Blog Post 10 - Stage 1 - Design Ideas

Having now concluded my initial ideas in Blog Post 8 and now set up the Photoshop design template file for the cover, it is now time to consider the different design ideas that I could incorporate into my design which is going to be the purpose of this blog post.

In the blog post number 7 I concluded my initial ideas, however as a résumé... After much deliberation regarding the route of the assignment, I have decided that I will use a combination of both Ashes to Ashes and The Professionals. I've decided that my twist on these will be that the tables have turned for Gene and this results in him moving to the future as opposed to staying in Limbo in the past with both Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. Obviously due to his Quattro being destroyed therefore he will be needed a new car, and the Ford Capri will fill this position nicely as well as being from the right era too which is perfect. Where the inspiration from The Professionals comes from is firstly that of the Capri being featured, but also when I move to Stage 3 and the video trailer, the element of a car chase utilising the Capri will be able to be put into action involving some original footage that I will be able to shoot. Due to the original team of Ray, Chris and Shaz having gone to The Railway Arms (heaven) personally I think there is no future for a series set in the past otherwise a total revision of new characters would be needed, and the truth about Gene is now known so it will never be the same unlike that of the suspense of the previous three series.

Design Ideas Mood Board

Mood Board of Design Ideas

For the first stage of the Design Ideas, I decided to opt for a Mood board which will include lots of different images. Personally I think that a design mood board is a good starting point for a design as it helps to revert back to during the design process as to possibly help come up with further ideas as inspiration. This might not work for everyone, however in my experience in the past this was a worthwhile exercise. As you can see on the mood board it mainly consists of photographs of the Audi Quattro used in Ashes to Ashes, but also the Ford Cortina that was used in Life On Mars. Coupled with pictures of the Ford Capri, I plan to utilise these three cars to produce some aesthetically pleasing effects which will be discussed in more detail in the future. Also include are photos of the previous cast of Ashes to Ashes and Life On Mars, as certainly the use of photos of Gene Hunt will be used in the creation of the DVD cover as he will be the key main character in this DVD. Finally, on the right hand side there is a background imagine of that of a warehouse. At this moment in time I can picture a similar image being that of the background of the DVD front cover page whereby the combination of the three photos will be used to produce a pleasing to the eye effect - more detail and discussion to follow regarding this in the future.

Design Ideas - Layout Plans

Layout Ideas

Following on from the design ideas mood board, I decided to plan a potential layout for the DVD inlay case for the front, rear and spine that I will revert back to when creating the cover in Photoshop. Firstly, I created this layout in Photoshop whereby I utilised different layers with Text to start planning the layout. Starting with the front of the DVD Cover, I have decided that I will keep to the industry standard of the Title being at the top which is naturally where the eye will go when your eyes hit the cover. Below this will be some brief information about the DVD, although as this is the front cover it is very important that this is kept very short and to the point as further information will be found in the DVD Summary on the rear of the case. Below the brief introduction on the front page the main photo will be situated. As previously mentioned, this will likely to include a warehouse scene that will be combined with the three cars, the Audi Quattro, Ford Cortina and Ford Capri. Moving onto the spine, due to the size constraints this means that the space is limited however at the top ("L") this will be a logo, below this the Title and finally at the bottom ("R") this will be the age rating of the DVD. Finally moving onto the rear of the case, at the top there will be a secondary photo which I will once again utilise photographs of the three different cars. Below this will be a summary of the DVD and a cast photo will be situated to the right. Below this is the DVD information (such as requirements and duration information), and finally space for the Barcode. As mentioned, this is simply a plan and when creating the case I fully expect that elements will have to be moved and rearranged. 

Having now started to think about the different designs that I could put into action for my DVD Case Wrap I feel that the next stage will be to start the creation of the DVD Case Wrap using Photoshop.