Guy Ritchie. DVD Covers.

DVD packaging sleeve

DVD sleeve packaging. Designed to mimick and old style VHS tape sleeve from home recording tapes. This will fit around a DVD jewel case with a VHS tape cover.

DVD menu - Final

Overlays are mean't to be in colour, but obviously don't want to work in VLC. Nevermind. The individual menus are designed to reflect the sequences direction, with only the video root menu to divide, aswell as the packaging.

DVD schematic - final

The final draft of the schematic. After the calamity of the DVD design, the schematic needed to be redesigned. much more simple format, as a DVD should be. You can over complicate a DVD menu, getting into loops with the direction of navigation. I could of gone for a more non linear menu, just like the Tarantino scripts usually entail, but this would be just confusing.

DVD menu problems.

Had quite a few problems with the DVD menu.. basically, its not going to work.

The original idea was to use the buttons on a VCR to navigate through the menu, but using analogue controls into digital is more complicated than planned. Navigation through the menus would of involved first selecting the direction to navigate, then pressing another button to confirm, which would of been a mindfield to control and design in DVD studio, so that was out.

The new plan.

I took photographs of a closeup of the TV in place, so these will be used instead. Now the navigation will be a more conventional menu on screen with overlays through menus.. which is a shame, would of been good to make something work. The TV itself will have some life to it, crackles and hisses like the idents, so hopefully will still work well.

Got my TV+VCR!

I managed to get hold of a TV! After my second visit to Oxfam I managed to pick up a TV+VHS recorder to use with my DVD menu layouts. Original tests were of stock photos off the internet which were either the wrong resolution, angle or colours. I picked up these beauts for a total of £13! they work great too. I wonder why so many students buy brand new little tellys for their rooms when you can buy something like this for £8! when it breaks, (if it does) just throw it out.. no need to worry about burglaries . I don't think my flat mates felt the same way, my LCD was plugged back in soon after.. Spoilt. 

Anyway, the TV will work great for the designs.. although not quite the time frame, much better than a new TV used. 

DVD menu

Because of the seventies feel throughout the idents, accessing and packaging the video hopefully will continue the feel throughout. Root Menu initially will be a stack of videos with the categories on, as you are choosing a video.

Clicking on the video would lead you to a recorder (hopefully of the era although may not be possible) and then navigating the buttons on the front panel select the relevant content. It will feel restrictive in the same way video was, but only at this level. choosing the right chapter will require pressing the FF button until the right chapter appears, then pressing play instead of a direct link. I would also like visuals to display on the recorder display in the correct format. Going back to the root menu will be eject.

A quick example of what I mean.

Because of the changes, the schematic has been changed. Accessing special features will lead through to a more modern menu system, on conventional DVD menus, but displayed as leaflets that come with the DVD/VHS.

DVD initial sketches