DECEMBER 2012

Elisa Martin

principles of visual communicatioN

In our final project of the semester, we were to design a DVD package for the Criterion collection’s new eclipse line that focused on producing budget- prices, high quality editions of hard to find films for young audiences. We were able to chose from seven different films: My Own Private Idaho, Slacker, The Man who fell to Earth, Seven Samurai, Down by Law, Breathless, and 3 Women. I choose Down by Law, a film by Jim Jarmusch, from there I brainstormed possible ways I could design a cohesive package with the use of limited photography. I watched the movie and took notes of reoccurring icons and symbols that played a major role in the movie.

PROJECT THREEDESCRIPTION

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BRAINSTORMING

Sketches

ROUND ONECONCEPTS

ROUND TWOTHREE PACKAGES

When fate lands three hapless men – an

unemployed disc

jockey (Tom Wait

s), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), a a strong-

willed Italian

tourist (Roberto Beningi) – in

a Lousian

a prison, their

singular adventure begins. Described by director Jim Jarmusch as a

“neo-beat-noir-comedy.” Down by Law

is part nightmare and part

fair

ytale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-white

photography by esteemed director of photography Robby Muller. The

Criterion Collection is proud to present Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Law

.

When fate lands three hapless men – an

unemployed disc

jockey (Tom Wait

s), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), a a strong-

willed Italian

tourist (Roberto Beningi) – in

a Lousian

a prison, their

singular adventure begins. Described by director Jim Jarmusch as a

“neo-beat-noir-comedy.” Down by Law

is part nightmare and part

fair

ytale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-white

photography by esteemed director of photography Robby Muller. The

Criterion Collection is proud to present Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Law

.

When fate lands three hapless men – an unem

ployed disc jockey (Tom Waits),

a small-tim

e pimp (John Lurie), a a strong-willed Italian tourist (Roberto

Beningi) – in a Lousiana prison, their singular adventure begins. Described by director Jim

Jarmusch as a “neo-beat-noir-com

edy.” Down by Law is part nightm

are and part fairytale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-

white photography by esteemed director of photography Robby M

uller. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Jim

Jarmusch’s Down by Law.

When fate lands three hapless men – an unem

ployed disc jockey (Tom Waits),

a small-tim

e pimp (John Lurie), a a strong-willed Italian tourist (Roberto

Beningi) – in a Lousiana prison, their singular adventure begins. Described by director Jim

Jarmusch as a “neo-beat-noir-com

edy.” Down by Law is part nightm

are and part fairytale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-

white photography by esteemed director of photography Robby M

uller. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Jim

Jarmusch’s Down by Law.

When fate lands three hapless men – an unemployed disc

jockey (Tom Waits), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), a a strong-

willed Italian tourist (Roberto Beningi) – in a Lousiana prison, their

singular adventure begins. Described by director Jim Jarmusch as a

“neo-beat-noir-comedy.” Down by Law is part nightmare and part

fairytale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-white

photography by esteemed director of photography Robby Muller. The

Criterion Collection is proud to present Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Law.

When fate lands three hapless men – an unemployed disc

jockey (Tom Waits), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), a a strong-

willed Italian tourist (Roberto Beningi) – in a Lousiana prison, their

singular adventure begins. Described by director Jim Jarmusch as a

“neo-beat-noir-comedy.” Down by Law is part nightmare and part

fairytale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-white

photography by esteemed director of photography Robby Muller. The

Criterion Collection is proud to present Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Law.

ROUND THREEREFINEMENTS

When fate lands three hapless men – an unemployed disc jockey (Tom Waits), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), a a strong-

willed Italian tourist (Roberto Beningi) – in a Lousiana prison, their singular adventure begins. Described by director Jim Jarmusch as a

“neo-beat-noir-comedy.” Down by Law is part nightmare and part

fairytale, featuring fine performances and crisp black-and-white

photography by esteemed director of photography Robby Muller. The

Criterion Collection is proud to present Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Law.

When fate lands three hapless men – an unemployed disc

jockey (Tom Waits), a small-time pimp (John Lurie), a a

strong-willed Italian tourist (Roberto Beningi) – in a

Lousiana prison, their singular adventure begins. Described by

director Jim Jarmusch as a “neo-beat-noir-comedy.” Down by

Law is part nightmare and part fairytale, featuring fine

performances and crisp black-and-white photography by

esteemed director of photography Robby Muller. The Criterion

Collection is proud to present Jim Jarmusch’s Down by Law.

Insert EXPLORATION

Tom Wait

s as zack, is an

out-of-work DJ who is

accused of murder when a

body is found in the trunk

of a stolen car he was

hired to drive across town.

JOhn Lurie as Jack, is a

pimp set up for a fall by

a competitor.

Roberto Beningni as roberto,

is a cheerful Italian

immigrant who happens to

have killed a man.

ROUND FOURRefine One

At this of the project I wasn’t really happy with anything I designed. I stepped back from everything and I was quite disappointed in what I had produced. My research and brainstorming from the beginning of the project had given great support to move forward from were I had started and were I had moved from. I didn’t start over completely but I used icons I had already designed and tried to make a more cohesive design. One of the major things all my DVD packages lacked was a cohesive element that linked all panels together. So after this realization during class I decided to go back to the drawing board and not start completely over but pretty close.

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Tom Wait

s as zack, is an

out-of-work DJ who is

accused of murder when a

body is found in the trunk

of a stolen car he was

hired to drive across town.

JOhn Lurie as Jack, is a

pimp set up for a fall by

a competitor.

Roberto Beningni as roberto,

is a cheerful Italian

immigrant who happens to

have killed a man.

FINal DEliverables

Tom Waits as zack, is an

out-of-work DJ who is

accused of murder when a

body is found in the trunk

of a stolen car he was

hired to drive across town.

JOhn Lurie as Jack, is a

pimp set up for a fall by

a competitor.

Roberto Beningni as roberto,

is a cheerful Italian

immigrant who happens to

have killed a man.

“But it's a good movie, and the more you

know about movies, the more you're

likely to like it.”

PROJECTOVERVIEW

Overall, I enjoyed this project and really learned a lot about myself as a designer. At the beginning, I thought that this project would be a very different project from what we had done this semester. Probably out of the three projects we have done this semester I struggled the most with this project. Towards the end of the project, I believe I grasped the essence of the movie more and more. My problem was I don’t think I convinced myself that I had picked the correct movie. This project definitely strengthened my skills in illustrator and Photoshop which is worth the work. In the end, I believe my process shows how much work I put in to this project.

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