My own institutional logo for our production company

This is the institutional logo I designed for our production company. I chose to keep it simple; only incorporating the key elements from the name into the visual side of it with a minimalist approach.

Research on institutional logos

Mainstream film companies usually have animated/moving logos. An example of this is MGM, which has featured Leo the lion in it's logo since 1924. Another example is Universal, which has had it's name orbiting earth since 1923 (when it was first pulled by a biplane!). The use of movement in these logos makes them more memorable to the audience and allows for the company to show off that they have bigger budgets with the use of CGI or in MGM's case, lions (6 to date).

 Independent film companies, however, tend to go for more simplistic and static logos. This reflects their lower budget quality over quantity approach to film-making by giving more of an understated and minimalist look. As they do not have larger budgets things such as CGI is more difficult for them to fund, and so these logos are also more economical financially for the company; allowing them to spend what little budget they have on the film itself. I chose Film4 and Lionsgate as some examples of this; Film4 being especially simple, with a minimalist two-tone look which I'm a great fan of personally.

This will help me as it outlines the key ways in which Mainstream and Independent institutions make their logos differently; giving me a clear, simple view on how I can design an institutional logo for my own company which reflects the type of institution it is more suitably.

Our production company

We will be an independent film company as our genre is very niche, and independent films target niche audiences specifically, whilst mainstream ones are much broader and thus larger. Another reason for being independent is that it will reflect the production value of our film better; we cannot afford to have big CGI sequences shot in 8K like mainstream films, but the lower resolution and simpler technologies used in independent films is perfectly suited.

This will help us as it securely fixes which type of company we will be, which will reflect different aspects of our film, such as production value and genre.

Films that have influenced me

These are some films which have influenced me. This will help me as it lets me explore some films (most of which I first saw many, many years ago) and look into why they influenced me and how this could translate to a wider audience.

Valkyrie (2008)

This film is about the final years Claus Von Stauffenberg (played by Tom Cruise); the Nazi who tried to kill Hitler. This film influenced me as it is the first which I came across which represented the stereotypical baddies as the good guys; this was a refreshing take on the conflict which I found very interesting as it was a big risk for MGM which I personally think resulted in a very good film (however critic's reviews are mixed). Although receiving relatively poor reviews, it grossed $200 million, making it the fifth highest grossing WW2 film to date.

The Wind Rises (2013)

This film is a biography of Jiro Horikoshi; a Japanese aircraft designer during WW2 and portrays his journey through design, his hatred and fear of war and his love (and eventual loss) of his wife. This film influenced me as it is a topic which has been an interest of mine for some years and it was amazing to see such a film created by the lovely Hayao Miyazaki (known most notably for My neighbour Totoro (1988)) as his final film with Studio Ghibli before his retirement. The film received great reviews and was a hit among Ghibli fans.

The Matrix (1999)

This film is a fictional depiction of a future where humans live through a computer system known as the Matrix, and follows him through his journey of escaping and putting an awful lot of trust in some people he's never met. This film influenced me as it is arguably one of (if not the) most iconic sci-fi film of all time and acted as my introduction to the genre.

Short Circuit (1986)

This film is about Johnny 5; the fifth robot in a group of experimental artificial intelligence research robots who gets electrocuted and escapes. This film has influenced me as it was one of the first films I saw which applied a great comedic value to what could be viewed as a very dark subject matter; later this led into a personal interest in satirical comedy and being naturally very sarcastic.

The most hated family in America (2007)

This film is arguably the most iconic and career-defining documentary by Louis Theroux; where he looks into the infamous WBC. This film influenced me as it was my first encounter with LGBT topics in my later childhood/early teenage years which not only helped me in realising my own personal identity but also introduced me into the world of ignorance, guided by the reassuring, loyal, and no-nonsense Louis Theroux. Despite being based on such a controversial topic it received great reviews; most probably stemming from Theroux's attitude to said topic.

A timeline of titles from a film in my chosen genre

This is a timeline of the titles from Borat (2006), It is set to the music of the Kazakhstan national anthem, which is fitting to the style of the film and puts the audience into an appropriate emotional state for the film. This will help me as it is a unique style of presenting credits, which I could use in my own film as it has proven to be effective in a well-known mockumentary.

Analysis of a film opening in our chosen genre

Tropic Thunder (2008)


Genre
Tropic thunder is a satirical action comedy/mockumentary centred around the war in Vietnam and a group of prima donna actors. The satirical side of the film is extremely prevelent, however, largely through the overdramatic scenes where one soldier is shot and another charged with a bayonet. The action and comedy sides also come across clearly through the subject matter of the film and the satirical nature of how it is presented.
Narrative
The mockumentary part of the film does not become obvious in this section of the film, however, as the film is instead set up to make the audience believe that what they are watching is the film itself, before the camera later pans around to show a crew; unveiling that this is in fact a film in a film. I like this style as it immerses the audience before and then shatters what they think is real, making them questin what is real and what is not for the rest of the film (in a similar style to Inception).
Character
The first major and most significant character (played by Ben Stiller) shown in the opening is introduced through an extremely overdramatic and laughably unrealistic escape from the enemy whist being shot with machine gun fire. This character also appears to be a parody of John Rambo, from the famous Rambo series, which debuted with Rambo: First Blood in 1982. This parody is most notable through the red bandana and inhuman resistance to bullets.
Atmosphere
The opening has a strong war/battlefield atmosphere, highlighted by soldiers, the aforementioned napalm and military vehicles, as well as diegetic gunfire and explosive sounds. However, despite his, I feel that it retains a satirical comedy style through how things such as one of the characters being shot being very intentionally overdone and unrealistic; this is clearly mocking the stern and professional style and delivery of stereotypical war films.
Setting
The film is set in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. This is very clearly shown throughout the opening, with period military uniforms, weapons and helicopters, jungle foliage, and infamous napalm; which is synonymous with the Vietnam war.
Sound

Our chosen genre and research

Mockumentaries are a form of satirical documentary, like a comedy mixed with a documentary. The earliest popular example is the 1957 BBC 'Swiss Spaghetti Harvest'. Some of their generic conventions include:

• Presenter/Voice-over narrator
• Fictional events are presented in a documentary style to create a parody
• Honest and natural nature; characters and situations are often very relatable to the target audience
• Often include 'real' footage of events and are presented to the audience as if they are real
• Often include interviews throughout like in a documentary

Mockumentary is a lesser-done yet popular genre. I know this as arguably the most well known and popular Mockumentary, Borat (2006) received good reviews and has become somewhat of an icon of the genre.

Comedies are an extremely popular genre, with such films as Deadpool (2016) and Airplane (1980) being two prominent works. These are popular as their aim is to amuse the audience, and so are usually positive in nature.

War films have been popular ever since the Second World War (where the war itself was first shown in film as it was ongoing), and the release of early popular films such as Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Saving Private Ryan (1998) sparked off the more modern Hollywood blockbuster War films.

Action has always been extremely popular film genre, with earlier films such as The Terminator (1984) sparking an entire series of films, with the latest instalment Terminator Genisys being released in 2015; proving that the series and genre is still well-known and appreciated.