Gagandeep Seehra

Brief one (Silver Lining Productions) Research

I have chosen Silver Linings Productions (Brief one) for my media project because it is based on creating a print piece and e-media (website). By choosing this brief I will be researching some logos which look good representing themselves and the film or documentary they have produced over the years they have been in production. I will also research e-media/ websites and documentary ad campaigns which will help me create my own.

Many film companies, TV stations and music stations don’t have a great deal of words on their logos which shows to me that I will not need much to show to my audience what I am talking about. This means that not much needs to be on my logo.

Most current logos which are presented to us currently are very bold and let you into what is going to being broadcasted to us, whether it is a film, a new TV series of some sort or even a documentary. They all are sold to us by the logo. Whether the logo is a reliable source, show to the public that it is someone who we can trust.

Channel 4 have used various ways to present themselves to their audience which is effective as the viewers are not sold the same logo over and over again which make marketing more effective.

However, Channel 4 have always used the recognizable number 4, we are instantly aware who they are before anything else is read. Therefore by the four being represented by a crane and cars, as viewers, we are instantly aware that the four is being represented or recreated by objects in the image.

Channel four use a 3D number 4 to represent themselves which is very bold and revealing. The creator has not hidden the number from us, it is in front of us where everyone can see it. If the channel four creator was to hide the number four, we as an audience would be unaware of what we are watching and if the logo was not bold and the background obstructing the number, we again would have difficulty of knowing what we are watching and therefore channel four would not be advertising and promoting themselves. This is because of viewer unable to see the logo clearly. Therefore, when making my logo, I will take into account what my logo is going to be representing and how it will be represented and shown to the audience. Using a number or something symbolic that will stand out will advertise enhanced than just text. Another thing that will be thought about is the colour scheme. By the colour of the logo being too bright, viewers will be unable to know who the producer is. If the font is too small again, the viewer is unable to know who we are as a producer. Therefore, font and colour will be controlled and taken into account.

The producers of channel four have gave the number four another meaning. As a replacement for being the number four, it is known to us as being the channel ‘four‘ which presents different types of media to us. This is a good point to consider when making my logo as, this allows me to create a different meaning to my logo. Weather I shorten a whole word to an acronym for example, Silver Linings Productions to ‘SLP’ or even just using an image to represent the company.

E4 is channel four’s sister channel and they also have used their logo in different ways to present themselves to the public. E4 use a purple background along with a clear white number four with the E inside the four. This is a good way in presenting their channel name as one as it is merged together and anyone who was to view the logo would instantly become aware of what channel they are on.

The background colour of the E4 logo is usually purple however, wherever colour cannot be shown it appears as a black and white image. Both images can be seen clearly regardless of if it was in colour or black and white this shows that when creating my logo is must have be clear so that in both colour and black and white it can be shown to the audience without no errors.

Another example of a logo which is bold and appeals to the audience would be the BBC logo. The logo is bold and they have also used an acronym to shorten the logo like previously channel 4 only uses the number 4 to represent them. Both ideas will help me into making my own design. For example I will think about the background colour. It must be bright however, not to bright. By doing this, the lettering will be bolder and will stand out. If the logo background was too bright or too dark it may have an effect on the way the viewer read the logo.

Another thing which will be considered will whether the lettering is in capitals or lower case letters. By having the lettering bold and in capitals makes the logo stand out and eye-catching because the audience are able to view the logo clearly. Therefore, I will be considering whether I will use capital letters or lower case letters.

Font is another factor which has been thought about when creating the BBC logo and any other logo. There are certain fonts which I am able to use which will make a big impact on the way the logo is portrayed. If the font is unclear it will cause difficulty in reading the logo. On the other hand, by the font being the write size and having the right colour the audience is able to read the font clearly and understand that logo is made for a film production

Another example of a logo which is bold and at the same time is bright and appealing is the 20^thcentury fox film television productions logo. The creator has used a big and bold 20 in the logo which represents the decade of filming. This makes the logo stand out and shows the audience who they are. Whereas, the channel 4 logo has only got the ‘4’ which represents themselves. Both ideas will help me into making my own design this is because, I will think about the background colours which will be used. If the colour of the background is too bright or too dark the audience will have difficulty in reading my logo and it will not stand out.

In this instance, the producer of the logo has used a picture in the background which is the sky with some clouds. The colour of the clouds is a close match to the colour of the 20^th century fox television logo. By the colours being slightly off makes the objects in front of the background, the lettering and film lights, stand out and gives them more authority over the background.

Another thing which will be considered will be whether the lettering is in capitals or lower case letters. By having the lettering bold and in capitals makes the logo stand out and eye-catching because the audience are able to view the logo clearly. However, with the lettering being in lower case it will still be eye-catching but, it will not be as eye-catching as the lettering being in capitals. Therefore, I will be considering whether I will use capital letters or lower case letters when creating my logo.

Font is another factor which has to be thought about when creating the logo and any other logo. There are certain fonts which I am able to use which will make a big impact on the way the logo is portrayed. If the font is unclear it will cause difficulty in reading the logo. On the other hand, by the font being the write size and having the right colour the audience is able to read the font clearly and understand that logo is made for a film production.

Overall, the logo which I will be creating for silver lining productions will be thought about using the factors which have been outlined in the logo which I have analysed. Background colour/ image, the colours used in the logos, the lettering (capital letters or lower case), font and other factors. By using the logos which I have analysed will make my logo look professional and not look out of place when it is showcased and when it is presented to the public for the first time.

DreamWorks: DreamWorks does not have much explaining who they are because we as an audience know what they do and who they are. This means that you do not have to have a great deal of words on a film company logo. Simply, if there were pictures which will be known and a slogan and company name with a picture, the audience will identify you. This may be through the image, slogan or company name. By DreamWorks using a picture in there advertisement, as an audience we know who they are as we are familiar with the picture.

Reel Farm: Reel Farm have combined a tractor and a reel of film as the two wheels. This is a good example as people are familiar with a reel as films were recorded on a reel of film. This shows to the audience that Reel Farm are part of a movie production. Therefore, the tractor represents the ‘Farm’ in the name. I think this is good because it shows its audience what they are and who they are.

Different Ad Campaigns

Silver Lining involves doing an ad campaign which is a print for a documentary which is to be created. Therefore I will be researching different ad campaigns which have already been presented to the media. An example of an ad campaign which I will be researching first is Car SOS. This is a documentary documenting on two main characters who work together to make various peoples life a better place by restoring there pride and joys.

When creating the ad campaign there are a couple of things which must be considered such as positioning of information and the type of images which are to be involved. The image must be chosen to suite the campaign.

The information which is presented on the campaign must also be put in a particular place. For example, in most present campaigns the information which is presented to the audience is usually running at the bottom of the poster. The font must also be considered as it must not be too large or too small. The information must not distract the attention of the viewer. Therefore, the information must be an appropriate size and at the bottom of the poster.

Another example of a documentary which has been presented to the media by ad campaign is ‘For the Love of Cars’ which was aired on Channel 4. The image below show’s one of the documentary’s ad campaign. The print piece itself is conventional as it is more what the show is about rather than what others think of the show i.e. reviews of the show in the print piece. Therefore, it is not important to have much information presented to the media by the print piece.

The image again is well laid out and the rule of thirds is used in the one poster. This is important as this determines where the information, title and release date will be placed on the poster. This should the fore be considered when creating my own ad campaign.

For the love of cars have also been featured in a magazine. The being the ‘Mini Magazine’. This magazine had incorporated the documentary’s name on the magazine front cover. ‘FOR THE LOVE OF MINIS’ is the exact way it is shown. Therefore, if my print work was to be a magazine I could use this idea and make a magazine which would follow this convention.

The magazine cover is packed with information therefore I would have to take this into account and follow this convention to make my magazine feel the same as any other one that would be displayed for sale in any shop.

The third platform which I also will research is e-media. This image below shows a website which advertises its show. The website is a build-up of advertisements, pictures, videos and information about the show. Along with all of this, users are also able to contact the production company to ask questions.

When thinking about creating my own website I will take into consideration which pages I will create and what information and content that will be on them. When creating my website I must include two types of advertising which could include:

Banner advertising
Official web-page/site
Pop ups
In page advertising
A Social Network page*
Other e-media advertising that you think would be appropriate.

If I was to choose banner advertisement, I must think about the banner’s colour pallet, what font the text will be if there was to be text and I was to include an image how big and what image to use. The image must not be too bright and colourful which blanks out text and the text not being too dominant so that the image is lost behind the text.

If I was to make an official web-page/site, I would have to consider aspects of the text. How large the text would be to make it suitable on the website. The colour of the text so it is not lost with the background colour/s, the images I would put on the web-page/site is another factor which has to be taken into consideration.

A social networking page also requires thinking about. The name of the page is a factor to take into account. The pictures that will be shared with the public on the social network page.

Logos

All the logos which are presented were created to present to an audience my idea of what a logo for Silver Lining Productions will look like.

When I thought of the name Silver Lining, I instantly thought of the clouds and the sky therefore, the first logo I created was the Silver Linings lettering with clouds merged into the background of the lettering. This created a new and non-existing logo which could be used to portray Silver Lining Productions. Filtering was not needed.

I also made the logo with a black background keeping the lettering the same as before with the clouds inside. This looked slightly developed making it useful on a black/ dark background if I was to use it.

Another idea I had was to create a logo with the mountains and hills with a bit of sky and clouds still in view of the logo therefore I decided to use the pictures I had taken and offer them up against the productions name. However, I thought this was not a conventional idea therefore I did not go with these two logos. Most conventional logos use different objects that they will use to film a movie such as reels, cameras, lights and so on.

I then decided to use the sky again and however, again change it with waves along with the productions name. However, again I thought this was not a conventional idea therefore I again did not go with this idea.

My final design I feel looks most appropriate in regards to Silver Lining Productions. The logo consists of all conventional aspects such as the film reel or showcase lights.

A film reel is used in most film production logos, some examples are; reel library who incorporate the film reel with a grey back ground; slow motion who have used the film reel to portray a snails shell and also Reel Farm who have used the film reel for the tractor wheels. All who produce and create films.

The showcase lights also show and would portray Silver Lining Productions because Silver Linings is a film company who would showcase their films which have been constructed. An example of a film logo with showcase lights is 20^th century fox.

Social network

Facebook logo: the Facebook logo’s intention is to present their selves to its audience. An audience such as social networkers. I think it is a good example because it is Facebook. You could say they chose to use a blue background because it is a cool colour and it goes with the Facebook theme.

Twitter logo: the twitter logo is just a ‘T’. This letter represents twitter because twitter starts with the letter ‘T’. We all can see that the ‘T’ stands for twitter as that is what twitter wants us to know. Twitter also have used the colour blue which could be said to show and represent the sky as birds are it the sky and birds ‘tweet’ as a sound and they fly in the sky.

I think that both logos are good examples for my work as it is simple and it says everything about their identity. Facebook and twitter are both represented by one letter which shows that many people don’t need a large number of sentences to identify a product or in this case a social networking site’s. Both are also very simple and the audience is able to determine and know what they are.

Coursework; magazine