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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
 Posted - 02/18/2008 : 2:15:15 PM
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[url]http://nomorequo.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-does-dvd-cover-art-suck-so-much.html[/url]
David Chen's argument, in sum, is this:
quote:
Studios don't seem to understand that for many people who buy DVDs (not everyone, but many), DVDs are considered collector's items. It's a good feeling to have a DVD on the shelf with some nice artwork on it, just like it's nice to have a good painting/photo on the wall. Unfortunately, many studios seem to slap whatever heads and/or names they can find onto the cover in the hopes that passersby at Walmart will get excited at seeing some actress' face and immediately want to buy their latest film (this DVD malady is sometimes referred to as "floating head syndrome").
Chen then showcases theatrical posters for such movies as Children of Men, The Prestige, and The Departed alongside their DVD cover art equivalents.
When you consider the fact that most consumers stack DVDs on their shelves like books with only the "spines" showing, who really cares what's on the cover art? I'm staring at my DVD collection right now. I can't even see the individual covers unless I pull them out of the stack. 90% of them I couldn't even tell you from memory what the cover art is. Does it really matter? Outside of maybe Jaws and a handful of others I can't think of any movie whose poster work is so iconic that it would be a travesty if it was left off the DVD box cover art.
My beef is with certain DVD box artwork (and by extension, VHS and laserdisc of the past) like this:
[url]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00004W21Q/sr=1-12/qid=1203366379/ref=dp_image_text_0/103-7889693-2815014?ie=UTF8&n=130&s=dvd&qid=1203366379&sr=1-12[/url]
The spoiler from Planet of the Apes is splashed across the front cover! Not a problem if you've seen it a million times, but suppose what if you're a johnny-come-lately renting this movie for the very first time?
I even remember a laserdisc cover for Aliens where some lamebrain pasted the shot of Ripley in the cargo loader, ready to rumble. That was supposed to be a surprise whammy, for crying out loud. (At least, it was when I saw Aliens for the first time.)
Liner notes are another problem. How many times have you read the back of a box only to discover that the notes end up giving away 75% of the plot? |
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hentai_wolf
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
139 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 12:33:08 AM
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There's really a few things that annoy me about DVDs:
1. Advertising. I realize that you make most of your money because Walmart and Best Buy sell your DVDs for $15 when they're first released, but do you really think putting "A ROLLERCOASTER OF A RIDE" quote on the front cover is really going to sell any more copies?
2. Stickers on the DVD cases themselves. They don't come off easily, and why can't you put the on the cellophane?
3. Front loaded trailers. I like trailers, and I'll watch your trailers. But why do you force me to watch them every time I put in the DVD and then code it so I can't skip them? I bought the DVD so I can watch it more than once.
4. Ignoring my preferences. If I have a particular language selected as a default, then you should respect that use it as the default.
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 05:01:02 AM
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Stickers are not much of a problem. If they're on plastic, and not directly on paper or cartoon, some cotton soaked in nail polish remover will do the trick. Some rubbing and it looks like they've never been there.
I hate DVDs which have front loaded trailers, though, and also those who force you to change audio / subtitles only through the main menu. |
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Ericb
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
648 Posts |
Posted - 02/19/2008 : 08:57:47 AM
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Since the movie itself is a visual medium the cover art is essensentially disposable, you don't look at it while you're watching the movie. On the other hand the artwork on an album cover is much more significant in my book as it's the only visual emblem of a piece of sound art. Looking at an ablum cover gives your eyes something to do while listening to the music and if the cove is ugly it can mar the overall experience.
"I reserve the right to look as well as be boring." - Robert Fripp |
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