the centre. I am currently unsure as to whether I like this layout or not however I do feel I prefer the other two layouts to this. The title in the centre is however very eye catching and effective with the white background and red text. The red and white contrast could be something I look into with my own DVD cover as red would work well towards my Valentines Day theme. Like the other two covers I have looked at this also includes the names of the four name actors. This seems to be a running theme. The age rating of this DVD is in the left hand corner but as already previously stated mine will be in the right hand corner.
The spine for this film is one of my least favourites. It has a plain white background which I do actually like the idea of however the image of Cameron Diaz at the top looks out of place and I feel really doesn't work. The age rating is located at the bottom with the company logo at the top. Overall I don't like the idea of this spine and wouldn't use anything on it for inspiration.
When looking at the back cover for this DVD the first thing which strikes me is the red. This is really effective with the white text over the top. The way the film information is laid out on this cover is different to most others with images in an 'L' shape around the text. I still feel like I prefer the picture frame effect however the slightly larger images work better. Again like all the DVD's I have looked at the Running Time and Language information is located along the bottom of the cover. I am yet to find a cover which differs from this trend.


thebigwedding:
This DVD cover is similar to the previous in a sense that it is separated into different sections. I immediately feel that splitting the cover into three sections rather than two works a lot better. I also like the way the title is set into the middle image off centre. This is unique but still stands out and does its intended job. The two main colours used on this cover are pink and black. These two colours contrast well and I feel the pink adds a splash of girly colour which would also work well for my own design. The two quotes on the front of this DVD cover are effective but I question the use of grey for the text colour. I personally prefer the simple star rating to actual quotes on the front, I feel these are best left to the back cover. This film has many more main characters and hence there is a longer ribbon along the top of this cover. I feel this is too much and that the main characters should be cut down however the fore and surnames in separate colours works well and I would like to use this within my own design. On the border of the top picture is a bow. This is a simple but very effective add on. I wonder if I could maybe use a simple love heart in this way to achieve a similar style.
The spine of this DVD is my favourite of them all. The simple white background is very effective with the black and pink text continuing for the film title. There is a simple image of a wedding cake however I don't feel this is needed. The age rating for this film is located at the bottom of the spine with the company logo at the top. I don't like this layout however in general this spine has a better look than all three others.
The backcover of this DVD uses the general style which I didn't like but actually this time it works really well. The border of the back cover is really pretty and effective. The small details seem to make this DVD cover in general stand out. The main image on the back cover is of a good size with the text wrapping around it gives an overall good feel. The pink and black colour scheme remains here and like all the DVD covers I have looked at this has the language and running time details featured along the bottom of the back cover.


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