My finished DVD cover

Here is my DVD cover which the group and I created after finishing the editing process of our opening sequence.

Blurb:

With Strikeout Pictures' most recent production, once more, we are not disappointed. Nominated for 'Best Film', 'The Anaesthetist' follows a story of voyeurism, obsession and kidnap. Unbeknown to Naomi Lawson (Sian Williams), she is the latest fixation of Nathan Jones (Nicholas Green)- the systematic serial killer with a fetish for white silk, a scientist's knowledge of euthanasia techniques and a passion for autopsy.

His methods were flawless, until now...

‘The Anaesthetist’: Narrative image through our DVD cover

When the group designed the cover for our DVD we had in mind that it is important to set up expectations of the film on the cover, by generic signifiers and connotations of the underlying themes of the film, however it is also important not to give too much information to the audience.

On our DVD cover I feel we managed to confidently achieve this. Our tagline ‘an overdose of desire’ brings about connotations of obsession and further anchorage from the Polaroid’s help to suggest a theme of voyeurism. The main image is a Polaroid which helps to imply there are themes of obsession, foregrounding the camera almost like a potential weapon of choice, -which in some ways it is. The main image is shot at a slight low angle close up which makes him more intimidating, striking and implies he is going to be a focal and assertive character. Also the lighting highlighting the villain in the Polaroid produces shadowing of half of his face which implies he has a split personality. The slight smile of this character implies that he in fact takes pleasure from his behaviour, showing just how twisted a character he is. His direct address helps grab attention whilst also makes the experience more intimate and personal for the viewer.

The title gives away the villain’s nickname and has connotations that he is going to sedate his victims in some way. However the victim’s location is not revealed which is an important aspect of the film itself, producing enigma. The title suggests some sort of medical knowledge on the villain’s part which is expected to be an advantage of his, whilst binary opposites of control vs. Lack of control are also signified. As the title provides the nickname of the serial killer this also suggests the film is also going to be based around this character.

I feel the lack of writing on the front cover is really effective in focussing the audience’s attention on the image itself which entails many generic signifiers and themes. The colour of the DVD cover is black, white and red. This highlights themes of good vs. Evil and the sense of danger, and possibly blood.