Production logo

Aproduction logo,studio logo,vanity card,vanity plate,orvanity logois alogoused bymovie studiosandtelevisionproduction companiestobrandwhat they produce and to determine the production company and the distributor of a television show or film. Production logos are usually seen at the beginning of a theatrical movie or video game (an "opening logo"), and/or at the end of atelevision programorTV movie(a "closing logo"). Many production logos have become famous over the years, such as the20th Century Studios'monument and searchlightsandMGM'sLeo the Lion.Unlike logos for other media, production logos can take advantage ofmotionandsynchronized sound,and almost always do.

The "Transmitter" production logo of RKO Radio Pictures (1929-1957)

Production logos are becoming commonplace inonline video platformssuch asYouTube,often as "channel" branding. Online channels may have a professional production team, or may be self-produced by an individual or asole proprietor.Thebarrier to entryfor professionalaudiovisualproductionis constantly falling, and the professionalism of self-produced branding now often rivals traditional production modes.

History

Paramount mountain logo, c.1940

In the early days ofHollywood,production logos and brands were simple and very much like their print counterparts, usually appearing ontitle cardsand in the openingcredits.TheParamount Picturesmountain logo 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.MGMandUniversalwere the first studios to take advantage of the new medium's possibilities, MGM first usingLeo the Lionin 1924, adapted from Goldwyn Pictures, and Universal debuting their globe around the same time.RKO Radio Picturesused their rotating globe and radio transmission tower with aMorse code-beeping soundtrack as early as 1929.In the 1930s,Twentieth Century Picturesintroduced their futuristic "tower" logo, which had moving searchlights; it was carried over when they merged withFox Film Corporationin 1935 and became 20th Century-Fox. The first version ofColumbia's mascot used a sparkler to represent her torch, and Universal's globes could rotate.

The live-action lion mascot of Goldwyn Pictures from 1917, later Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM)

The advent of television in the 1950s also opened the door tocel animationin production logos. Most studios had used cels for their animation departments' 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 ProductionsandRevue Studiosall 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 andbroadcasterswere beginning to enter the computer age, using machines likeScanimate.

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 amatte paintingin 1984. TV logos began switching from cels and2D computer graphicsto3D computer graphicsaround 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. Paramount had introduced a digital-looking logo in late 1986, but only the foreground animation in their logo was computerized (the mountain backdrop was originally commissioned as a painting by the company, then a physical model made for the finished version). Universal's 1990 logo, introduced for its 75th anniversary, was pre-visualized with CG, but the actual logo was created using motion-control models. Throughout the 1990s, fully computer-generated logos increased in frequency.Disneyand MGM were two of the last major studios to re-design their logos with computer animation; Disney debuted the 3D rendition of its castle logo with the release ofPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chestin 2006,while MGM touched up its 1957 logo in 2012,before switching to a completely computer-animated rendition by 2021.Photorealistic CGI was also used in production logos, beginning with Warner Bros.' updated logo in 2021, which shows a realistic rendering of its studio lot including the iconicwater tower.

By 2007, almost all production logos have become produced (or edited) on computers, and have reached a level of sophistication equivalent to that of the best special effects. There are some exceptions; theMutant Enemy"grr, argh" ID was shot using acamcorderand paper models, and the producers ofSouth Parkeven recycled footage from an oldBraniff Airlinesad for their "vanity" logo. ProducerChuck Lorreuses his production card to post a long essay or observation in small type which changes each week and requires pausing with a recording device to read.

Video gameshave taken on production logos as their capabilities have increased, and most moderngame consoleshave startup logos in theirfirmware.In addition, games themselves now feature (sometimes elaborate) startup logos of both the companies that produce the games as well as the ones who develop them. Video game startup logos also frequently feature the logos ofgame enginesor othermiddlewareused in the games. As with films, the production logos are also used in trailers and commercials for the video games.

Manyautomobile manufacturersalso use startup logos for theirin car entertainmentsystems.

See also

• Opening credits
• Closing credits
• Billing
• Motion trademark
• Audio logo
• List of filmmakers' signatures