I have decided to evaluate the titles from a variety of well-known production companies. These logos could potentially be use at the beginning of our film opening as an introduction credit. I have evaluated the relevance of each title and whether or not they are suitable for our chosen film genre, which is horror.
Universal
Pros:
- Universal have history of working alongside many successful horror films so will not be new to them.
- They are known to have a variety of adapted titles depending on the film being played so there's a possibility one of their many variations could fit with our particular film opening.
- The music used throughout the introduction logo is a fanfare making the atmosphere bright and happy which wouldn't suit the theme of our horror film opening.
Walt Disney
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company owned by The Walt Disney Company. The fantasy castle title was introduced in 1985 as before hand they began each film with 'Walt Disney Presents...' It features a white sleeping beauty castle against a generally blue background, made out to be a starry sky. The studio's name is displayed in Waltograph typeface.
The sound used in the introduction is from Pinocchio and is called "When You Wish Upon A Star". Since the release of 'The Muppets' in 2011, both 'Walt' and 'Pictures' were dropped from the title.
Pros:
- Walt Disney Pictures is extremely successful so it will be easily recognisable
- Disney is known to focus on animated children films / child friendly films- not horror.
- The music and the image of the castle shown does not fit well with out film opening.
Warner Bros Pictures is an American film production company, with it being one of the major production companies out there it produces a vast amount of films of a variety of genres. The Warner Bros title is famously known to have kept its shield as its basic premise but refined the image over time. With it sometimes introducing custom titles to reflect the theme of a particular film.
I found a wonderful article listing over 200 variations of the warner bros title:
http://annyas.com/screenshots/warner-bros-logo/
The title displayed above was introduced to screens in 2004 starting with the film 'Troy' and is still being used now. It's a shield floating in the clouds stamped with the initials WB, over time the the font has changed ever so slightly and also the colour of both the shield and clouds too. In 2011, they added the 'A TimeWarner Company' below the shield.
I chose to include an example of where Warner Bros slightly alter their title depending on the theme of the film they're introducing. This logo was used in the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One(2010). As you can see the idea of the title (the clouds and initials) hasn't changed but with the use of different colours it works really well with its designated film.
Pros:
- Again, they are known to have a variety of titles depending on the film being played so there's a possibility one of the variations could fit with our particular film opening (e.g. the Harry Potter example above).
- Warner Bros is very successful thus easily recognisable, which is a bonus.
- They have connotations to comedies such as Looney Tunes
- Warner Bros have been worked with many horror films so it may seem to ordinary and expected.
TriStar Pictures is an American film production company owned by Sony. The particular title displayed above was introduced in 2015, it's very similar to the variations before with there being clouds in the background(similar to Warner Bros) with a light shining to show daylight, in addition a pegasus runs across the clouds standing on its hind legs with its wings spread out. In golden font, 'TRISTAR' appears above the pegasus with 'a Sony Company' written underneath.
The accompaniment used to aid the title was composed by a jazz musician in 1984 but has since been remixed in both 1993 and again in 1998.
Pros:
- Natural lighting can easily be faded into opening scenes.
- Lack popularity and as much recognition as other companies
Paramount Pictures is an American film production company, also part of the 'big-six'. The mountain has been the company's title since it's creation making it the oldest surviving Hollywood film title. Although the title idea has stayed the same, a few little changes have been made over the years. The stars around the word 'Paramount' have a meaning, there are 24 each representing the 24 stars signed to the company at the time.
Pros:
- Is easily identified and can be faded well into a number of opening scenes or frames.
- The use of clouds and stars are too optimistic to be followed by a psychologically challenging horror sequence.
MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer one of American's oldest film production companies, and one of the greatest. Since the company began, seven different lions have been used to star in the title; Slats, Jackie, Telly, Tanner, George and Leo. Leo has been used in the title for the past 58 years and counting.
The title consists of a black background with a flicker of light where the image shown zooms out to reveal the pupil of a lion's eye. Then the lion is shown surrounded by ribboning, a mask and the words 'trade mark'. The company name then appears above the ribbon and whilst this happens, the lion roars.
The sound is very simple as whooshes and the sound of a running film projector are used at the beginning, and then the lion's first roar is heard which mutes the background sound. After the second roar an extra growling sound is added.
Pros:
- Warner Bros is also very successful thus easily recognisable, which is a bonus.
- The lions roar cannot easily be faded into a non diegetic soundtrack.
Lionsgate is the most successful film production company that's not based in Los Angeles. It was established in 1977 and has since involved itself in a variety of films of all different genres. The title has changed a lot over time, the one above was introduced in 2005. It involves a short camera journey going through a key hole and opening the doors to show the word 'Lionsgate' appear surrounded by red clouds that seem to represent fire.
A majestic fanfare taken from one of the Batman themes is used for the sound of most Lionsgate films. However, the horror version has the sounds of doors creaking etc. With the doors and gears being rusted and with the sound being scary and spooky it creates a wonderful horror movie effect. On rare occasions, the sound is silent and instead the film's opening music is the only sound heard.
Pros:
- Again, they are known to have a variety of titles depending on the film being played so there's a possibility one of the variations could fit with our particular film opening.
- This film production company is very successful and therefore withholds a great reputation, so this could help our film opening to reach a wider audience.
- The red and darkness of the surrounding clouds are difficult to fade or cut to natural scene in outside locations, seems odd.
Dream Works Pictures is an American film production company established in 1994. The title features a boy sitting on a crescent moon, while fishing. The music accompanying the title is not the type to be use for a horror film. Also, the different coloured font helps to create a childish theme to it. In addition it's based on animation films, not horror films so we wouldn't be able to use it anyway.
Pros:
- Easily recognisable, and uses sound in the back ground to gain audience attention.
- DreamWorks is an American animation film company - our film opening isn't animated.
- Very childish, more for prepubescent youths which are not our intended audience.
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Columbia Pictures is an American film production company owned by Sony. With it also being part of the 'big-six' production companies it produces a huge variety of films of different genres. The title is of a woman carrying a torch with the American flag wrapped around her. Again, the title has been refined throughout the years. The current title (above) was created in 1992.
Pros:
- The background of the clouds can easily be faded into our opening scene which is set in outside locations, as the lighting is similar.
- Much like paramount, seems too hopeful with the use of a torch.
Intrepid Pictures is a fairly new film production company, founded in 2004. The title features a man standing facing what seems to be a red sky filled with lightening, possibly representing fire. The introduction title is very quick which makes it more effective. The font matches the theme of our film opening; horror. The sound used is also very effective and fits in well as it's just the sound of lightening.
Pros:
- The music used is very threatening making it fit well with our opening being of the horror genre. This is further displayed by the use of sound effects such as rumbling thunder.
Cons:
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox is an American film production company, founded in 1935. The introduction title has probably the most recognisable accompaniment with it being the drums and trumpet 'fox fanfare' by Alfred Newman. However in 1997 the composer's son David Newman re-recorded it to modernise it. The title displays the title '20th Century Fox' in big, bold and gold writing with 'a news corporation company' written below. Spotlights are shown in the two bottom corners adding an animated effect.
Pros:
- Modern due to the "20th Century"
- The sound aiding the film production title is very well-known and doesn't fit with the horror film opening that would go with it.
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