THE ALBUM is an independently produced documentary about the record industry, told from the perspective of the art department. With over 40 interviews comprised of 3 generations, top creators of their day talk about the development of the art synonymous with the music you know and love. From Abbey Road, Hotel California, and Dark Side of the Moon to Breakfast in America and Nirvana’s Nevermind, you’ll hear the stories behind the most memorable art in music history. These art directors and photographers shaped pop culture of their day, and reflect on the delicate balance between art and commerce, rebellion and status quo, and the consequences of digital disruption.

Starting in the analog past of the 60's--how rock and roll began catering to the teenagers and their disposable income, to the introduction of the CD through it's digital disruption of file sharing, to online sales, streaming and the dominance of social media--the vehicle of new music discovery has radically changed. And through it all, the love of music has never been stronger because the audience’s desire for that emotional connection to the music they love remains unchanged.

Directed by music industry veteran Kevin Hosmann, with 20 gold records to his art directing credit, including NWA’s Straight Outta Compton.

Director Bio:
I started my career analogue, designing album covers. Twenty-two gold and platinum records later, I found the internet in its infancy. I created the first official Nirvana site for Geffen Records and designed the first Lexus site (the first major automotive site) for Team One the same year. I was at Geocities, the first social network as Art Director for advertising when they were bought out by Yahoo! for 5,700,000,000, we thought at the time there was nothing but up!
Throughout the dot bomb I always searched for the next wave. As an Innovation Creative Director my group continued to create prototypes of the future for AOL, Motorola, Microsoft, and Nickelodeon (among others).
In 2007 I joined Warner Bros. during their digital renaissance where my art department designed (UX and visual) for each of their digital touch points, from front-end to backend.
I've continued in advertising as a User Experience Director plotting the consumer’s path toward conversion, all the while seeing that digital disruption and the wave it created will continue to play a part in my work and the world around me. Change is constant.


The catalyst for the piece:
There was an ice breaker at a company I was working at which asked us all to put a Powerpoint presentation together (20 slides on a 5 second timer) to tell us something about ourselves that the group don't know.

I did mine on the 20 gold records that I had done, quick stories, reciting kind of one liners really. What was so cool is that by the end of the presentation everyone was one their feet clapping laughing, they had no idea that this balding middle aged man that the worked with everyday had such a crazy past. And that had created covers that they collected and listened to as teenagers. That got me thinking.


Cast List:
Interviewees in order of appearance:
Neal Preston, Mick Haggerty, Bob Merlis, John Kosh, Roger Dean, Ernie Cefalu, John Van Hamersveld, Chuck Beeson, Henry Diltz, Tom Pope, Jayme Odgers, Craig Braun, Aubrey Powell, Robert Fisher, Tom Nikosey, Jeri Heiden, Tommy Steele, Mike Salisbury, Melanie Nissen, Len Peltier, Lawrence Azerrad, Carl Overr, Jeff Ayeroff, Jeff Gold, Tim Devine, Richard Frankel, Kevin Hosmann, Bonnie Schiffman, Hugh Brown, Masaki Koike, Joseph Abajian, Abbey Konowitch, Eddie Meehan, Alicia Yaffe, Steve Sheldon, Gavin Taylor, Frank Maddocks, Kenny Gravillis and Adam Parsons.