“Star Trek” & “Star Trek Into Darkness” by Michael Giacchino

To boldly go… where no-one has gone before… design-wise BLT Communications, LLC – one of todays leading advertising agencies – ventured into unexplored territory (sorry!) by creating the arguably most controversial movie poster of 2009. It’s a clear winner in my eyes and I was glad to see that Varèse Sarabande also used this iconic image for the official soundtrack album (#1). When they released the Deluxe Limited Edition one year later, they went with a more traditional design (#2), but the bound case with a 28-page illustrated booklet more or less makes up for that. My custom covers also start…

“Zodiac” by David Shire, Various Artists

Zodiac by David Shire fits seamlessly into a number of great scores for David Fincher films. Both the score and the original songs from the era carry the flavor and mood of the film perfectly. We also were blessed with two official soundtracks including adequate, stylish artwork (#1, #2). But as always, I wanted to try a few things a little different. During the release of the film I came across two promotional posters, that may or may not be official – I haven’t found sources yet -, but definitely look pretty awesome. The first one (#4) was cool to…

“Drive” by Cliff Martinez, Various Artists

Here are a few custom and original covers for one of my favourite movies in recent time. And probably also one of my favourite soundtracks. Drive and its music form a hypnotic attraction, one can hardly escape. This applies both to the score by Cliff Martinez, as well as the original songs, which were prominently featured in the movie. The official cover (#1) and my alternate custom cover (#2), which is based on the final one-sheet poster, perfectly transport the vibe of the film. Nostalgic, tense, surreal. A neo-noir piece of art, that seamlessly jump through different genres. I also…

“Oblivion” by Anthony Gonzalez, Joseph Trapanese, M83

When I first saw the teaser poster for Joseph Kosinski’s second feature film Oblivion, I immediately knew I would design custom covers for its soundtrack. There are certain colour palettes and temperatures, that draw my attention every time, I can’t help it. The score was composed by M83’s Anthony Gonzalez and Joseph Trapanese and has a few standout tracks, e.g. “StarWaves”, which reminds me of John Murphy’s Sunshine. Or “Radiaton Zone”, which features a drum battle(!) between Loic Maurin and Ilan Rubin. Great Stuff! The custom covers fill the whole range from dead easy to damn difficult. My first entry (#1)…

“The Grey” by Marc Streitenfeld

Marc Streitenfeld’s The Grey took me with surprise, I didn’t expect such a meager and melancholy soundscape from him, and I mean that in a positive way. He hit the right tones for the film and made it – at least for me – much more enjoyable. The original soundtrack artwork was more or less reduced to Liam Neeson… making a Sean Penn face (#1). For me it didn’t transport the bleak and hopeless atmosphere of the film, so I wanted something else. I have kind of an obsession for minimal design with lots of empty space and felt that would…