DVD Cover

Planning the DVD Cover

We decided to do a net drawing of our DVD Cover to plan the layout and how we would organize it, which is included below.

(Click to make image full size)

Making the DVD Cover

1. After taking multiple images we agreed on the best one to use for our design work. This is imported into a blank canvas. Using the magic wand tool as seen below, the image can be modified so that just a selection of the photo exists with the background removed. This allows the image to be layered on to another image and still look authentic.

2. The image had to be rotated because the angle it was photographed at was not the desired angle.

3. Step 1 and 2 was completed for both the front and back covers of the DVD insert and both images were pasted onto a net canvas of size 1600x1072 pixels as seen below. Auto colour level was first used on both images to accentuate their natural colours. I then adjusted the brightness and contrast of the images to give them an aesthetically pleasing and romanticised effect. The contrast was altered significantly while maintaining a relatively neutral brightness balance.

4. After altering the hue, noise was then added to the images to take some of the natural skin tone out of them. This gives the effect that the model is less flawed.

5. A pink background was then inserted by altering the canvas colour. Pink was chosen because it reflects the sexual and somewhat feminine-appealing mood of the work. By reducing the opacity also, the images blend into the background with greater flow and consistency, as can be seen below.

6. After this the rest was a breeze. Film related logos were found off the internet, ‘magic-wanded’ and inserted onto the back cover of the DVD. Print screens from our music video were used to make the short storyboard on the back and the billing block was made using the Universal 39 Condensed font to add an authentic look. An age rating courtesy of the BBFC was also added along with a barcode to accentuate the DVD covers authenticity.

The Finished Product

The following is the DVD Cover, and inner cover, for our Music Video that the group created.








Advantages of our DVD Cover
I believe that our DVD Cover has been completed to a very high standard, and I am impressed with the overall quality of it. In research, I looked into various codes and conventions that Music DVDs have, and I believe we have incorporated the most important of these into our finished DVD Cover, which adds to its' overall professionalism and realism.

The images that we have used for the DVD Cover was taken on a mobile phone camera, and I am impressed with the high quality of them. We decided against using photos of Joe Cocker, as the only feasable way we could get photos of him would be online, and this could result in us breaching copyright rules and regulations. I do feel however that our DVD Cover is more successful with the pictures we have used, as it promotes our video as opposed to the artist.

Disadvantages
I think the main disadvantage of our DVD Cover is the fact that it is quite plain on the front. However, the idea of having a pink background (whom many consider to be a "female" colour) with the image of a male is likely to draw more attention to anybody looking at our DVD Cover, and also suggests the connotations of the video. It also has female implifications, and if considered with Laura Mulvey's "Male Gaze" theory, could suggest that the character on the image be seen as having characteristics of a female, and therefore being objectified, which he is throughout the video.