Week 4 - DVD label template

So far i have created my template according to the image below, the website has been linked, I believe these to be sufficient guides for the disc label with decent diameters and bleed areas.

 

I will be creating my disc label around the stack ring with a likely black area or faded area for the cutout parts.

 

As always the colour from the disc label will bleed into the bleed areas.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                       http://www.wizbit.net/index.htm

Week 4 - Brainstorming DVD label

The current idea I have for my company logo is similar to the Epic games logo, except with a few additions, such as a box above the 6 sided shape for a name, and a chevron type part underneath.

The ideas i have for the name of the company are;

Not-so-Epic games

Gears of war

Badass games

Although the placement on the cover itself will be minimal (small size) I will be putting a fair amount of effort in creating it.

I will also be probably following the style of the previous Gears of war games for the DVD label itself, with the skull recreated using vector graphics (illustrator).

I have also decided that because this is a franchise owned by microsoft and published for the Xbox consoles, that i will include their logos for the disc and DVD inlay, as it would be for any standard game, the vector image will be created by me personally and the company logo.

Next blog post will have my logo template and further ideas for the DVD label.

Week 3 - Font

I managed to get a hold of the font that will be used for the title themes and blurb, rather than me compiling already existing texts and images, this will be much, much easier.

http://www.dafont.com/cgf-locust-resistance.font

Credit goes to Chris Garret.

Week 3 - Planning

I have decided to do my assignment based on the Gears of war franchise, and have come up with a mock template as to where certain things go, i will explain as to where everything is intended to go and explain how i intend to create the overall document.

Although it doesn't look like much, this is an outline for what's to come.

To the right there is the front cover with the white box to the front, this is for the title, the title itself will be Gears of war : Emergence, I will look up a font for this so it will be more believable and be more relatable to the other games in the franchise, the colours of the title will be white for the Gears of war : part, but red for the Emergence part.

The square red box is the position for the PEGI rating for the game, again to make it more believable.

The grey overall for the front cover is for the main image, I am creating this image in a separate file because i don't want any filters or modifications to spill over into the other parts of the overall image, and to make it easier.

The black background for the spine will be the background, possible with a dusty type filter to add the effect of hardship or setting the tone for the target audience.

The red top part for the spine is the placement for the crimson omen (the skull picture shown in previous blogs), and that will merge with the white box, which is the text for the spine and will follow the same colour code and the title for the front cover.

The red box at the bottom of the spine is for the PEGI rating.

The red section atop the back cover is the placement of a bloodstain type background, over text that details the game, the blurb, this will be similar to the other gears of war games and also similar to the Dead rising series as well.

The white section in the center of the back cover is the placement for screen shots, i will be making these from already made screenshots and editing them using the tools available.

The black part at the bottom is the part for the legal disclaimers, etc. plus a logo and the same style as the top part and the spine.


I will be creating the back cover first because i see this as the easiest part and i want to get it out of the way easily.

Week 2 - Final ideas for the end cover

Decision ;

I have decided to either do Star wars : Episode VII or a videogame based on the Gears of war franchise, the reason for this is that i both enjoy each of the franchises and each have massive opportunity in different areas, such as star wars for the photoshop section and gears of war for the trailer section.

Both franchises have many different contrasts, dark and light and a lot of potential to use all tools possible for the assignment.

Overall I am leaning towards Gears of war for the overall assignment, but I will plan for both up until i start the assignment.



Star wars
Ideas;

Below are the possible ideas i have for the DVD cover case, these are existing images and will be referenced

http://www.yosemite-sam.net/images/Star-Wars-Blu-ray-covers-wanted.jpg

I am considering a possible front cover similar to these to keep the recurring theme between the films going, although I might go for something completely different and have a shot of a planet with a lot of broken up ships over it, possibly with a figure over the top possibly of the antagonist, maybe a different rendition of darth vader for the figure, kind of similar to a shadowy silouette as opposed to the image above, here are some possible ideas for the figure in the background.

http://www.getyfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/download-Star-Wars-The-Force-Unleashed-2.jpg

http://images6.alphacoders.com/465/465774.jpg

For the first image, i am considering taking out darth vader and editing him so the colours are different, mainly because he is dead in the 6th episode i and i want the audience to think instantly that this is a clone or not darth vader at all, i am also considering changing the lighting reflecting off of him because the image i am trying to portray is a dark, mysterious silouette.

For the second image, i am also intending to change the lighting to give off a certain message, this image is most likely to be edited into the final image mainly because this isn't a character in the main films, and only a character in video games which his role has not been explained properly past the previous game he was in, so storyline-wise this would be the best choice.


Gears of war
Ideas ;

Below are the ideas i think i should follow if i want to create this inlay.

Gears of war

http://www.freecovers.net/preview/0/b027e9ba042447023d981e7bcf849cef/big.jpg

Gears of war 2

http://www.freecovers.net/preview/0/7305c535b30a3291edaac919fdb9544e/big.jpg

Gears of war judgement

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjAw/z/mZEAAOxygPtSrD4G/$_35.JPG

 

 

I am considering doing a front cover like these mainly because they have many various types of uses, e.g. they have contrasting dark and light such as the flames, the blood red and the characters which are main on the screen.

 

The main idea i have is that i will take a picture of a normal city from a pan view taken from a helicopter and edit it so that it looks destroyed -- i then intend to add in the main antagonists for the cover, such as big monsters and large amount of holes in the ground.

 

I will then add in the effects to give the effect that the sun is shining on the camera and give it a slight orange glow, I will then add in the "good guys" with helicopters from the games themselves.

 

The only problem i see so far in planning is the resolution differences in pictures such as if i get a picture of a city it will be extremely high resolution, whereas if i get pictures from the previous games themselves they will be lower resolution.

 

I also intend to keep the title in the same place -- at the top with the same font and style.

 

I intend to keep the spine very similar to the previous installments, as shown below with the picture of the skull i will attempt to add that and edit it so that it can be used for the spine, with the same font as the title and same style, there will also be it's certification rating (18) located on the bottom of the spine.

 

The rear of the inlay will definately have screenshots from the games -- no resolution problems will occur, and will also have a fairly large amount of text very similar to the first image, detailing it's features and the overall detail of the story, it will also include a legal disclaimer and bar code, etc. the main stuff that is found on a normal game cover.

 

The front cover will be created using other images and layers, the spine will be created mostly from scratch, the back cover will also be created from scratch with a few images inserted into it.

 

 

 Crimson omen, used for the spine

http://s.cghub.com/files/Image/424001-425000/424769/971_max.jpg

 



City which will be edited, used for the front cover

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Zepper-sunrise-over-the-niveous-city-of-bonn.jpg

Week 2 - Template creation

Template ;

Creating the template

Colour mode -

I have decided to use the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) colour setting in which I will create my final image, it will then be switched to CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) because RGB is the preference for working on a computer display because the screen itself will display the colours differently -- whereas if i were to use CMYK the colours on screen will be distorted and will likely be also distored on print.

I also have decided to use 8 bit colour for the image, the reason for this is that it won't need to have a major colour depth and detail, whereas if i was creating images such as 3D images for a game or something similar I would choose 16 or 32 bit colour.

Resolution -

I have decided to use the 300 PPI (Pixels per inch) the standard for professional print, whereas I could use up to 600 PPI - I don't think that the image will need that much detail mainly because it's for a DVD cover but if it was for a full blown movie poster at a bus stop or in the cinema 600 PPI or higher will be required.

Background contents -

I have decided to use a transparent background content mainly because in the long run, it will make it easier to create the image and it won't crop the white background or any colour used into the proper image.

Image size -

I have looked into what sort of image sizes I should use and have come up with 280mm * 190mm (including bleed areas), with a width of 130mm for the cover page, 130mm for the back page and 14mm for the spine of the cover (not including bleed areas), and a height of 184mm for each part, the colours will extend out into the bleed area.

Bleed areas will be 3mm top, down, left and right, I think that this allocated size is perfect for the bleed area and minimises any chance of possible cropping.

The safety area will be allocated at 3mm for each side, i believe this to be necessary because I do not want to risk any future problems with printing or cropping.

Websites used for research ;

http://www.a1cds.co.uk/artwork/dvd-artwork-spec/dvd-cover-spec

http://uk.ask.com/question/what-are-the-dimensions-of-a-dvd-case



This is the final template, with a final moderate current image size of 21.2MB

Week 1 (Brainstorming)

Introduction:

Hello I am 1340539/1, and this blog will document the progression through the assignment for Digital Imaging Software, or DIS for short.

The ideas I come up with are inspired mainly by sci-fi films and games, such as the mass effect trilogy videogames, the star wars saga, but also inspired by books such as A song of fire and ice (Game of thrones) and it is likely that the final assignment will be based around something similar to this.


Brainstorm of ideas;

These are all brainstorms and aren't final ideas, just slight ideas to get myself on the right track

Film:

Bear driving an ice cream truck in space (horror)

Zombies in space (horror)

Batman vs. Predator (action / thriller)

Star wars : Episode VII


Videogame:

Half life 3 : Confirmed (action / adventure)



Sources of inspiration:


Bear driving an ice cream truck in space (film) ;

Mass effect (videogame)

Alien 1979 (film)

Borat 2006 (film)

The reason I have chosen a film like this to work around is that i find it incredibly funny to do and i know that i'll enjoy working on it, although it may not be a good idea to do something that i find funny because i might not take it seriously.

I also think that something like this will give many opportunities to use the array of photoshop tools and other editing software.


Zombies in space (film) ;

Dead space (videogame)

Biohazard (videogame)

Dawn of the dead 1978 (film)

The reason i am considering a film like this to work around is that there already are a lot of zombie films, so i wouldn't have any issue getting ideas for a trailer or cover case, although this idea is just standard and probably won't bring out the full potential of the tools i will be using.


Batman vs. Predator ;

Alien vs. Predator 2004 (film)

Batman (comics, games, films)

I am considering a film like this to work around because i am a huge fan of batman and the predator films, also the contrast of the two characters will work together and have a huge potential, such as a silhouette for the cover.


Star wars : Episode VII ;

Star wars saga 1977 - ? (Film, games, comics)

I honestly could not pass off an opportunity to do something like this, being a huge fan of star wars, although there already are a lot of fan pictures of the future films it will be difficult to come up with new ideas, the cover will likely be similar to the current films, etc.


Half life 3 : Confirmed ;

Half life 1, 2 (game)

The main reason i chose this was for a joke, half life 3 is a majorly anticipated game, and it's fan base are insane about it, spawning many discussions and jokes on the internet, i think it would be a good idea to follow this or something similar.


Conclusion;

Overall i think that my final decision will be either Batman vs. Predator or Star wars : Episode VII, in the next blog post i will detail my decision and why i chose, i will also research cover art for said decision and come up with possible implementations of ideas.