BLOG POST 04_STUDIO LOGOS

A studio Logo is a unique logo used by companies to brand and present themselves.

The purpose of studio logos:

• Audiences can easily identify which companies are involved in making specific films - In any film, the first thing we see is studio logos from different companies.

• They are expected by the audience.

• Reflect on the genre/storyline of the film.

Companies that make thriller films:

• Warner Bros.

• Dark Castle Entertainment - This is a division production company under Warner Bros.

• 20th Century Studios

• Blumhouse Productions

• Hammer Films

Warner Bros. :

Warner Bros. is one of the best and biggest Hollywood film production company.

1. The Batman (2022)

2. Joker (2019)

3. Orphan (2009)

4. Inception (2010)

5. The Shining (1980)

6. Harry Potter Series

7. The Dark Knight (2008)

This image shows the evolution of Warner Bros.'s logos.

The earliest ones were mostly black and white, but the 1929-1936 one used some pink colour around the text.

Warner Bros.'s first original logo was designed by one of the artists in the 1920s, but we don't know the specific person who designed it.

At first, the logos were all still images, with no animation or special effects added on. Then, in 1998, Warner Bros. commissioned Intralink film to animate their logo, which is the one with the golden shield around.

Since then, Warner Bros. started to make variations based on the animated logo that was their classic.

Warner Bros. did many variations with their logos depending on the genre of the film that they are making. For example, this logo was used in the movie Orphan (2009).

Unlike the classic one, Warner Bros. changed the background to black instead of the blue sky. This shows that this film is a thriller or horror because of the use of colour. Moreover, there are very highly saturated pink and blue paints splashed onto the logo. A contrast of warm and cold colour is demonstrated. The splashed paint gives the audience a sense of chaos and mess. This suggests a juxtaposition that is created at the start of the film and is probably foreshadowing something that might happen later on in the film. Again, this further implies the theme and genre of this film. Instead of the golden shield around the WB letter, they've also changed it to silver colour with a metal shining texture.

For the special effect, as the logo zooms out, the light turns on and off like it's broken. This is a symbolic code that a flashing light will appear in a thriller/horror film, to create atmosphere and bring the audience into the mood for the film.

After the full logo is shown, a few quick flashes of light change the logo to a silver texture without the paint on it.

This is another one where Warner Bros. made a special logo for Batman&Robin (1997).

This logo started with the normal aesthetic of blue sky and golden colour of Warner Bros. However, this quickly changes to a dark blue colour with the low-pitched, moaning sound of two descending notes. This colour also reveals the genre, which is a thriller, to the audience at the beginning of the film.

Then, the blue version of Warner Bros.'s logo deforms and expands again to the iconic logo of Batman. As it changes, a loud creaking sound is produced simultaneously with a formation of ice at the edge of the Batman logo. This unique sound and change of appearance grab the audience's attention with the first thing that's shown to them, making them more engaged and interested to keep on watching.

As the camera zooms in, Warner Bros.'s name is mentioned again in the middle of the logo. Then, the director's name, (Joel Schumacher) is also shown in the same place as the company's name. The theme song of this film is also played at the back which gives another iconic element of this specific film.

A symbol is created by using the iconic logo of Batman so that the audience immediately recognizes this film's main character.

The ice broke apart when only the bat in the middle of the logo is in the frame, and with a very loud cracking sound. The fragments of ice move forward very quickly toward the audience to create an intense feeling as if the ice is about to crash into the audience. This cracking of ice also foreshadows the disruption of equilibrium that is about to happen in the story.

Blumhouse Productions:

Blumhouse Productions is an American film company that makes thriller and horror films.

1. The Visitor (2022)

2. Get Out (2017)

3. The Black Phone (2022)

4. Vengeance (2022)

5. Us (2019)

6. Seven in Heaven (2018)

First Blumhouse Productions logo in 2012

Second Blumhouse Productions logo in 2021

This is the production logo made for The Black Phone (2022).

The logo starts with Michale Myers from the Halloween series of slasher films standing behind a tree in the forest. The left side is dark and uses the colour blue, this contrast with the right side as there is a spot of yellow, warm light shining between the trees. Then, the camera quickly zooms out into the window of a house. It keeps on zooming out and out, and we see two female characters standing together holding hands. The left girl wears the Statue of Liberty mask from The Purge and a bunny mask on the right girl's face. It zooms back further into a small living room with a couch, table, gift box, cupcake, and a knife stabbed onto the table. Further back is a bathroom with a person in the bathtub with water dripping out. A monster's hand with long nails is reached out as we zoom out again. Follow by two darker rooms, a bedroom with a camera inside, and a room with a wooden chair and a broken television.

Then, the last zoom out shows that all the scenes are inside a big house, which is the house in the middle of the Blumhouse name. We exist through one of the windows at the side of the house and a red door which brings us to the formal logo of Blumhouse. The house then turns into the "H" letter with glowing bright light shining at the back of the logo.

The

There were creepy sounds of women crying and some monsters groaning while we were inside the house. As we exit from the window, a loud whoosh sound brings us to the logo of Blumhouse.

Throughout the scenes inside the house, we see lots of elements used from different movies that Blumhouse produced. The teacup from 'Get Out', two masked girls from 'The Purge', and Michale Myer from The Halloween series.

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INITIAL DESIGN:

This is the initial design of my studio logo.

I've been considering the colour that I'm going to use for my studio logo. At first, I started with the blue one because I think it brings a feeling of cold and mystery to the audience. Whereas the red one is more horror and scary. I think the red one would better fit with my genre for the opening film. And the colour will work well with the blood-dripping effect that I added to the letter. And I extended the blood to drip onto the big logo in the middle, where it's simply just a "D" and "Z" letter overlapping each other.

FINAL OUTCOME:

I used the software Jian Ying to add more texture and animation to my studio logo. In the end, I chose to go with the colour red for the background and use white and darker red fonts on top. Along with the lightning sounds and the shining special effects, it created quite a suspenseful and horror feeling.