Atychiphobia - Final Cut
Creative Critical Reflection
Sunday 8 May 2016
Saturday 7 May 2016
Logo Investigation
1. Warner Bros Pictures
What did it used to be, what is it now, why did they use it and why did they change it and what has it come to symbolise
Though the Warner Bros logo has varied over time, there is one consistent object that it is based around and that is a shield. The original logo has transitioned through a multitude of logos. There are 13 main logos as well as 200+ variations of these logos that were customised to reflect the theme of the film.
In 1923, Warner Brothers released a film with their first logo. It was nicknamed the 'Brain Shield' and the top half of the shield included a photograph of the exterior of the Warner Brother's studio that is located in Burbank, California. The bottom half was inclusive of the famous W-B initials. The shield was never given a solid meaning, however I feel like it could be symbolic of Warner Brothers showing their strength and how they are determined to thrive in the film industry. The shield is a symbol of protection meaning no other companies could takeover.
In 1929, sound was introduced to film and to show
that their films were now accompanied by sound Warner Brother's partnered with Vitaphone and created a logo that acknowledged them. They still included the shield but it had evolved. The shield no longer contained the image of the studio and instead, the WB initials completely occupied the space of the shield. The shield stayed centred in the logo and more words were added for audiences to also acknowledge Vitaphone.
2. Dreamworks
Many film companies have started from humble beginnings and grown into something great. DreamWorks however, was created by many great names in the film industry which resulted in sucess from the start. In 1994, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen came together to create the company known as DreamWorks. One of the main reasons for DreamWorks' success is the logo that is globally recognised as belonging to them. Both Spielberg and Katzenberg are creative with their sense of animation. Katzenberg is chairman for Disney while Spielberg has created films such as E.T, Jaws and Jurassic Park.
In 1995, the logo was recreated to involve some clouds. It was then known as the 'Cloud Cover' The clouds added a nostalgic and idyllic effect to the logo while the child fishing on the moon was effective in speaking to the inner child in everyone. The logo was a representative of DreamWorks' films, they were created as something not confined to one place but instead they would create fairy tale films that took place in foreign places.
Shown below is the most recent 2016 DreamWorks logo. As anyone can see, it has brightened up and become a lot more colourful. Again, it shows the idyllic boy on the moon in the centre of the screen and this has not and most likely will not change for a long time. The bold words however have been changed and this time are not blue but an array of different colours. This targets children as it shows their company as playful and child orientated. Each letter is given a different colour that makes the logo stand out from the blue and white background.
The first logo is rumoured to have been doodled on a napkin in 1914. It was a drawing of a star-crested mountain. The now famous 'Magic Mountain' is an idealised picture of Ben Lomand Mountain in Utah. The mountain is said to have held a great significance to William Wadsworth Hodkinson, the creator of Paramount Pictures, as the mountain he remembers seeing as a child. The image of a mountain is is strong. It alludes to a certain empowerment and confidence. Considering Paramount has been around for over a century, it is the perfect image for the worlds second largest film company.
In 1952, the second logo was redesigned as a matte painting done by the studios head painter, Jan Domela. They changed to this logo from the ones created by film techniques because they believed it was time for a change. The 24 stars surrounding the mountain are just as significant as the mountain itself. They represented the amount of actors and actresses working for Paramount Pictures at the time. Depending on the amount of actors signed to work with Paramount, the stars would either grow or shrink in size.
What did it used to be, what is it now, why did they use it and why did they change it and what has it come to symbolise
Though the Warner Bros logo has varied over time, there is one consistent object that it is based around and that is a shield. The original logo has transitioned through a multitude of logos. There are 13 main logos as well as 200+ variations of these logos that were customised to reflect the theme of the film.
 |
| Above: Warner Brothers Logo 1923 |
In 1929, sound was introduced to film and to show
that their films were now accompanied by sound Warner Brother's partnered with Vitaphone and created a logo that acknowledged them. They still included the shield but it had evolved. The shield no longer contained the image of the studio and instead, the WB initials completely occupied the space of the shield. The shield stayed centred in the logo and more words were added for audiences to also acknowledge Vitaphone.
The first appearance of colour in the Warner Brother's logo occurred around 1940. The famous blend of red and blue hues is accompanied by a shining gold shield that is a reflection of the companies characteristics. It represents wealth, authority and power. Warner Brother's is on of the oldest and most influential American production companies behind Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios.
Though there are many variations of the Warner Brothers logo, there are three main variations that have affected the main idea of the logo. These came as results of changes in ownerships or partnerships that Warner Brothers have undergone.
The first change of ownership that affected the logo happened in 1969 as a result of Jack L. Warner selling his controlling interest of the company to Seven Arts Productions. For the first time since the establishment of Warner Brothers, the famous WB initials were no where to be seen. Instead there was a W7 in the centre of the shield that represented the merge between Warner Brothers and Seven Arts.
Two years later, the company was brought by Kinney National Company who thought it would be a good decision to remove 'Seven Arts' from the companies name and return the logo to its original state. They wanted the logo to resemble something of a gas station sign. The letters were gold and encrusted on a crimson shield. They added their company name on a strip placed on the lower half of the shield. All this was done in an attempt to divert from the historical record of the logo.
In 1972, Saul Bass was hired to revamp Warner Brothers company. Known for his graphic design, Bass produced the above logo. To many people of the 80's this logo was actually compared to the a Nazi like design and was disapproved of by many. However, this logo is used for a few modern day films such as Magic Mike and 'Argo'.
The 2016 logo is a combination of old logos mixed into one. the basic idea of the shield has been kept constant as well as the red, blue and gold theme. The Warner Brothers initials are still the main parts of the logo and the band that contains the film companies title is centred on the shield. This is similar to the Kinney National companies idea of having their name on a band in the lower half of the shield. The distinctive logo is globally recognised due to its colour and unchangeable inclusion of a shield.
The 2016 logo is a combination of old logos mixed into one. the basic idea of the shield has been kept constant as well as the red, blue and gold theme. The Warner Brothers initials are still the main parts of the logo and the band that contains the film companies title is centred on the shield. This is similar to the Kinney National companies idea of having their name on a band in the lower half of the shield. The distinctive logo is globally recognised due to its colour and unchangeable inclusion of a shield. 2. Dreamworks
Many film companies have started from humble beginnings and grown into something great. DreamWorks however, was created by many great names in the film industry which resulted in sucess from the start. In 1994, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen came together to create the company known as DreamWorks. One of the main reasons for DreamWorks' success is the logo that is globally recognised as belonging to them. Both Spielberg and Katzenberg are creative with their sense of animation. Katzenberg is chairman for Disney while Spielberg has created films such as E.T, Jaws and Jurassic Park.
 |
| Robert Hunt with his son. |
The 'Boy on the Moon' logo was first pitched by Steven Spielberg. He had wanted to create a logo that could capture the essence of Hollywoods 'Golden Age'. At first, Spielberg had wanted to make the image computer generated but they ended up commissioning artist Robert Hunt to hand draw the image. Originally, Spielberg had wanted to use a man sitting on a crescent moon but after Hunt used his son as a model, all three of the moguls came to the conclusion that it would be better to have the man become a boy.
In 1995, the logo was recreated to involve some clouds. It was then known as the 'Cloud Cover' The clouds added a nostalgic and idyllic effect to the logo while the child fishing on the moon was effective in speaking to the inner child in everyone. The logo was a representative of DreamWorks' films, they were created as something not confined to one place but instead they would create fairy tale films that took place in foreign places.Shown below is the most recent 2016 DreamWorks logo. As anyone can see, it has brightened up and become a lot more colourful. Again, it shows the idyllic boy on the moon in the centre of the screen and this has not and most likely will not change for a long time. The bold words however have been changed and this time are not blue but an array of different colours. This targets children as it shows their company as playful and child orientated. Each letter is given a different colour that makes the logo stand out from the blue and white background.
3. Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures was first established in 1912. It started off small and has since then grown to become one of the most influential film companies to date. Paramount Pictures has become globally recognisable due to its distinctive mountain range poking through a bed of clouds. Brand recognition is important for any company and for audiences who watch any film created by Paramount Pictures, the logo is an important part of the film. It is not often that Paramount will change any aspect of their logo to relate to certain film themes but there are some cases in which this will happen.
The first logo is rumoured to have been doodled on a napkin in 1914. It was a drawing of a star-crested mountain. The now famous 'Magic Mountain' is an idealised picture of Ben Lomand Mountain in Utah. The mountain is said to have held a great significance to William Wadsworth Hodkinson, the creator of Paramount Pictures, as the mountain he remembers seeing as a child. The image of a mountain is is strong. It alludes to a certain empowerment and confidence. Considering Paramount has been around for over a century, it is the perfect image for the worlds second largest film company.
In 1952, the second logo was redesigned as a matte painting done by the studios head painter, Jan Domela. They changed to this logo from the ones created by film techniques because they believed it was time for a change. The 24 stars surrounding the mountain are just as significant as the mountain itself. They represented the amount of actors and actresses working for Paramount Pictures at the time. Depending on the amount of actors signed to work with Paramount, the stars would either grow or shrink in size.
The third recreation of the logo was created in 1987 and since then, there have been no drastic changes. Again, the format of the image changed and was created as a computer generated image as opposed to the previous matte painting. With technology improving, they were able to create an image with much better graphics as they were introduced to animation.
The stars had previously remained static but now would appear to fly toward the mountain before settling in their original position. This is done so that the focus is then on the mountain's peek - a symbol of strength and power.
The Importance of a Film Logo:
From this investigation what I've learnt is that there is a certain importance to having the main elements of your logo in the centre of the screen. It means that all attention is focussed on the image in the middle. If the image is simple then it will eventually become recognisable. For a lot of the film companies it isn't that they are easy to remember but more so that they have been around for generations to see and people have grown up just knowing which film is made by which company. All of the logos have the name of their company, although they could just leave this out as they have distinctive images that present the logo, their names are always clearly and boldly presented either directly above, beneath or centred on the main image. They also have one specific logo that has been constant since the companies logo was created and any attempt to alter this has resulted in its return.
The stars had previously remained static but now would appear to fly toward the mountain before settling in their original position. This is done so that the focus is then on the mountain's peek - a symbol of strength and power.
The Importance of a Film Logo:
From this investigation what I've learnt is that there is a certain importance to having the main elements of your logo in the centre of the screen. It means that all attention is focussed on the image in the middle. If the image is simple then it will eventually become recognisable. For a lot of the film companies it isn't that they are easy to remember but more so that they have been around for generations to see and people have grown up just knowing which film is made by which company. All of the logos have the name of their company, although they could just leave this out as they have distinctive images that present the logo, their names are always clearly and boldly presented either directly above, beneath or centred on the main image. They also have one specific logo that has been constant since the companies logo was created and any attempt to alter this has resulted in its return.
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