This is a complete set of covers that I have designed for the extra features and bonus materials that are available on The Criterion Collection Spine #249: The Battle of Algiers (1966).
I make these not only as excercises for myself but also to impart an expression of how much I appreciate these films and The Criterion Collection.
These three pieces have used the color scheme from the main feature packaging. Also used are motifs as well as the handrawn font.
This is the original Criterion Collection packaging as a reference.
Five Directors on the Battle of Algiers, is a documentary circa 2004 which delves into the minds of five of the world's greatest directors to give their opinion and to illustrate the power of Gillo Pontecorvo's, The Battle of Algiers, (Criterion Spine #249).
Head shots of the five directors: Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone, were found in an internet search and used as source imagery for the illustrations. Colors from the original packaging were then used in each square and then place in the vector illustrations of each of the "Five Directors". The transparency effect on the illustrations were then set to Multiply to influence the appearance of the color underneath.
The motif of the Ottoman flag remains on the from the original cover. As this is a central theme of the film, I wished to include such a powerful symbol. In the original cover, there is a suggested pulling up and pulling apart which works for an illustration of the film. However in this piece it is important that just that Ottoman Crescent and star remain as a reference to the film but not taking the powerful symbolism already in use.
Marxist Poetry: The Making of 'The Battle of Algiers', is another great documentary in the Criterion Collection's Spine #249.
Once again the use of the motif here is blatant but specifically and un-apologetically used. Once again, strict adherence to the original packaging is used to create an overall unity in the differing covers. To further unify the cover to the original cover and back panel, the font used to create “The Battle of Algiers” was emulated to create the remainder of the title. The text is used much in the same fashion and treatment as on the original.
In order to retain the war torn feeling of the film, a weathered, paint worn build was converted to black and white and used as the base level image for this piece. Then the mustard yellow color was set to Multiply in transparency effects to influence the imagery below. Then two orange, linear gradient layers the same size as the document were set to Overlay. The first was set to 0º and the second was set to 90º as to get the feeling of a radial gradient.
Here is the final cover for materials on Spine #249 The Battle of Algiers Criterion Collection. This is a documentary on the film's director Gillo Pontecorvo.
This design might make Massimo Vignelli disgusted but in many ways it speaks to me as a combination of his work and that of Wim Crouwel. Not that I have anything on either of these masters of modernism, but I wanted the piece to have that feeling of a High Modernist style. The Battle of Algiers was created in 1966 at the time when the world was greatly influenced by these men. This is an homage to Massimo and Wim but also it is an attempt to illustrate what could have defined Gillo Pontecorvo and the time in which his film was created. The title of this piece Gillo Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth, also hearkened in me the dictatorial relationship of mainstream design and the overarching power of Vingelli and Crouwel in that time in history.
The illustrations of the film's major players define the context for the piece. The portrait of Gillo Pontecorvo is surrounded by the yellow borders of a map of Algeria. The font treatment is that of a spray paint style font called cityburn-used for the Gillo’s name and the remainder uses Franklin Gothic.
I hope that you enjoyed the three piece that I created for The Battle of Algiers. Once again, I beg you to watch this film and the bonus features. It is a terrific film and should be watched at least once in a lifetime.
Keep on the look out for the bonus material for Charles Laughton's 1955- The Night of the Hunter, Criterion Collection Spine #541.
