DVD Cover Research

I have been researching and looking at different music based DVD covers, it is fairly difficult to find them. It is important to research the conventions and themes in music DVD covers as to ensure our own DVD cover will look professional and appropriate.

This DVD marks the return and reformation of Take That in 2006 and features footage of their long awaited tour. The construction of the DVD is clever is the name of the band is centre to the front page and the picture of them slightly smaller, this creates the idea of the brand 'Take That' being able to speak for itself and there is little need for the band to be seen as it is so well established; this is also evident on the back where their faces are not seen at all. The large 'disco ball' appearing on the front page has worldly or planet connotations as it is large, which links with this title of the album of Take That. It is a frequent convention seen on the back cover to see any logos to have a transparent template so it fits in with the colour of the background. The DVD logo for example will always appear white, but the holes between the D etc will always appear as the background colour, this is similar to all other logos and text on the back of the DVD.

This DVD cover is taken from Avril Lavigne's earlier career and easily establishes her as a rock/ artists due to the black and white, also adding an edgy element, other things that suggest rock are the sweat bands and the textured star graphic. The 15 rated certificate also is cause for notice as it has explicit content, much like many other rock/ metal band DVD's such as Slipknot. The bold, large red font stands out from the background however I think the paleness of her skin and her pose takes most of the attention. The text needs to large in order to establish her name so people can identify her appearance with the name. There are pictures used from her live performances which advertises what is contained on the DVD, showing what the audience is to expect. The conventional transparent logos are again seen on the background.

The font on this DVD cover is particularly unconventional and usually not identifiable to Robbie Williams, this is not a music DVD but more of a documentary into his life, indicated by 'His Story' which suggests he has gained negative press and wishes to justify himself through the documentary format. The font would be conventional to rock music due to the scratchy appear of it but as Robbie Williams is established as a well known artists it is acceptable for him to have an irrelevant font; on the other hand it may be relevant to his lifestyle and previous drug taking etc and so in this sense it is completely relevant. As seen on the Take That cover the logos etc all have transparent backgrounds and so it seems to be a regular occurring theme. Another common feature I have noticed is the use of pictures from live performances are usually included on the covers, evident in this one and in the Take That one.

This cover uses pictures from live performances again and is very simple, clear and identifiable to the swing and big band genre of music due to the suit Robbie Williams is wearing and also the large wall of lights; his pose and facial expression is also portraying the genre. The small thin font suggests elegance and 'posh' which is another convention of swing and big band era of music.

This cover for Beyonce is from her earlier work and so the picture does not use images from a live performance as she is not as well established in these years as opposed to Take That and Robbie Williams being well established at the point of creating their DVD. It is important for this to use a photoshoot picture of Beyonce to advertise her at her best and also to ensure she is recognised, any stage location or background may cause distraction for the viewers, so the white plain background allows all focus on Beyonce however the disco ball presents an interesting object that would make viewers look at the picture more. (I couldnt find a picture with both the front and back cover)