DVD - Feature Menu (Inspiration)

Going back to my previous research led me in this direction. The background sketches add depth and a 3D style to the image itself. Aiming for that kind of look but with discreet impact.

DVD/CD whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!

Graphic Designers meet the science geeks from high school. This ... is amazing! not only an original CD packaging, but also make your own music ... check it out.

DVD Menu 3

Last look into dvd feature menu's! And i have found a few very nice examples for inspiration today.

Below - This is a very nice example. The comic book/movie stye imagery and layout works well and is explored by the eye straight away. Even though i love the imagery and layout - im not the biggest fan of the type they have used. Limited colour (grayscale) with yellow - is very affective also.

Below - Simple - one image, a title, a play button and 3 extra options. And it still looks as professional and presentable as many pieces you see with vector graphics and hand drawn illustrations. Another possibility - yes!

Below - Okay ... this feautre menu is a bit weird but works well. Its a lot of colour clashing, however (accidently or on purpose) you can just about make it out. The subject does not relate too much to the typeface they have used. However i am looking at this example based on layout and descriptions they have given in a certain area of each menu.

DVD Menu 2

Another browse on the web for dvd menu's! This time i decided to look more into the computer generated images.

Below - I love this. Purely because it uses a very limited colour pallet. However you can still understand it. Because of the style of my idents - this could be an example i use for inspiration.

Below - Okay - this is very simple. The type obviously made in illustrator and layers produced with it. Even though this is a very simple example - i used it due to how it performs its job in a simple yet affective way.

DVD Menu

So in this post im looking into inspiration for my dvd home page and link pages. I have listed several examples below and will give my thoughts, like and dislikes on each.

Below - Transformers. Brilliant movie with equally brilliant dvd menu's. Firstly this is an example of what i cannot do - as it uses video (a big no, no on our brief) The layout is a good example however. Equally balanced with an array of colour - which works.

Below - Not seen this film, so cant really give a detailed opinion. However with it being a computer generated movie ... im guessing like all others it has a moving title page. Simple links to different page shown using fun and bold type. Imagery/video background compliments it well and has a definite unique style.

Below - again ... like above i have not seen this film so not all together sure how it runs. However it is a very clear and legible title page. Colours work well together with the imagery and the type face is suitable and legible.

Below - This could be someones on title page. Still a good example however as this piece shows the main title page and co-pages ... none of which use the same image. The collage style images make a nice feel. A definate style of its own, which is legible most of the time, however does the imagery take too much of the attention?

Imagery

Another look at imagery and i found this piece below. Love the style, a lot like my old work and the colour works well. Type looks pretty cool but not legible at a fast pace on an ident.

Below - hahahaha ooooooh, like i wasn't going to put that on here! Pete Doherty as a Rock 'n' Rolla .. brilliant! Who ever did this - hero!

Youtube - Random

Found this during another browse of youtube. And i love it! This is my compition but its brilliant. Using imagery which drops in with the type is great. The imagery is simple but detailed. A few advatages 44 they have over my idents.

1. They dont drop out the swearing

2. Time - they used a minute ... i get 10 seconds.

One last thing ... 44 seconds - the image and dialogue is brilliant - always cracks me up!

Guy Ritchie - Youtube

Browsing through youtube doing my research and found this bad boy. Pretty funny and fairly interesting actually. Worth a quick look anyway.

Rock 'n' Rolla - Opening credits

Check these opening credits out. The style of design and illustration i love and the pace and movement of this sequence is amazing ... definitely an inspiration. Limited colour, limited movie footage and a great soundtrack.

Rock 'n' Rolla - Soundtrack

This track became famous due to this film. The band were even cast in the film (granted for the whole of 2 minutes) however ... goes well with the pace of the ident i am going to produce and represents the film well.

DVD Covers - Rock 'n' Rolla

Another look into the dvd covers, poster art etc which will give me an idea on colour, layout and type faces to use in each ident. Since i have already decided i am going to be using Helvetica Neue for my type in every ident - what i am mainly looking in this research is colour and imagery. As you can see below - the film has a golden/yellow colour which runs smoothly with black and white - no reds to be seen. I will definitely be using yellow and black in this ident.

Below - A very common image to be assosiated with the film. Johnny Quid going mad with two revolvers. I love the images style - not too much detail, however enough to make sense of the image. A lot of white space, and again the black and gold complimenting what is left. So my colour and image style are now decided ... back to the drawing board.

DVD Covers - Revolver

It was time for me to look into my colour pallet for my new ident - Revolver. And straight away it is easy to tell from the dvd cover and advertising posters that i would be using a rough red with black and white.

Keeping along the same style as my other videos i will be using different weights of Helvetica Neue to communicate the tone of voice which will match the dialogue i take direct from the film.

DVD Covers

Time to look into what my colour pallet is going to be for each films ident. The ones i need to be looking into for my 5 idents are:

1. Lock, stock and two smoking barrels

2. Snatch

3. Revolver

4. Rock 'n' Rolla

5. This ident will be a summary of all my for chosen films for the film season.

Lock, stock and two smoking barrels - Colour pallet i will be using: a dark tone red, white, and black.

Snatch - Colour pallet i will be using: Black, white and a dark tone yellow ... or possibly bright depends on the colour of my final image. (Yellow background - maybe?)

Youtube - My competition

Another look into already made idents etc on youtube.

Below - lets start on how not too do it. Firstly ... the video background is not neccasary, the only thing i could relate to the texture of this image is a boxing ring floor. However the choice in type and colour does not compliment it at all. Not very legible and not a good pace. I can see what they are trying to achieve, however more development is needed.

Below - Not the biggest fan of this ident if im honest. I dont think the tone of voice is rite and i feel the text is sometimes a bit hard to make out and follow. I enjoy this part of the film though - its just i feel its a little long winded for an ident.

Below - I quit like this one. Has a nice flow and good pace. However being a sort of 'expert' on the film. I dont feel they represented this scene well. It is very much a dry humoured and british humour - the type style is too americanised for it to work.

Style of images

A big factor for my series of videos is the style. I want the style of my graphics to be screen showed with have been played with using photoshop. I want the images to be layered - graphic illustration style. The examples that i have shown below are as close of examples i can find on the internet without actually producing my own.

Above - I love the cartoon feel this illustration gives. The way detail is given in distance and up close using a limited colour pallet. But my main interest is how detail is still given in the outlines of the people. Not only that though - detail is also given through the clothing, faces and shading. This is the closest example to how i want my images.

Above - Again my main focus of this image is how detail is focused upon using layers of colour. I know this is using an image of a flower - not a human ... but you get the idea.

Above - A photographic image using a black and white pallet with a slight graphic pen tool affect. This will be a lot like my image only i will use a larger colour pallet with a dark tint.

Film 4 Logo

So im getting towards the end of my first ident, and it has come to the stage where i need to incorporate my chosen t.v channel (Film 4) So i decided to take a look at the style that film 4 themselves used their logo. Look through a lot of the idents, its obvious they use video, which as part of my brief, i am not allowed to use. Anyway to give you and idea of what's happening and the Film 4 logo, here are several of my favorite examples.

Idents - Typefaces

The chosen typeface in any piece of graphic design is fundamental. It must communicate to the viewer in many ways - through reading, listening, touched etc.

This was a very hard situation to be in - making 4 films, with different typefaces used on their own dvd's etc, making them work together as a series and individually would be a hard task from the word go.

Things i needed to consider: The dialogue i was using from each film. Tone of voice. Audience etc. I played around with many different types and these were my final 3.

Onyx - Lovely typeface which i have seen used many times before. This typeface has such proud ascenders and descenders it gives me a slightly more sophisticated feel compared to the other two types a narrowed my selection down to. I feel it might be too elegant for my idents and the fact it has one weight/stroke is also a negative.

Myriad Pro - As i have said on my little 'poster' below - its boring. Not a nice typeface to look at, and although it has a wider selection of weights over Onyx - its not any better. You could work with it, but its the standard illustrator typeface and if it was seen in a final ident - you could be seen as very very lazy.

Helvetica Neue - Well ... its back, the slag of the typefaces, and why? Because its good at what it does. Using the wide selection of weights ranging from ultralight - condensed black ... your never unable to give some sort of emotion in a piece you are producing using Helvetica ... this is why i am using it for my idents.

Snatch - kinetic type.

Found this intersting bit of kinetic time today. Looks like another uni students work. This student had 20 seconds to deliver their message - i have 10. However this is one bt of dialogue i really wanted to use - however cut down it is not as funny.

This is a very nice attempt at kinetic type - good student.

BaseMotion Video

Found this motion on BaseDesign - which linked me to BaseMotion. I love the way the video flows, using video (granted) but the way it interacts with the typography is very clever. Definitely a video to take inspiration from.

Wonderland from BaseMOTION on Vimeo.

Inspiration

Okay, so once again on the research hunt. I found this video which is a title sequence for 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' This is the type of style I wish to match, colours are dark and shadowy and the type flows with the imagery. Great piece ...