Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Covers

Agent-347

Student Council President
Dear fellow users of Anime UK News,

as we all know the UK has a fair few disadvantages in the anime scenery, and some of you got utterly sick of it and decided to import titles as soon as they fell into the hands of someone, or when the cover pictures go live to again be disappointed by messed up covers, or when we learn that spines don't match or many other reasons..

Of course not everybody can afford this importing, but it can remain a deal breaker when the UK release surfaces with such defect.

That's why I open this topic: "Project Improve The UK (PITUK)"

The goal of this topic will be addressing these problems to UK distributors and that they do something about it.
It's important to note I want everybody to remain polite in these crowd-actions against/towards something.


This is a campaign ran by a fan and not set up by the owners of AnimeUKNews! I solely got approval to post it here.



Project #1: MVM Entertainment: Blu-ray covers
Backstory: I mailed MVM
I have sent a mail to MVM 2 weeks ago, asking feedback for my suggestion for better UK MVM covers. (and I made mock-ups. For safety reasons I won't be posting these in the open)

Essentially I got replied (and to remain polite, I'm leaving out most of the mail) that due to art approval being a nightmare they only change company logos and legal marks and use already approved artwork, what essentially translated to "we don't re-approve our covers since they already got approved for USA and AU"..

The truth is, that "only changing company logos and legal marks" isn't true...


The truth and flaws
Campione, BTOOOM and Familiar of Zero are three examples of titles that don't have a Blu-ray logo printed on the actual front cover on Hanabee's version.
Yet, on MVM's version there's a Blu-ray logo on the mock-up for the UK cover on the front. (there's no UK BD for BTOOOM, I know)
And let us all be honest, you must be blind to not realize you're buying a Blu-ray when the listings online clearly say "Blu-ray", and often are the listings in a Blu-ray section and the description says Blu-ray... And you must be even more blind to not notice you're holding a Blu-ray case in a shop.

But even worse is of course the disc count logo... I invite you all to check the Hanabee catalog...
Is there anything you notice? I mean, seriously... Am I blind or do Hanabee covers not have disc counts on the front cover?!
And in general it's annoying to see disc count labels being everywhere on the spine (see my collection for proof of it being ugly (full pic))
And let me mention something, if it's to notify people of how many discs there are, why don't one-disc releases have a "one disc label". (Don't dare adding this, MVM.)

With their newest Blu-ray releases and about all upcoming Blu-ray titles they don't even get rid of the (upper) dark blue/purple element on the spine which is part of Hanabee's logo-branding.
And that bugs me not more than the fact there's a disc count logo, but it just proves ugly and feels misplaced as it is.

And if you read the brand rules of FaceBook and Twitter I'm pretty sure MVM could get in trouble if they don't amend that graphic element on their covers immediately.
By the way, their FaceBook is not "MVM_UK"... What's the use of the FaceBook logo there if there's no link to their FaceBook?!

So the truth: they even add unnecessary logos and tell us it's not so.


What needs to happen: the spine
I personally consider the most important thing to get fixed the spine, it's the part of the release I and most anime fans see the most when they get barebones releases...
Consistency proves important, but also keeping it clean... The whole deal with disc count logos might never have escalated so far for some if it was placed at the exact same place every release.
And when people want info they'll look at the back cover.. And after seeing it once I don't need to see it anymore when I bought it, that makes it even more annoying to have it on the spine.
Since it never disappears and isn't legally required. Whatever MVM told Mangaranga, it doesn't prove a problem for Manga, and Anime Ltd's spines aren't ugly as they include the disc count too.

And then there're the graphic elements...
Well, I have laid out five options of what could happen to the spine, you can see all five of them by clicking on this sentence.

WARNING: The mock-up of the five versions and the presence of logos is solely to illustrate how it'd look. These are NOT official versions!


In neither of the 5 ones there's a Blu-ray logo or disc count logo on the spine.

The first one is the Key Hole design I had in mind when creating my mock-up for my initial mail to MVM.
The second one is the normal spine, but in red. And the upper part nicely wraps around the BBFC (and the BBFC isn't placed awkwardly low).
The third one is the Hanabee-colored spine, but the upper part wraps nicely around the BBFC.
The fourth one removes the upper graphic element from Hanabee, but leaves the one down low.
The fifth one removes all graphic elements by Hanabee.

You can vote for which ones you like the most over here.


What needs to happen: the front cover
Simple: disc count labels aren't present on Hanabee front covers, so they were added and need to disappear again.
The glow/fade or white space on a fair few Hanabee covers due to their massive classification logos can go as well, or at least the fade/glow can easily go..
And there's already a Blu-ray logo on the case, come on.. Are your customers blind, MVM?! If so, give them an advert for glasses. Seriously...


What needs to happen: the back cover
Nothing really wrong here, they aren't as fancy as Sentai Filmworks' back covers, but it does the job.
(And there's a typo on the Familiar of Zero back cover among the Japanese names!)

But what I believe needs to happen is that MVM needs to replace the FaceBook and Twitter logos they currently use.
And especially with Twitter there are a fair few other rules they might want to look at.
FaceBook said:
DON'T
- Use any icons, images or trademarks to represent Facebook other than what is found on this resource center
FaceBook said:
PRINT AND PACKAGING
DO:
- Use the version of the logo that comes with a blue box on white or light colored backgrounds
- Use the version of the logo that comes on a white box on blue or dark colored backgrounds
Twitter said:
DON'T
- Use old versions or any other marks or logos to represent our brand

What needs to happen: overview
- FRONT: delete disc count label
- FRONT: delete Blu-ray logo
- FRONT: delete the blue fade, white fade,... from covers like Familiar of Zero and Campione.
- SPINE: delete disc count label
- SPINE: delete or amend graphic element around the BBFC logo
- BACK: update logos and fix information



Who should participate for this cause
- People who still support the UK industry.
- People who'd love to support the UK industry, but don't due to the cover design being too ugly.
- People who import due to disc count logos and the inconsistent spines.
- People who have friends who legally (want to) support the UK industry.
- People who'd support the UK industry for titles they don't need a fancy edition of and rather pay less for.
- ...
- Everybody else, please. Help those who can't afford importing everything. And help future collections being more beautiful.


Plan of action
There're four parts to my plan of action to fight this...

- Part 1: Now: Mail MVM (see second post for e-mail address)
- Part 2: Now: Vote on the poll.
- Part 3: Now: Spread the word to other forum members, via Twitter, to friends,.. Get as many people involved as possible.
- Part 4: Now: Tweet MVM and message them via FaceBook. Make it impossible for them to not notice it. (Add #PITUK!)



The first part is that everybody who can mail mails his/her support and opinion of my cause to MVM (ADMIN [AT-sign] MVM-FILMS [DOT] COM).
You could either send a simple mail saying you support my (=Agent-347) cause or have a complicated mail where you explain how it has influenced your decisions.
Note that if you want only one (or more) of the mentioned things to happen, that you can just mention that one thing!

Don't forget to mention that if you want fixed covers for previous releases, that you want fixed versions of existing BD-releases BD covers IF they end up fixing the covers (while it isn't too late, by which I mean "there aren't 100 BD releases yet to fix"). This might not be possible, but if you want fixed versions you should at least mention it.

Also, if you don't mind stuff being delayed by a few weeks for fixed covers (like Familiar of Zero season 1), also mention that!



I'll have a few mock-up mails you could send to MVM HQ I'll be posting in the second post of this thread for those who either have no time or don't know how to word their mail (though I think most do actually know how to word it).

The second part is voting on the poll I'll be sending the results of to MVM myself.

The third part is: I ask foremost that everybody with a Twitter or Facebook-account spreads the word by multiple tweets over the next 2 days and convinces people to help us reach this goal. So tweet the link to this topic. Tweet the poll. Spread the word, improving the UK anime industry is something we can do when we work together. Look at Girls und Panzer.. It caused MVM to get a better Blu-ray deal. We can definitely reach the same for their covers.

The fourth part is making sure we have MVM's attention by sending them all polite tweets to amend their covers on Monday.



What more
I hope everybody is going to help fixing this problem, you could post what you mailed to MVM and discuss on the subject here. Spreading the word and notifying people will also prove important.

Thanks (in advance) to everybody who helps, who spreads the word, who's awesome,..

I don't want to go down without a fight for UK releases I actually can value worth their price. Because in their current state are MVM covers devalued, and it most definitely has affected their sales in the past that their covers look like this. Some people resorted to pirating, others to importing,..

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is a campaign ran by a fan and not set up by the owners of AnimeUKNews! I solely got approval to post it here.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

Because I know some people either have no time or no idea how to word things (pretty much like me) I made a few mails you could use as either a template or just for real.

Don't forget to add your own name to the mail. I also suggest you mentioning which spines you like I made. Or just say you support all my suggestions.

Choose an appropriate title for your mail! And address your mail to: MAIL TEMPLATE OPTION #1:
Code:
Dear MVM,

I'm here to show my support to rid UK BD (and DVD) covers of disc count logos, unnecessary Blu-ray logos and ugly graphic elements on the foremost the spine and the front cover!

It has affected some of my past decisions to not pre-order titles and wait til it's a bargain item, or even worse for you I often decide to get the American release.

I wish you to immediately cease these unneeded and blatant activities and wish to see all BD covers by MVM having such defects to be fixed while there still aren't too many.

I support all suggestions by Agent-347 for improved spines.

Kind regards!

MAIL TEMPLATE OPTION #2:
Code:
Dear MVM,

Something has been bugging me for a long time now, a very long time.

I own a fair few MVM releases, but whenever I look at my collection I get welcomed by ugly disc count logos. With your recent release of Girls und Panzer OVAs we get even welcomed by graphic elements by Hanabee, which wasn't the case for Kids on the Slope and Girls und Panzer the series.

And if I take it in my hands I see even more ugliness. Disc count logos on the front cover and with Blu-ray releases even an unnecessary Blu-ray logo.
Unnecessary because the case already says it's a Blu-ray release.

Please cease these activities and amend all covers from Familiar of Zero season 1 on. As there'll be 4 sets of Familiar of Zero it's important to remain consistent and remove disc count logos, the Blu-ray logo and preferably the blue fade.

I support all suggestions by Agent-347 for improved spines, do something with it. It'd make your spines consistent and good looking on my and other people's shelf. 

Kind regards!

MAIL TEMPLATE OPTION #3:
Code:
Hey MVM,

I started importing releases due to the lack of Blu-ray releases, now I keep importing due to the lack of clean covers.

Stop adding disc count logos & Blu-ray logos.
And if you don't add them yourself: remove them!
Also remove unneeded fades and graphic elements that are present on the Australian logo due to their massive classification logo

I definitely support Agent-347's suggestions for better looking spines! Consistency and looks are important influences to my and other people's decisions to order titles.

Kind regards!

More templates might become available over the course of tonight, tomorrow and Monday!

PS: Feel free to mention DVD covers as well if you wish! ^_^
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

MVM needs to have some sort of cleaner standardized packaging design, rather than everything being an utter mess due to being a quick edit job.
AllTheAnime has their obvious design, Manga now Sentai-ify's their designs so they have the title with a character on the spine, MVM's on the other hand just seem to be a block colour with the title and loads of Logos.
That said it's not entirely their fault. If you look at Hanabee's designs - especially the spines - you'll see that they're also pretty uninspiring.
The comments at MCM don't fill me with much hope that anything will change though, although I could be wrong. Tony himself said that Another only came out on Blu-ray in the end because so many people asked for it.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

Yes, their covers can be bad but could it be possible that:

change company logos and legal marks and use already approved artwork
...and...
Campione, BTOOOM and Familiar of Zero are three examples of titles that don't have a Blu-ray logo printed on the actual front cover on Hanabee's version.
Yet, on MVM's version there's a Blu-ray logo on the mock-up for the UK cover on the front. (there's no UK BD for BTOOOM, I know)
Simply means that MVM have a set of logos that their 'artist' will put on without any thought because from the sounds of things - Japan doesn't require covers to be re-approved if you're simply adding already approved logos. It'll probably explain why there is a disk count added onto the front (Hanabee would probably do it themselves if the rating box weren't there considering they have a disk count on the spine).

I'm guessing for MVM - its a case of wanting to avoid putting too much effort into a release by having to get artwork re-approve and playing it safe.

Its a shame but then again, its not like Manga which has Starz behind it.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

To be honest, the only thing I really ask for is for the spines to be standardised so that the BBFC certificate and other logos are all in the same place, so releases don't look weird when lined up against each other. For example, Fate/Zero and Girls und Panzer look very different when lined up next to each other.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

What if I just want one of those things to happen
People who only want one thing to happen and don't care about the rest or want to keep something else can change their mail up to only mention that one thing.
I'm not forcing my opinion on others, and you're free to compose your mail existing out of what you want to happen


Also, don't forget to spread the word and vote on the poll!


Twitter support so far
To recap what support I have noticed already (no hatespeech towards any of these people, everybody has the right to have their own opinion):

- @Emo185 wants the disc count logo to go ("ie on the spine"), but wants to keep the Blu-ray logo.
- @Emperor_ing only finds the disc count logos annoying and wants to see it go. (or wants clean reversible covers)
- @Etchi supports the campaign. (and wants MVM to read this thread)
- @Socialanimeguy supports the campaign. (Also @UKAP_official does support the campaign to rid covers of disc count logos etc)

AUKN member complaints
If you click on the following quotes you'll be redirected to the(ir) original topic.

fabricatedlunatic said:
st_owly said:
Dannielle said:
Jon O Fun said:
Rosencrantz said:
Rosencrantz said:
Random said:
Sinthetic said:
NormanicGrav said:
NormanicGrav said:
Ath said:
ayase said:
Joshawott said:
bakum4tsu said:

Mangaranga said:

So those who have in some way agreed that (disc count) logos on spines/covers should go (or are unneeded):
- Agent-347
- Ath
- Ayase
- Bakum4tsu
- Dannielle
- FabricatedLunatic
- Jon O Fun
- Joshawott
- Mangaranga
- NormanicGrav
- Random
- Rosencrantz
- Sinthetic
- St_owly

Some people only take problem with the logo, most with the whole thing. I hope all the above people will be telling MVM they want the at least the disc count logo gone..

And if I have time to find more comments on the subject of disc counts being shown or mentioned on the front/spine I'll add them to this thread.
Because there are definitely more people. And I know some members mentioned their disapproval elsewhere, but I just need to find the comments (which is harder than one might think).

Something I noticed going through the DVD cover thread is that both Pumpkin Scissors and Red Garden don't have disc count on the spine, so those spines appear way more clean to me.


Recent AUKN indirect complaints
These come from the "Manga's Triangle of Doom" subject, but it has been said before: "MVM's disc count = Manga's Triangle of Doom":
Emulsion said:
Rosencrantz said:
GolGotha said:
robot monkey said:

So that adds:
- Emulsion
- GolGotha
- VoxPhantom

And to end the quoting of other threads (for now), a nice comment of Rui I agree with:
Rui said:


Responding to others
reborn said:
Yes, their covers can be bad but could it be possible that:

change company logos and legal marks and use already approved artwork
...and...
Campione, BTOOOM and Familiar of Zero are three examples of titles that don't have a Blu-ray logo printed on the actual front cover on Hanabee's version.
Yet, on MVM's version there's a Blu-ray logo on the mock-up for the UK cover on the front. (there's no UK BD for BTOOOM, I know)
Simply means that MVM have a set of logos that their 'artist' will put on without any thought because from the sounds of things - Japan doesn't require covers to be re-approved if you're simply adding already approved logos. It'll probably explain why there is a disk count added onto the front (Hanabee would probably do it themselves if the rating box weren't there considering they have a disk count on the spine).

I'm guessing for MVM - its a case of wanting to avoid putting too much effort into a release by having to get artwork re-approve and playing it safe.

Its a shame but then again, its not like Manga which has Starz behind it.
"Artist"? I believe that if deleting and adding a logo is the only thing that has to be done I can do a better job FOR FREE at it than their current designer.
Seriously, if I'd get their master cover files... Things wouldn't immediately be as great as Sentai's cover designs but it'd at least be worth getting and putting on your shelf.

Mangaranga said:
MVM needs to have some sort of cleaner standardized packaging design, rather than everything being an utter mess due to being a quick edit job.
Most definitely true. As said before, I don't usually am the kind of person to say I'm better than someone else, but in this case I think my soon-to-be-4 years young sister even would do a better job at designing or editing a cover for MVM. I mean, having a nice looking cover isn't only to please/attract customers...

Mangaranga said:
AllTheAnime has their obvious design, Manga now Sentai-ify's their designs so they have the title with a character on the spine, MVM's on the other hand just seem to be a block colour with the title and loads of Logos.
All The Anime has a nice looking spine, and they even have the disc count at the bottom, but I barely notice it and I'm fine with it. Also because they use a lighter blue for it and not something that stands out on the regular blue.

Manga's covers in general look good (or decent in a few occasions), and are bar a few exceptions pretty consistent nowadays.
I think some of their covers could do without the "the complete series" text, as that's something I assume being the case when there's only that on my shelf.
High School DxD doesn't even say "season 1", and I don't think that's often needed anyway because in Japan most seasons have an unique name... Just like the Slayers franchise.
The only thing that might be handy is mentioning on the back info which season it is. eg: "Season: 3"

And I have to say as it is, I like Kaze's way of saying "complete series", "complete season 1", "part 1". Sad that bar cover design about everything about Kaze smells.
I also like the way Sentai added "OVA" to the spine for the OVA releases of Girls und Panzer and Kokoro Connect.

Mangaranga said:
That said it's not entirely their fault. If you look at Hanabee's designs - especially the spines - you'll see that they're also pretty uninspiring.
I know it's not entirely their fault, but I honestly think Hanabee's covers look way better than MVM's, also because the colors of Hanabee's logo blend better with their covers than the grey of MVM's cover blends with the Hanabee covers. It'd however look way better with the graphic elements on the spine edited, replaced or removed and the disc count (and preferably Blu-ray logo) deleted and moved to the the back info.

But I also would like it if MVM would at least take the back cover from Sentai and edit that in... And the front cover doesn't need that fade... It feels so misplaced there.

Mangaranga said:
The comments at MCM don't fill me with much hope that anything will change though, although I could be wrong. Tony himself said that Another only came out on Blu-ray in the end because so many people asked for it.
That's one of the reasons why I want people to speak up today, tomorrow (and if necessary over the course of the next few days).

Joshawott said:
To be honest, the only thing I really ask for is for the spines to be standardised so that the BBFC certificate and other logos are all in the same place, so releases don't look weird when lined up against each other. For example, Fate/Zero and Girls und Panzer look very different when lined up next to each other.
I did mention before I wouldn't have taken so much offence about it all if their spines were consistent.
One of the reasons I don't really want to pick up Girls und Panzer is the inconsistent spines inside the franchise and next to other properties.
I don't even want to get the DVD version of Aria because the BBFC logo is floating in the middle of the spine. >_<

Now the bucket is full and I want the spines to get fixed. Hitting the delete button on a layer isn't hard at all and takes less than five minutes.
I personally don't think my first suggestion for a new spine can happen, but I really think MVM releases would look good to each other if they'd use the second or third suggestion.
Of course I'm open to all five suggestions, otherwise I wouldn't have suggested them. =P
I have made on my laptop transparent versions to add as a layer to a cover for all BBFC ratings bar 12A (due to being cinema only), U and R18.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Don't forget to mail, share and vote on the poll!!
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

I was asked to share the original mock-ups, so I'm fulfilling that request!

BE WARNED! All logos on these mock-ups are solely to illustrate how the covers would look, and are not official covers!!!

> The original mock-ups I sent to MVM (The design style I call "The Key Hole"!)

> The five spines on the semi-current Familiar of Zero cover (The five spines from the poll)

So what do you guys think of the original mock-ups? They aren't as fancy as Sentai's cover designs, but still..

Also, one idea I had with the original mock-ups is also changing the colors according to the property on the spine!
That's be changing then depending/according to the title and cover so the entirety blends well together as a whole and on the shelf.

But if I were the cover designer I'd pay attention to consistency. And try to avoid cluttering, use style and use blending colours (as well as correct information).
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

Clean covers like that look great. Like you say Sentai's are marked usually by a bit more dramatic, artistic flair, but that is obviously something that comes from having people whose actual job it is to design them. The most important thing is starting with a base design that actually allows the cover art to look attractive.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

A good idea Agent-347, MVM needs to realize at the end of the day we're not just random people on the internet we're the people who are going to to buying their product so to be perfectly blunt they should be trying to release the best possible product for us they can and fixing a cover to be uniform to the rest of your releases really isn't the hardest fix in the world (something Anime Limited realized and got right straight out of the gate).

Anime fans are mostly collectors (and in my experience the biggest bunch of OCD freaks i've ever met :) ) so to maximize your sales make sure you're not releasing a single release you're releasing part of 'The MVM Collection' think of the bigger picture, you aren't one single release to the next. Every release is a part of a whole that is supposed to look like it belongs in every fan's collection. And If you're not going to deliver you should've noticed by now the fans WILL take there business elsewhere and are willing to pay a bit extra to get the best possibly item (how else would Aniplex USA still be in business :D )

One of these spines MVM paid someone to design, the other was done buy me in Microsoft paint in 3 minutes :) guess which.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

"By the way, their FaceBook is not "MVM_UK"... What's the use of the FaceBook logo there if there's no link to their FaceBook?!"
Just an fyi on this, facebook doesn't allow the _ and MVMUK is already in use with another company.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

Funnily enough, I was going to do a similar thing once I got a new tablet.

I love what you did with the cover of Ef, that would of been an instant purchase for me, rather than waiting for a DOTW. It looks so much better!

-Although, I would of stuck with blues and purples, rather than have the red spine. I know it matches the title, but I think it's too bold. Also I don't like the 'season 1' on the spine, except for FOZ as the star compliments it. -

Surely, if you know you can make approx double from a title by just moving the disc count/logo off the cover, let alone anything else, then it would be silly to not get your designer to amend future covers....or perhaps you could hire Agent?
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

One improvement needed: More classic shows, like Lupin III and Rose of Versailles for UK release.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

GolGotha said:
-Although, I would of stuck with blues and purples, rather than have the red spine. I know it matches the title, but I think it's too bold. Also I don't like the 'season 1' on the spine, except for FOZ as the star compliments it. -
NEW mock-ups for ef, including the third & fourth picture being my sixth and seventh suggestions I just made for the spine:
> ef - A Tale of Memories (none of these are official covers, remember that folks!)

So, do you like these color choices for the spine of ef better? (I might want to put "season 1" in the third one in a bit brighter colour though.)

And what do people think of my sixth and seventh suggestion for spines?!

GolGotha said:
Funnily enough, I was going to do a similar thing once I got a new tablet.
If you did it the chances of this campaign being a success would be way higher!
Hope you're supporting this cause and will help getting people to convince MVM over the course of this week to support the riddance of the disc count logo (etc).

GolGotha said:
I love what you did with the cover of Ef, that would of been an instant purchase for me, rather than waiting for a DOTW. It looks so much better!
Thank you very much! Really appreciated!

Colour choices for the spine might be the toughest thing to do, but with some nice feedback we can get to something many will like.
I see a lot of potential in my suggestions for a house-style for MVM.
Wonder whether people like my sixth or seventh suggestion better. (I could put "series", "part 1", "season 1", "movie", "movie 1", etc in there without a problem.)

Surely the Japanese can be tough to deal with, but I haven't really noticed the Japanese messing with the house-style of Anime Ltd, Sentai Filmworks, Hanabee,...!

GolGotha said:
Surely, if you know you can make approx double from a title by just moving the disc count/logo off the cover, let alone anything else, then it would be silly to not get your designer to amend future covers....or perhaps you could hire Agent?
I'd not even doubt to take the job if I were asked for it... I would even do it for free... A gift from me to the community. ^_~

And I'm also convinced sales of all MVM titles will improve with better covers and a nice house-style.

MVM said:
"By the way, their FaceBook is not "MVM_UK"... What's the use of the FaceBook logo there if there's no link to their FaceBook?!"
Just an fyi on this, facebook doesn't allow the _ and MVMUK is already in use with another company.
Ahhh! Fair enough! Explains a lot.
But wouldn't it still make sense to add the FaceBook "MVMEntertainment" to the cover design...
I know it's that, so it isn't needed for me... But let's say I'm new to anime or the UK anime industry, I would really be confused as to what MVM's FaceBook is!
(And that the logos are outdated is something that should be easy to fix.)

ilmaestro said:
Clean covers like that look great.
Thanks!

ilmaestro said:
The most important thing is starting with a base design that actually allows the cover art to look attractive.
I completely agree with that statement. ^_^


Jon O Fun said:
A good idea Agent-347, MVM needs to realize at the end of the day we're not just random people on the internet we're the people who are going to to buying their product so to be perfectly blunt they should be trying to release the best possible product for us they can and fixing a cover to be uniform to the rest of your releases really isn't the hardest fix in the world (something Anime Limited realized and got right straight out of the gate).
I also think it's important to make as much people as possible happy, and show some pride in your own products.

As well as the fact as I earlier showed that some of these issues have been addressed for over a year. I want it to end. So yeah: #PITUK!

Jon O Fun said:
Anime fans are mostly collectors (and in my experience the biggest bunch of OCD freaks i've ever met :) ) so to maximize your sales make sure you're not releasing a single release you're releasing part of 'The MVM Collection' think of the bigger picture, you aren't one single release to the next. Every release is a part of a whole that is supposed to look like it belongs in every fan's collection. And If you're not going to deliver you should've noticed by now the fans WILL take there business elsewhere and are willing to pay a bit extra to get the best possibly item (how else would Aniplex USA still be in business :D )
I wouldn't say "mostly", but there are a lot of them. And a fair amount of people can afford importing or would rather save up to import.

Yeah, part of this campaign is obviously because my OCD can't help but be annoyed by some elements of other MVM titles I own on DVD.
(And I want to avoid that annoyance in my DVD collection)

Jon O Fun said:
One of these spines MVM paid someone to design, the other was done buy me in Microsoft paint in 3 minutes :) guess which.
I like it better than MVM's current spine(s). MVM logo should be smaller, and I'm not too sure the BBFC at the bottom is a good idea. I'd have to test it with other titles! ^_~
But obviously I agree with the fact MVM isn't getting value for whatever they pay their current designer.
I mean, even if they want to cheap out and only amend the logos & house-style of the spine they're not getting value for their money.
They can certainly, as GolGotha also said, get way more profit from their titles/licenses by saying "goodbye" to certain elements.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

Agent-347 said:
I was asked to share the original mock-ups, so I'm fulfilling that request!

BE WARNED! All logos on these mock-ups are solely to illustrate how the covers would look, and are not official covers!!!

> The original mock-ups I sent to MVM (The design style I call "The Key Hole"!)

> The five spines on the semi-current Familiar of Zero cover (The five spines from the poll)

So what do you guys think of the original mock-ups? They aren't as fancy as Sentai's cover designs, but still..

Cover look much nicer with less logos.

Spine wise I like number 2, 3 and 5. I think 5 might be best as a standard, 3 works nicely with the dark cover and matches the colour on the back but might not always match the cover.

As for the back of the mock up, I'm not a fan of the box to the side, it's insanely logo heavy. If anything I think MvM's existing back is pretty good, or at least the one on Amazon is, the one you have on your spine mock up seems to have the text noticeably shifted to the left and has odd parts in bold.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

I have been having some more fun in designing mock-ups. Ladies and gentleman, let me "Buckle Up" and show you a new suggestion for a back cover and spine for MVM.

> Let me "Buckle Up"! (BE WARNED! All logos on these mock-ups are solely to illustrate how the covers would look, and are not official covers!!!)


Any thoughts?

With the previous mock-ups I could see where some remarks came from, though some were due to the fact I wasn't working at full resolution due to not having the master files.
But the "too big logos" for social media have been nerfed as far as possible, and the vertical beacon got removed in the Buckle Up edition.
I added in the DTS-HD MA logo instead of the Dolby Digital one, although I can easily replace it again.

So the new back cover suggestion doesn't deviate as far from the Hanabee back cover as my other suggestion, and manages to blend better due to not having an entirely different colour as a beam/beacon. (Though I believe the original back cover mock-up for ef and the entire cover for Heaven's Memo Pad really blend together well)

The box I put the MVM logo in is the same size as what's meant for the detailed BBFC-rating, and the social media box is the same size as the "13 EAN barcode"-box.
Overall I'm happy with what I came up with, and hope others also think this would be a good upgrade over the current cover designs.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

The following segment was originally posted the Seventh of July at 8.18PM UK time. ^_^ (I merged the posts myself to keep double posts to a minimum)
Links have been updated to reflect the new place of the now-old-but-then-new mock-ups.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

I added this mock-up and this mock-up to the ef album.

Rosencrantz said:
Agent-347 said:
BE WARNED! All logos on these mock-ups are solely to illustrate how the covers would look, and are not official covers!!!

> The original mock-ups I sent to MVM (The design style I call "The Key Hole"!)
> The five spines on the semi-current Familiar of Zero cover (The five spines from the poll)
Cover look much nicer with less logos.

Spine wise I like number 2, 3 and 5. I think 5 might be best as a standard, 3 works nicely with the dark cover and matches the colour on the back but might not always match the cover.
The idea I have with spine suggestions 2, 3, 6 and 7 is that the colours might change depending on the property.
SO it matches better, but still has the consistency to it. The more I look at it the more potential I see with a few tweaks to 6/7.
Someone made a good point it might be hard to say "season 1" etc in the "Key Hole" idea. (something I struggling a bit with already)

You might be wondering: "6? 7?". See here (and the following ones).

Rosencrantz said:
As for the back of the mock up, I'm not a fan of the box to the side, it's insanely logo heavy.
I reduced the most logos in size a bit and moved social media down. And I changed the box a bit, someone on Twitter doesn't like it when extras and details aren't beneath the synopsis. Which is fair enough of an opinion. Though the large faded rectangle was meant to create a separate zone. (I do think it's not a bad suggestion still)
See the above mentioned pictures for the new mock-ups using your and the other person's feedback.

Rosencrantz said:
If anything I think MvM's existing back is pretty good, or at least the one on Amazon is, the one you have on your spine mock up seems to have the text noticeably shifted to the left and has odd parts in bold.
[/quote]WOW, WOW, the alignment comes from the original one from Amazon! MVM just have updated it due to the BBFC being confirmed.
Remember I made the original mock-ups and spine-suggestions after my exams ended the 18th of June... And I went on the days after.. (And I like doing it)
I could re-upload them with the better alignment (or just recreate the current Hanabee/MVM backcover), might do after supper just for you. =P

But I have no real problems with the current MVM/Hanabee-style back cover, and I wouldn't mind keep using it, just adding a few details to it that are important (that shouldn't be elsewhere).
The back covers from MVM I have trouble with are the ones like FLCL...
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

While browsing Amazon I noticed that the full cover images they have for the DVD and Blu-ray listings of From The New World part 1 are missing the disc count logo from the front and spine, and the DVD/Blu-ray logo from the front (as seen in this post.) Is this your doing, good sir, or have MVM seen the light?

DVD
Blu-ray

Great work btw.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

Wow, looks like PITUK has made a milestone. Good job Agent (and everyone supporting the change).
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

Those are very smart covers. I hope they're the final designs.

R
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

fabricatedlunatic said:
While browsing Amazon I noticed that the full cover images they have for the DVD and Blu-ray listings of From The New World part 1 are missing the disc count logo from the front and spine, and the DVD/Blu-ray logo from the front (as seen in this post.) Is this your doing, good sir, or have MVM seen the light?

DVD
Blu-ray

Great work btw.

Looking good, I'd maybe tweak the spine a little to reduce the size of the colour box around the bbfc logo, aiming to have approx the same clear amount of colour above and below the logo.
 
Re: Project Improve The UK (PITUK): Part 1: MVM Blu-ray Cove

fabricatedlunatic said:
While browsing Amazon I noticed that the full cover images they have for the DVD and Blu-ray listings of From The New World part 1 are missing the disc count logo from the front and spine, and the DVD/Blu-ray logo from the front (as seen in this post.) Is this your doing, good sir, or have MVM seen the light?

DVD
Blu-ray

Great work btw.
That's nice and all but two things. One, someone forgot to edit out the TM in the bottom right corner, and two, the amount of leftover space in the purple blob at the top of the spine still bothers me.
Short of asking Hanabee for the original image to bring the purple up a bit, I don't really see any other way around it though.
Just by removing all the other crap that cover looks much better though.
 
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