Setting up my work area

Before I start to design my DVD cover I must setup the correct image size. This has to be the correct size other wise it may be too big or too small to fit into a DVD case. I will be using the measurements given to me on the VLE to enter into photoshop. Included in the measurements is a bleed area, this is an extra 3mm around the whole of the DVD case. This means that when the cover is cut out of paper, they're won't be a white line left around the cut out area. I will also create some transparent lines using the "Guide" tool. This will allow me to differentiate between the front, back and spine of the case. (As seen below)

Design Sketches

Before I started to design the DVD cover in photoshop I first went about sketching some ideas onto paper, to see what it would look like before I actually starting designing my DVD cover in Photoshop. Sketching my designs out now allows me to change my ideas around if I don't like them. If I had decided to change my ideas at a later stage of the design process then It would take me a lot longer to change the design in Photoshop, so it is better to sketch out a few ideas now and settle on a final design to avoid wasting time later on in my assignment.

Sketch 1

The first sketch I drew was a basic design. I wanted it to look like the DVD itself had been chained up to look like there was something dangerous or harmful inside. I achieved this look by putting some chains, a padlock and warning tape onto the DVD. I feel as though this design is too minimal and I would like to add some more detail into it. Although because it is so minimal it creates an air of mystery around the DVD and what it could be about. The person viewing this design will be curious as to is inside the case and what the film is about. I will try to incorporate some of these elements into my final design.

Sketch 2

My second sketch is a lot more minimal than the first although It looks a lot cleaner. I like this design as the hand print in blood gives the sense of a horror movie and the title of the film is direct and easy to read. Although It is still a bit to basic for my dvd cover. Instead I may use some of these elements from this sketch in my design for the CD label as that doesn't have to be as detailed as the main DVD cover. 

Sketch 3

Next i decided to sketch a design for the spine of the DVD case. I went with a biohazard sign and the words "Danger of infection". The biohazard symbol is widely recognised as a warning sign, so when people see it they will immediately think of danger, hazardous materials and the horror genre. I like this design for its simplicity, although the films title is not clear enough. I may use this design for my DVD cover spine but I would change the writing to "Beware of the Infected" Or "Beware Infected" or just "Infected". This way the actual film title will be included in the design which will help if this DVD is stored on its side as the film title would be easterly readable. 

Sketch 4

My final sketch is a lot more detailed and includes some elements from my first sketches. The DVD case looks like it is wrapped in some protective material covered in warning signs and government markings. It also has danger tape wrapped around the entire case and a large biohazard symbol in the middle. All these elements will make the person/customer looking at the cover very curious as to what the movie is about and what is inside this case. The government markings and danger tape signify that this is a top secret project named "Infected". At the bottom of the DVD case the protective cover looks as though it has been ripped off and underneath the teared cover is the word "Infected" written onto base. This design has all of the details and feel that I was aiming for, So will be using this rough sketch as my inspiration for my assignment. This design is not perfect so would also like to change a few things. The biohazard sign is covered up by the danger tape so in my final design I may put this biohazard sign above the tape to make it stand out more. I may also use a blood type font for the word "Infected" to give it a more scarier look and tie in with the colours and font I found in my mood board and zombie genre. 

Sketch 5

Finally I sketched out the back of the DVD case. Following on from sketch 4 I used elements from other designs with danger tape across the back of the case, It also looks like the protective cover has been ripped off just like in sketch 4. Behind the protective cover you can see all of the DVD information including a brief plot summary, age rating and other information. I will use some old style typewriter font for the plot summary paragraph so it will look like an military report, which will add some more mystery to the DVD. The top right hand corner looks a bit plain so I may add in a government marking or some blood, But we shall see when I start designing in photoshop.

Raw Images & Filters

Raw images are images supplied from high end cameras which have not yet been properly processed, so they are in a "raw" state. These are also called negative images because they are in a "raw" format and cannot be printed or edited by bitmap graphics editors. I may be using Raw images within my assignment as I will use photos of enviroments for the background of my dvd cover. So I will have to understand how this image format works to get the most out of the image.


Before the a raw image can be used with photoshop it must first be converted into a postive image. To do this you must first open up the image, this will then open up a dialog box where you can adjust brightness, noise, red-eye, shadow etc (As seen below)

Once the image has opened I can adjust the exposure, brightness & sharpness to make the image look better. I can also adjust the white balance to make the sky more blue which makes the image look more realistic. I can use these techinques within my assignment for my enviroment pictures. My background image for my dvd cover will be very dark and post apocalyptic to give the impression of a horror movie. So I can take a raw image and use the tools in the dialog box to adjust brightness, saturation and sharpness to give it a darker feel. (As seen below)

(junoon1.wordpress.com)

I then had a go at testing out some filters in photshop. Firstly I had a go at removing the noise from the image. Noise is caused by the amplifaction of low light levels which can cause a grainy effect within the image, so to adjust this you must use the reduce noise feature in the filter menu. I then sharpened the image in the filter menu. Sharpening a image can give it more detail by artificaly adding contrast to the image. Looking at the before and after images I can see that I have added a bit to much shadow and highlights to the image as the two people now more darker than they did before, So in future I will be careful not to put to much shadow and highlights into an image. (Below is a the before and after image)

I will use these techinques within my assignment to add more sharpness and to reduce noise in some of my enviroment /people images to give more detail to the image and to make it look more realistic on the dvd cover.

The Assignment

My assignment will consist of me creating a DVD case & DVD disk cover for a Film. I will also have to create a 1 minute promotional video. For my Assignment I am going to create a zombie horror film called "Infected"

The look

"Infected" will use a Post-apocalyptic style. It will use a heavily used environment with dilapidated buildings and debris everywhere. This will make the viewer feel like this world has been this way for a very long time and is in a state of disrepair. Dark colours will create a scary, evil & menacing appearance to the film. I will also use red in my designs as red colours are often associated with warning & beware signs, which will go well with my zombie film. Red is also a hot colour which evokes powerful emotions of blood and war. I would like the environments to look like those in some of the new zombie films, games and TV shows that are around such as "28 days later (2002)" & "The Walking Dead (2011)"

Damaged & Dilapidated buildings

(thegreatspoo.deviantart.com)

The colour red evokes emotions of blood, 

which is fitting for a zombie film.

(28 Days Later)

Large empty towns & cities with dark colours will 

make the viewer feel scared and alone.

(The Walking Dead)

The Feel

The story takes place in the near future. The majority of the human race has been infected with a deadly virus that turns them into flesh eating zombies, no cure has yet to be found. A group of survivors must journey through deserted, damaged, run-down environments in order to find a safe location to live out the rest of their lives, Zombie free. Along the way they will encounter a vast amount of zombies and must work together to defend themselves and ultimately survive. The viewer should feel a strong connection with the group and should share the feeling of vulnerability when the group becomes separated, but they should feel a strong sense of unity and friendship when the group is all together.

Unity when together (The Walking Dead)

Viewer feels more safer when in a group (Dawn Of The Dead)

Vulnerable when alone and away from the group (28 Days later)


Moodboard


Here I have created a mood board to illustrate the look and feel of my DVD. As you can see from the images, a lot of zombie films use red as it is a strong colour that evokes emotions of blood and war. Red is also used a lot in warning signs, so your brain automatically becomes wary of red colour text. I will be using red in my designs for the "Infected" logo. I will also use a lot of black as this gives a more dark, scary vibe to the whole design.