My Own DVD Cover Design Evaluation

The font used for the title of my DVD cover is basic title font, but is bold and gold, and positioned on the top of the cover. This tells us that the gore of the film is romance, as it is light-hearted. The use of the bold title is effective because gives potential audiences an idea of what the film may be about. The main is a long shot, which denotes a young man standing in a park in the rain, besides a bench and tree, whilst he is waiting for his date to arrive. This connotes to the audience that the film is going to contain many sentimental scenes, and there may even be a plot twist. I connotes that something bad happens during the film, as the rain creates a mysterious tone, whilst the tree shows new beginnings and relationships growing. The location is in a local greenery or park, and this is effective because the trees represent that relationships are growing, even though mother nature may grow out of control sometimes and be frightening, just like the rocky relationship of the characters in the film. The character’s facial expressions are quite unclear in the Dvd cover main image, although it is possible to see that he is a little uneasy, which suggests that something bad is about to happen, and it takes potential audiences to want to watch it. The character’s body language is uptight and nervous, which could connote a similar message. 

The stills used on the back cover of the DVD cover denote small shots of different scenes of the film, such as an ECG machine, a single flower, a couple hand in hand, and the bench. These images suggest to the audience that this love story will be tough, but there is possibly a happy ending due to the ratio between unhappy shots and joyful shots. Also, the background colours used on the DVD cover are mainly, gold, blue and lilac. Gold suggests joy and wisdom, in addition to wealth through all cultures, whilst blue and lilac denote a sense of melancholy or sadness. This connotes to the audience that there will most probably be a mixture of dark emotions in the film, as well as upbeat scenes too. 

My DVD cover design would be effective in attracting consumer because of intriguing features that I have included. Firstly, I have used anchorage text including the cast names “Andrew More” and ‘Penny Smith,” and by including the actors’ names, I am appealing to audiences who like these particular actors, so it will intrigue potential audiences. This is also the same scenario with the producers, because I have included the coverline “ By the people who brought you ‘Never’ “. I have written the tagline “Pain Demands to be Felt..” on the back cover of the DVD cover because I have used personification, and this addresses the audience in a strange way, which is why they are intrigued. It makes them what this may mean in terms of the content of the film, making them want to watch it, and some may even be able to relate to it. In the blurb, I have my film sound dramatic, to suggest that this love story is very tragic, but there is always a happy ending, and the acts morally to audiences who watch the film, as intrigued by the DVD cover. 

On the spine of my DVD cover, I have included the name of the movie, a small logo for the film, the DVD video log, the BBFC classification and the Sony Production company logo. These features are all important because they are what are seen on most well-regarded DVD cover, which means the audiences will be even more intrigued as they know it is almost guaranteed to fir their ideal movie type. Consumers will see this spine on shelves along with a lot of other DVD’s, so it needs to stand out to them, which is why the gold, bold title is included on the spine, as long was the logs, as factors to make it stand out even more. The BBFC age rating certificate tells the audience what the suitable audience would be in terms of age, which is necessary to determine appropriate viewers by law. The DVD logo is an important feature because it shows that the film is well-regarded and is verified under law for audiences to view. This is also the case for the Sony Production company logo. Finally, I have represented the main characters positively in the cover, as I have not included stereotypes and have used countertops for different groups of people, in the film. 

A Beautiful Mind” DVD Cover Analysis

The main image denotes a close-up shot of Russell Crowe, and this is effective because it shows the audience the characters emotion, which seems confused and engaged in something that he isn’t familiar with. What the character is wearing is unclear because of the dark background that engulfs the image apart from low-key lighting coming from behind the blind that the character is peering through. This suggests that the character could be the light to the dark for other characters in the films and he could also be a man searching for the light from his dark soul. This links to the genre of the film which is drama, because it could suggest that he is facing a time of tragedy and is searching for some light at the end of the tunnel. The use of dark colours connotes that the storyline of the film is quite negative and this specific character could be the one who needs to save everyone else, as he is the only light that is seen in the image.

 The light in the image is limited. The use of low-key lighting is effective because it suggests that this character is a man with a dark soul, whom is searching for the hope and light that he needs. The props, such as the blinds suggest that the man us shut off from the rest of the world as he is in ad dark place, but he only sees the rest of the world when he tries to regain his strength again. The character is positioned in the composition of the rule of thirds. He is slightly over to the right hand side of the frame and is looking out a blind that is located to the left hand side of the frame. This connotes that the character is distanced from the rest of the world and he is trying to reconnect with them in small steps. His facial expression is confused and engaged in the setting outside of the frame, telling the audience that he may feel depressed about the way he has to live his life, and he is admiring the lives of others beyond the blind that he is peering out of. His body language is tense, and this may communicate that they’re feeling depressed and agitated about what it is that they are looking at beyond that window. 

The anchorage text is presented in an ordinary style, connoting that the character is unordinary in comparison to the other people. The use of the neutral colours on the DVD cover connotes the difference between the other characters in this film and the character shown in the main image. It also shows that he is the light in the dark in the eyes of other characters. The text is ordinary but is a large style to catch the eye of the audience, which is effective because it helps to draw them in and intrigue the audience. On the spine of the DVD cover, we can see a very plain spine which only shows the name of the film and an intriguing image of the main character, which is effective because it helps them to begin to wonder what is going to happen and makes them want to watch the film. The tagline “A Beautiful Mystery” is effective because it enables the audience to build ideas in their mind of what may happen and helps them to watch it and stay gripped looking for a plot twist as this quote suggests. The DVD will appeal to young adults as it is a dramatic and romantic film, which would intrigue young adults from both genders. The message given about the way men should act and look is given as it shows them wearing suits and being more dominant to women, whereas there is no women shown on the cover, proving the theory even more that women are inferior to men in the media. Young people are portrayed negatively as it shows that the media is stereotype how different genders should live their lives, controlling what they feel are the norms of society. 

This DVD cover represents gender by showing the male as the main feature of the film, which connotes that he is portrayed as more important than any other female characters in the film, which is effective because it proves that Angela McRobbie’s theory is, to an extent, correct. The stereotype of a man is present in this DVD cover as it shows the male as powerful and intelligent which proves the theory because he seems dominating, and is the light to the dark. This shows that he is a stereotype as the film cover portrays him as a hero, when he is lighting the dark and this is one of the features that Angela McRobbie stated in her gender stereotypes theory. On the other hand, the DVD cover of “A Beautiful Mind” promotes countertype representation as it shows that he isn’t dominating anyone and he is lonely, whereas a stereotype of a man shows the opposite to this. Therefore, Angela McRobbie’s gender representation theory links to my DVD cover because the way it is presented shows that male stereotypes are present through this film, whereas it can be seen as countertype representation too. Angela McRobbie says that male stereotypes are strong, dominant and powerful and this is what is portrayed through “A Beautiful Mind” DVD cover.