HiResCovers.net

Thanks for the share JR, also a great read and insight. You guys did a great job, and I hope you all feel proud of what you did and how you did it, could not be fairer or more thorough and unbiased.

Geez I thought it was tough trying to make the damn thing!

Great job guys and many thanks, not only on the judging and your commitment and professional approach but also for sharing with us the process.
Cheers.

Yep, JR you went through a lot of the same feelings I did. Thanks for sharing.

Wow! Vincent - Thanks for that run-thru on your judging. Very nice - and with ideas I would implement were I ever to judge again.

I also tried several ways to try and give each cover the same amount of attention.

First I simply divided the covers per film. Then I began going over each entry looking at the general layout and appealness, was it fitting for the movie, was the images well chosen, image handling, typography; font choices/layout/sizes; how was any blending of images done? Technical level of ornaments, image frames and so on and so forth. I also nitpicked the legal text, checking every entry for spelling mistakes.

When done, with pages of notes on each entry I tried to rank them. That proved too hard. Then I tried dividing them into groups; Top, Middle, Bottom. That way I didn't have to rank each entry at first, I could losely get an overview of the entire field.

Now I had another problem - I had three groups of 3 sub-groups - one for each of the films. How was I to decide which were the better cover? In the end I found myself forced to look at the technical design level, and then try and merge the three subgroups. I have no idea how long this process took, but I had to sleep on it. First thing next morning I ran thru the covers again, adjusting any sub-group placements from the night before I felt was wrong. Trying then to give the two lower groups equal attention I tried to settle the lowest rankings first, leaving me with only my top contenders (plus a few 'extras' the top choices in subgroup Two that could've taken one of the lower places in my top group).

The last group, the top choices was a laugh. All splendid covers that deserved to win. In the end I had three entries which I believed to be worthy winners - then sorted rank #3, leaving me with two. Both excellent covers, that just happened to be for two different movies. I laughed. This was impossible! In the end I had to go with my gut. I chose the cover which made the biggest impact on me personally.

I dunno if this was a read worth, but they were some of the thoughts I had while judging this year.

Oh, and just to mention it. I didn't take part in the guessing of who's whose also because I had tried very hard to clear that from my head while judging, and didn't want it to have any influence on my judging.

Also - After submitting my scores - I really just wanted the comp over with as quickly as possible because I didn't want to find any errors in my judging.

I fully agree with NR and what you did as a judge, it's great to see how much effort you put into your decision!

Thanks NR.

Vincent, WOW! that is great to read, thank you, also the seriousness and dedication you applied is to be applauded, I believe we all know how true you judges are to the competition and this only re-enforces that.
Your judging style sounds pretty good and sound, as I am sure all were for each judge.
It was very interesting to read your process, thanks for sharing it mate

As a Judge I spent many hours looking at each cover and every detail. I had page after page of notes and I just couldn't make many decisions. How was I to put one error above or below another. It just wasn't working for me. So I tried another approach. I printed every cover. I laid them all out on the floor and started looking at the actual printed quality. What I found was that almost all of the errors I had found in a cover didn't even show up when printed. That did not make it any easier but what I also found was that things I really liked didn't necessarily print well. Primarily small text on the back. So in the end I did exactly what I didn't want to do . I rated the covers based on there overall appearance and print quality. It came down to what I thought would look best on a shelf. I even went as far as to put each cover in a case and looked at them that way. So it was all personal taste. For me that is tough because there is not a single style I like. I looked for sharp clear and correct text. Front to back flow. Image quality, creativity, mood (did the cover make me want to watch the film). What really made this difficult for me was the fact that there were 3 films. It is really hard to compare a cover for any of the three to one of the others. I really had a tough time with that. One thing I have decided after having to go through this. I think that you really have to look at a cover as a whole and not each and every little detail. The Cover with the least errors does not necessarily make it the best. I thought that the creativity and direction that some of the covers showed trumped any errors that were present. Minor things like errors in text can be easily fixed but the overall design is what is important. Just my take and I'm open to any questions or comments anyone has. I would like to see this competition continue for many many years to come. This kind of open debate is exactly what is needed.

kernie82 wrote:

QUOTE (kernie82 @ Apr 15 2012, 05:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well said, Ford!

There were some judges who liked the way I presented my title treatment (bloody letters carved into stitched-together pieces of human skin... which in my opinion, is pretty f'n relevant to the plot of the film) and others did not feel it fit the film or that the letters were tough to read. Well, I've never tried, but I'd imagine it's pretty difficult to maintain legible penmanship when carving words into slabs of human flesh, so yeah... the text might be a bit tough to read.

Another judge would have preferred a more natural brick color for my brick wall texture, but I was going for the sickly green/brown color of the bricks in Lecter's glass cell. To use a more natural red/orange brick with white mortar in between wouldn't match the dark and dank atmosphere I was trying to create.

Maybe something to consider for future comps would be an artist's statement. That might defeat the point of letting the design speak for itself, but it gives the designer a chance to defend certain choices that would be misread by the judges.

:doh: :doh: :doh:

That last point is actually a good idea Kernie. A designer can explain his/her choices and fill in that 'unknowing' gap. You depend on how much will & time people invest in their argued opinions and their empathy. It's possible to create a box of scores when you comment as a judge and people have to argue their scores, so all covers get the same input from judges (don't know if that's already the case).
I really understand your workstyle, it is the same over here, but you can be a real pain in the a$$ sometimes for yourself (but that's no problem as long as you like what you are doing).

Thanks kernie, and good comments guys, very constructive and well stated.

In a strange way I actually much more positive now than I did a week or 2 ago, a good open discussion like this feels like good therapy
And I'm not being a wise a$$, I feel like it has helped me, so
cheers, good stuff

Well said, Ford!

There were some judges who liked the way I presented my title treatment (bloody letters carved into stitched-together pieces of human skin... which in my opinion, is pretty f'n relevant to the plot of the film) and others did not feel it fit the film or that the letters were tough to read. Well, I've never tried, but I'd imagine it's pretty difficult to maintain legible penmanship when carving words into slabs of human flesh, so yeah... the text might be a bit tough to read.

Another judge would have preferred a more natural brick color for my brick wall texture, but I was going for the sickly green/brown color of the bricks in Lecter's glass cell. To use a more natural red/orange brick with white mortar in between wouldn't match the dark and dank atmosphere I was trying to create.

Maybe something to consider for future comps would be an artist's statement. That might defeat the point of letting the design speak for itself, but it gives the designer a chance to defend certain choices that would be misread by the judges.

:doh: :doh: :doh: