Website Research

Iconic Directors

Production Company Logo Research

Production Company Logo Research

Before creating our own production company logo, we looked into famous production companies and their logos which are used in movies. We looked at the main features of their logos including; colouring, font and animation.

The Weinstein Company

The Weinstein Company introduction is kept short with the logo being the only thing featured.  The logo fades in and out and then fades out at the end of the intro. This draws the viewers attention in and makes the logo stand out. The company name is also the last thing seen during this fade out.The background is black which makes the white logo bolder. The logo is kept simple and only features three triangles. Music is played in the background of the introduction which makes it seem more dramatic and grabs attention. This logo shows that we do not need to over complicate our own production company intro/logo.

Miramax Films

Miramax's production company logo focuses more on the animation than the actual logo. It has a big introduction with a sweep through a city. Its actual logo only appears in the lsat couple of seconds of the introduction. We are not going to be able to do this kind of animation as we do not have the skill or the time. The Miramax logo is kept very simple with a black background and a bold white font. The word 'Miramax' is the biggest word as it is the name of the company so it needs to stand out. Music is played in the background to make it seem more dramatic. We could use some sound in ours but it would only be impactful if it was an animation.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Unlike the others, MGM has remained simplistic when it comes to animation and sound. The only moving part of this logo is the lion in the middle which roars. The actual logo is complicated with many artistic pieces added. It takes up the whole screen and is balanced on both sides. The background is black which makes the golden-orange colour of it stand out. The production company's name is the biggest part of the logo so it stands out. We will most likely keep our logo design simple and less decorative but MGM's logo intro showed that if we were to make our logo animatic then keeping it simple works too.

Our own production company logo/introduction should be kept short to hold attention but also due to the limited skills and time we have. It is most common for the logo to be featured on a black background with bold lettering to make the name stand out. If the logo were to be an animation  sound (most likely music) should be added. If there is no movement sound should not be added and it should be kept a still.

Difficulties Encountered During Editing

Rough Cuts

Final Trailer 'These Hands, If Not Gods'

The Font

First Draft

This is the first drat for our trailer 'Theses Hands, If Not Gods'. From audience feedback, we have received many helpful comments to improve our trailer. A recurring aspect that was mentioned was the opening of the trailer. Some felt that it was too long for a trailer and shot cut straight to the protagonist going int the party. We agree with this and we will look into cutting down this section to make it more appropriate for a trailer.

Another comment that was made was the shot types that we have used. There are quite a few mid shots and some peopled suggested adding in some more different shots. To improve on this comment we will look into adding a larger variety of shots for example, more close up shots.

First Draft (Unfinished)

Music

Our initial concept for music was to go for an upbeat, indie, rock song. We wanted this style of music as we thought it would match the edgier, social realism feel of our piece. We also felt that it would fit with the themes of our original idea.  Examples of this include the music used in the trailer for Kids (1995). This type of music is linked to rock culture which has connotations of violence and drugs, these elements as also commonly associated with teenagers. To find songs like this, we explored band such as 'Slaves'.

Due to our change in idea, we decided to move away from the rock side of music as it would not work well with the romance genre. Instead we started to look more into indie music. This allowed us to still have a social realism edge, but incorporate music that was softer and more appropriate for our narrative. We looked into bands such as 'Lake Jons'.

Once we had settled on the sound that we wanted for our trailer, we started off by looking at what copyright free music was available for us to use. However we were continuously unsuccessful with our search. This led to us emailing several small bands, including some of which Scarlett has seen live. We got responses from some saying they were happy for us to use their music in our piece. The song which we decided on in the end as it was most fitting was 'Let Me Love You' by 'Coasts'.

For the music in the opening party scene we decided we wanted a song that had a strong baseline with some layered sounds over the top, including sound effects of people talking. We looked at copyright free music but we were unsuccessful in finding a song that would fit with our piece. For reason, we created the music ourselves on Garage-band. We also manipulated the music to make the it sound quiet and muffled when he is walking up to the house and then clear and loud when he is inside the party. 

Difficulties Encountered During Filming

Audience Expectations

Shooting Day Four

Shooting Day Four

Behind the scenes of shooting day 4.

The fourth shooting day was when we filmed big portions of our trailer. There were again issues with the weather as it rained heavily. This meant some of our shots were wasted due to there being water droplets on the camera lens or there being a slight blur from where we tried to dry the camera. However the rain did allow us to film some effective shots which enhanced the emotion of the characters.