Production logo

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A production logo is a logo used by movie studios and television production companies to brand what they produce. Production logos are usually seen at the beginning of a theatrical movie (an "opening logo"), or at the end of a television program or TV movie (a "closing logo"). Several production logos have become famous over the years, such as the 20th Century Fox's searchlights, Universal Studios' globe, Paramount Pictures's mountain, The Weinstein Company's flashlights, Warner Bros.' shield, Lionsgate's gate/lion, MGM's Leo the Lion, Columbia's Torch Lady, Nordisk Film's polar bear, the castle from Sleeping Beauty for Walt Disney Pictures, TriStar's Pegasus, MTM's Mimsie the Cat, United Artists' UA letters (and the Transamerica "T" in the 1970s), and Orion Pictures' constellation. Logos for smaller companies are sometimes (with tongue-in-cheek) called "vanity logos" or "vogos".

Unlike logos for most other media, production logos can take advantage of motion and synchronized sound, and almost always do.

[edit] History

In the early days of Hollywood, production logos and brands were simple and very much like their print counterparts, usually appearing on title cards and in the opening credits. The Paramount Pictures mountain hails from this era, and originally featured no special effects. As the studios grew, more effort was put into their identities, and motion and sound began to be used. MGM and Universal were the first studios to take advantage of the new medium's possibilities, MGM first using Leo the Lion in 1924 and Universal debuting their globe around the same time. RKO Radio Pictures used their rotating globe and radio transmission tower with a Morse code beeping soundtrack as early as 1929. In the 1930s, 20th Century Pictures introduced their futuristic "tower" logo, which had moving searchlights; it was carried over when they merged with Fox Film Corporation and became 20th Century Fox. Columbia's first version of the Torch Lady used a sparkler to represent her torch, and Universal's globes could rotate.

The advent of television in the 1950s also opened the door to cel animation in production logos. Most studios had used cels for their animation department's logos for some time by this point, but the demand for animation on TV, both as programming and for advertising, made more effects available for less money. TV itself started using logos on its programming: Desilu, Mark VII Productions and Revue Studios all had distinctive logotypes by the end of the decade, and Desilu's and Revue's were animated. By 1976, all of the major studios except Universal had switched their logos over to cel animation, and logos for smaller concerns and broadcasters were beginning to enter the computer age, using machines like Scanimate.

With the 1980s came a return to the older style of logos. Warner Bros., one of the first studios to switch to a cel-animated abstract logo, brought back their WB shield logo as a matte painting in 1984. TV logos began switching from cels and 2D computer graphics to 3D computer graphics around the same time, and by the end of the decade, the quality of 3D animation had improved to the point that cinema quality was possible. For its 75th anniversary in 1990, Universal introduced a new logo that was completely digitally rendered, the first of the major studios to make the move; Paramount had a digital-looking logo earlier, in 1987, but only the foreground animation in their logo was computerised (the mountain backdrop is a model).

As of 2007^[update], almost all production logos are produced (or at least edited) on computers, and have reached a level of sophistication equivalent to that of the best special effects. There are some exceptions; the Mutant Enemy "grr, argh" ID was shot using a camcorder and paper models, and the producers of South Park even recycled footage from an old Braniff Airlines ad for their "vanity" logo. Producer Chuck Lorre uses his production card to post a long and unrestricted essay or observation in small type which changes each week and requires pausing with a recording device to read. Even video games have taken on production logos as their capabilities have increased, and most modern game consoles (notably Sega's models and the Sony PlayStation series) have startup logos in their firmware.

[edit] Personalized production logos

With the advent of computer graphics, some Hollywood studios (notably Fox, Warner Bros. and Universal) began adapting their logos to suit the content of the films they preceded. These short pieces are colloquially known as "vanity logos" or "vogos".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 20th Century Fox

The accompanying music, the "20th Century Fox Fanfare", was written by Alfred Newman.

For The Robe (1953), the logo is seen in the curtains, and the fanfare is replaced by a segue into the film's theme.
For Edward Scissorhands (1990), the logo is seen in a blue, nighttime setting, with snow falling in the foreground.
In films from the X-Men series, the X in "Fox" fades out a fraction of a second later than the rest of the logo.
For The Day After Tomorrow (2004), a disaster film themed on global warming, erratic bolts of lightning are seen behind the logo.
For The Simpsons Movie (2007), the character Ralph Wiggum can be seen in the large "0" digit of the logo, singing along with the studio's theme music.
For Live Free or Die Hard (2007), the logo's presentation is abruptly interrupted by a technical interruption, with the picture impaired by static and the famous searchlights shut off.
At the end of every episode of the TV series Futurama, the logo is presented as "30th Century Fox", reflecting the fact that the storyline is set around the year 3000.
For a Trailer for Alvin and The Chipmunks : The Squeakquel, the logo's music is sung by The Chipmunks instead of the normal theme.

[edit] Paramount Pictures

For The Ten Commandments (1956), a dark blood-red mountain replaces the usual graphic, and the stars fade in along with the Paramount Presents logo in Paramount font.
For Coming to America (1988), a helicopter ride is shown over the mountain into a riverbed in the fictional African country Zamunda.
For Scrooged (1988), the shot zooms over the mountain logo to go to a scene at Santa's workship on the North Pole.
For South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999), the mountain logo is turned into an animated mountain near the titular town of South Park.
For The Core (2003), the camera flies toward the mountain and goes down into it, signifying that it is going into the core.
For Team America: World Police (2004), the Paramount Pictures logo animates backwards, appearing fully formed, with the "A Viacom Company" tag disappearing and the stars flying backwards through the word "Paramount" and disappearing into the sky as the opening credits of the film begin.
For Zodiac (2007), the 1960s Paramount Pictures logo is used to denote the movie's time period.
For Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), the 1950s Paramount logo (as seen in the other Indiana Jones movies) is used, stating "A Viacom Company" instead of "A Gulf+Western Company".
For The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), hundreds of buttons that form a mosaic of both the Paramount and Warner Bros. logos fall to the ground.
For Friday the 13th (2009), the logo appears in a blood red tint, with Jason's theme playing in the background.

[edit] Warner Bros.

The Warner Bros. music for the most recent version of the logo features the Casablanca theme "As Time Goes By", arranged by Tyler Bates. From the 1930's to the late 1940's the logo was accompanied by its own fanfare.

For Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), the Warner Bros. shield transforms into the Batsign.
For The Matrix (film) (1999) and its sequels, the Warner Bros. shield is shown in dark green color to be in tune with the Matrix digital rain that follows it.
For Scooby-Doo (film) (2002), the Warner Bros. logo turns into an SD logo for Scooby-Doo
For Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), the opening logo is shown in a silver-white (Batman Begins) or blue (The Dark Knight) color, along with a dark, menacing score.
For V for Vendetta (2006), the Warner Bros. shield is seen on what appears to be grainy, black-and-white footage, in tune with the film's central focus on fascist totalitarianism.
For The Good German (2006), the original 1940s Warner Bros. logo was used.

For Zodiac (2007), the 1960s Warner Bros. logo was used to denote the movie's time period.

For Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004–) and its sequels, the logo is hewn of stone, occasionally covered in snow within a stormy, dark blue background.
For Constantine (2005), the logo appears to be blown away by the wind and fire of hell.
For Watchmen (2009), both the Warner Bros. logo and the Paramount Pictures logo appear as black graphics in front of a yellow background, matching the color scheme of the comic book.
For Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), The logo is cut to the end the The the WB part is ghostly and fades away.

[edit] Lionsgate

For horror-themed films, the clouds behind the Lionsgate logo are colored a deep, blood red. The letters of the logo, as well as the CGI gears in the door seen at the beginning of the production logo presentation, appear rusted.

[edit] Universal Pictures

Universal's current logo theme was composed by Jerry Goldsmith.

For Universal sound films between 1932 and 1937, we see a biplane circling the globe.
The horror films Land of the Dead and Dead Silence used the 1920s biplane logo, which faded into darkness.
The 1973 film The Sting used a tinted reproduction of the 1939 logo, accompanied by Scott Joplin's music.
For Waterworld, the film begins when the camera zooms into a part of the Universal globe illustrating a water-covered Earth.
For North American home video releases of Balto III: Wings of Change, the Universal logo is high-pitched and after the logo during worldwide releases, the 1930's Universal logo is also seen.
For The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2007), the globe stops and the "Universal" text spins away, after which the countries move, re-form into the prehistoric continent called Pangaea (the setting of the films), and the camera zooms into Earth.
For DOOM, the "Universal" text encircles Mars (the primary setting of the film) instead of Earth.
For Serenity, the "Universal" text disappears and the globe fades to the state of the Earth that led to humanity leaving to colonize other worlds.

[edit] Columbia Pictures

For The Mouse That Roared (1959) the Columbia Pictures torch lady turns out to be a live actress who runs away from a mouse.
For Cat Ballou (1962) the Columbia Pictures torch lady turns into a cartoon figure who strips her gown off, and becomes a caricature of Jane Fonda in a cowboy outfit. She then fires her gun into the air, the ground, and across her body multiple times.
For Thank God It's Friday (1978) the Columbia Pictures torch lady dances to disco music.
For Go (1999) the Columbia Pictures logo sequence is abruptly interrupted by jarring clips from a rave scene that segues into the opening credits.
For Eight Crazy Nights (2002) the Columbia Pictures logo begins with Eleanor Duvall disguised as the torch lady, but then she turns into the regular torch lady.
For Superbad (2007) the Columbia Pictures logo from 1976–1981 is used instead of the current logo. This gives the film a more "retro" feel that is also reflected in the soundtrack, which mostly features songs from that decade. The opening credits further articulate this theme by showing the silouettes of the main characters dancing disco-style.

[edit] TriStar Pictures

For Look Who's Talking Too (1990), the TriStar logo shows the Pegasus speaking in a Mr. Ed-like voice, saying, "Whoa, Wilbur! Here I go! (laughing like Mr. Ed) I'm running pretty good now. And I'm gonna take a jump and-- Oh, I got wings and I'm flying! Whoa, Wilbur! (neighs) Tri-Star Pictures, where anything can happen". The theme can also be heard when Julie starts walking.
For Another You (1991), the TriStar logo shows Richard Pryor saying to the Pegasus, "Now... easy boy. Steady! Wait! Whoa! Fucking wings, what's going on?", then crashing noises are used and after the jingle ends, he says, "Fucking white horse!". (On Ion Television airings of this film, he says "Wings! What's going on?" and "Damn white horse!")

[edit] Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The usual well-known MGM logo is of Leo the Lion roaring inside a circle of film. On the circle are printed the words "Ars Gratia Artis".
For Chuck Jones era Tom and Jerry cartoons (1963 – 1967), the roaring lion disappears and a meowing Tom appears in his place.
For Strange Brew (1983), the lion is drunk and belches. Then the camera pans to the side to reveal that Bob and Doug McKenzie are playing with the lion's tail. When the lion gets angry, they leave to another room to introduce the movie.
For The Pink Panther (2006), after the lion roars, an animated version of the character Inspector Clouseau appears. An animated panther also appears. Following this the lion reappears against the screen, bewildered.

[edit] United Artists

The United Artists logo has taken many different forms over the years.

For Undertow (2004) the United Artists logo from 1981–1987 is used instead of the current one.

[edit] Walt Disney Pictures

Before Walt Disney Productions became Walt Disney Pictures, there was no Disney logo. Now the logo is a blue background over which the Disneyland castle slowly appears, piece by piece.

For Inspector Gadget (1999), the castle is silver and is made up of mechanical parts, making whirring and buzzing sounds, spewing out machine interior parts is if it were a malfunctioning machine.
For Enchanted (2007), after the words "Walt Disney Pictures" appear, the camera zooms inside the castle.
For Bedtime Stories (2008), after the logo finishes, it folds up on itself like a pop-up book.
For Recess: School's Out (2001), After the glowing arch goes over the castle and the words Walt Disney Pictures appear, the Recess Gang appear on the castle playing kazoos to the logos music.
For George of the Jungle 2 (2003), the logo goes normal, but then a guy resembling George comes swinging on a vine and crashing into the castle, making it fall down and bushes begin to form.
For Race to Witch Mountain (2009), the logo turns darker and morphs into a silhouette of Witch Mountain. The camera then pans up into space and the opening credits for the film roll.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

You’re so vain: TV vanity cards (MSNBC)

Production logo

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