Infinite IDEA Photobook Review

This is Infinite's first photobook, released in December 2013, and it's also the first project officially released since the SM merger, meaning SM's name is now printed on the product. I was pretty hesitant about this photobook for several reasons:

1.  That underlying fact that SM is associated with this product really discouraged me from buying it for so long.
2.  This is purely a photobook, and Infinite is a music group, so I felt shallow for buying something obviously not related to music, but rather for the members' appearance.
3. The acronym IDEA is really stupid and seems like they were just throwing up random English words to try and sound cool; sorry, I have a low tolerance for bad English.

I blamed SM for the latter two reasons, but now I'm being much more accepting of the merger and I'm trying to be not as irrational with my feelings toward SM. And so I gave in and got the photobook^^

The photobook is A4 sized, just over 8.5 inches by 12 inches. It's very sturdy and has that little flap on the bottom, and on the backside contains information about the DVD that's included. The title is "Infinite IDEA," where IDEA stands for "Inspirits Dreamers Experience Amazing"...okay...

This container opens up just like the She's Back album and Second Invasion concert DVD, where there's a magnetic flap holding it together. It's really high quality and well put together. There is also a ribbon running through the middle to easily access all the contents inside.

At the very top is the random mini poster, which is actually a translucent A4 piece of paper. You can see the transparency as I held it up to the window. There are seven poster designs, one for each member. As you can see, I got Sungjong! It seems like I always get Jjongie...

Next is the photobook, and then at the bottom are the DVD and a set of postcards embedded in a thick layer of black foam just like in The Origin and Be Back albums (but without that smell).

There are a total of eight postcards that come in an envelope with the sides cut off, so the postcards just easily slip out from the sides. The postcards are 5.875 inches by 4.125 inches and came in order from left to right, top to bottom. There is one group photo and then one of each member, with every photo showcasing the unique photoshoot locations. The random posters and set of postcards all seem like photos directly from the photobook, or at least some of the images anyways.

The backs of the postcards are blank, with the Infinite IDEA label in the corner.

As printed on the back, this DVD is 19 minutes long (it's actually 18 minutes and 37 seconds long) and has Korean and English subtitles. The English subs could be better; even the ending of the DVD wrote "Behind the secene"...also onne part wrote Hoya in both Korean and English, but I think they were talking about Dongwoo as it was Dongwoo on the screen (this is during the skateboarding scene if you want to check it out). It's also listed as Region 4, but online lists it as Regions 1 and 3. It's also nice that the footage on this DVD doesn't overlap with the Destiny in America Production DVD. It begins with a slideshow of photos, then shows the behind the scenes, Infinite talking to the camera and the filming of the photoshoots at various locations in California and Nevada. These locations include the mansion, the streets of Hollywood, the graffiti infested back streets (where the members were trying to learn how to skateboard!), Universal Studios (for the Destiny photoshoot!), the Vegas sign and lastly the Vegas Strip at night. It was really funny how Woohyun bragged that his shoes had no insoles! And Myungsoo was taking photos of Sungjong again, and also fixing his hair for the camera. And they're in America, so of course the members were trying to speak some English too! The funniest part was during the end of the shooting at Universal Studios, Woohyun pretended that he was going back home into a sewer at Universal; I still can't get over this part!

And now, onto the huge photobook! The front cover is of Infinite looking cool on the streets of L.A. and the back cover is of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with Infinite on an empty square...like showing they'll have their own star in the future here^^

This photobook has 228 pages and it's just as big as the mini poster and the photos and pages are very high quality.

The book is divided into chapters, by photoshoot location. The Destiny In America Production DVD showed the behind the scenes to the "Home Sweet Home," "Dreams Come True" and "Spectacular Las Vegas" photoshoots, while "Desert Dry Country" was never revealed, so it was a pleasant surprise to see this photoshoot for the first time in this photobook. The chapter title and page number are listed at the bottom of most pages as well.

"Home Sweet Home" was taken in a beautiful mansion in LA, creating a natural, casual setting. This chapter dedicates several pages for each member around the mansion and yard, with a nonchalant, lazy Sunday kind of ambiance, as seen in the top two photos. Then there are a few fun group shots of Infinite playing in the backyard and on the driveway.

"Dreams Come True" has Infinite with a tougher and cooler image. The first few pages are group photos walking the bustling and famous streets of L.A., then majority of this chapter moves to these graffiti back streets showing Infinite in both group and individual shots. The members look tough and gangster-like here with skateboards, and Sungjong even adds his own graffiti.

"Desert Dry Country" contains all black and white photos of which are mostly individual shots of Infinite wandering around and car camping at a desolate desert. Oddly enough, Sunggyu and Dongwoo aren't in this entire photoshoot, but for the remaining members, they each had their own little vignette displayed. Also in this photoshoot is that infamous series of Myungsoo's back photos, and some cute group photos in the snug camper.

"Spectacular Las Vegas" uses the same outfits as "Dreams Come True" on the busy streets of L.A. These are mostly individual shots, along with several group photos with the Vegas sign in the background. This section also includes those really cute and fun photos of Infinite playing around at the fountain on the Strip! And there are also more individual photos of Infinite looking serious and tough and a little lonely.

The last chapter has two pages dedicated to each member that includes a photo from Infinite filming for the "Destiny" music video at Universal Studios, a letter to Inspirits, an interview and something else, all in Korean. There are also four pages of photo collages, then a "Special Thanks To," and lastly a credits page.

Overall, I'm glad I finally gave in and bought this photobook in Korea. But I have to say, I don't think it's worth it with the high shipping fee. I do love the quality of the entire packaging (it seems more sturdy than the She's Back limited edition album) and the photos are absolutely gorgeous. I'm glad I got over my grudge against SM to get myself to buy this. As an American, though, this photobook does have more meaning to me as this is the first time Infinite as a whole is in my country!