We need an iconic F3 logo!

Duke M.

Duke M.

Veteran
One thing that Jim Janard is a genius at doing is marketing. The whole website, the logo, etc has a certain 'steam punk' heavy duty industrial feel to it. He did the same thing with the Oakley building when he owned Oakley.

The F3 is becoming a world class camera, but Sony really isn't marketing it all that much. Not that I particularly want to promote Sony, but a promotion of the camera is a promotion of our services and businesses. One problem is the name F3 doesn't mean or say anything. Part of JJ's genius was to name his camera Red. Why would someone name a camera a color?

'Red' is short and has a visual meaning. When you look at the Red logo, the red button in the middle immediately pops up in your face and the steam punk edges surround it. The logo is iconic. It's immediately recognisable identification.

One idea is to have part of the logo fade from black to white (dynamic range), or have part of it show the richness of the colors, etc. It doesn't need to say Sony. A variation of Cinealta maybe to draw on the Star Wars heritage? (but without trademark infringement) Or do something interesting with 'F3'? (PMW-F3 just isn't catchy.) And something that doesn't just mimic Red.

Is there anyone out there with graphic arts abilities, or several people that would try their hand at a logo for F3 owner/operators?
 
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I'm just spitballing here:

1. Possible Names/phrases?

F3 Owner/Operators (kind of bland)
Cinema Creativity powered by F3
F3 - the power of Cinema
Industrial Strength Cinema (underneath) with a big F3 in the middle.

2. Styles/Colors?

Industrial has a certain attraction.
Could go further into steam punk. (the advantage to that is warmer colors like burnished copper, gold, etc.)
Could go Caterpillar yellow / heavy duty
Could go gun metal colors
Could go brushed metal, like stainless, but should mix different colors. All stainless looks cold.
 
I honestly don't see how having some F3 logo re-design is going to bring in clients.
But maybe your case is different, like just camera rental service.
In my situation clients hire me, and I select the tools needed to deliver the results they are after.
 
Not all clients are repeat clients. Do you pick the camera, or the client picks it? If the client picks it, it doesn't matter. If you pick the camera the client's perception of your professionalism is an element of your marketing.

When someone sees ARRI or RED on the side of the camera it has a certain cache, a resonance with the clients. Sony doesn't have that resonance because Sony has a wide range of products. Some more professional than others. I'd like the client to see a logo and think 'good'.
 
F3 just sounds like a 3rd rate Race Series (as in F1). Uphill battle there....

Sony wouldn't adopt something like that so there would be no connection between the logo and any official websites or brochures etc, so the logo would never get any real exposure (unlike the RED logos which are on all the official websites, and which a number of RED users seem to incorporate into their own company logos (as well as buying and wearing official t-shirts and caps from the RED store).

But surely the quality of the footage will sell it more than an unofficial logo? I saw a Phillip Bloom blog recently where he was shooting some night scenes around a fire - he had to discard the Epic as the footage was unusable, while the F3 footage crisp and noise free.

For every Dodge Ram & Plymouth Barracuda you get a Ford F540 or a Ferrari 308.

Maybe you should just focus on the hype-free nature of the beast – it’s a practical and efficient camera that gets the job done without any of the desperate attention grabbing stunts and ‘cool’ marketing other companies seem to enjoy wallowing in.

F3. BS Free.
 
simonpwood said:
Maybe you should just focus on the hype-free nature of the beast – it’s a practical and efficient camera that gets the job done without any of the desperate attention grabbing stunts and ‘cool’ marketing other companies seem to enjoy wallowing in.

F3. BS Free.
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I like that. Maybe on a bolt head. Although I'm certainly no graphic artist.

F3Logo.jpg

PS. Seeing the footage is after the shoot. Perception affects expectations before the shoot. And no, I definitely do not want to get into hype like Red does.
 
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Use the CineAlta logo, that's what I'm doing in my marketing and self promotion with the F3.

I do have serious graphics capabilities though, so give me some ideas and I can come up with something. I've already started working on several F3 banners for websites, I'd be happy to share that for use by anyone who wants to promote the F3.

All this makes good sense to me. We should even register a site dedicated to the F3 with tons of into and resources to it on the internet to educate people on what it is and why it is so great. I can offer to host the site for free, I own web server that I rent space out to clients.
 
Not bad idea, RED definitely got its marketing right with its brand recognition and the F3 is worthy of its own iconic status.
 
TimurCivan said:
Go with Cine-alta.

Sony has marketed the hell out of that.
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My concern with that is that Sony has Cinealta as a registered trade mark. Its probably copyright protected too since it is a made up word. I'd want Sony permission to include it in a logo. They might be willing to give that permission as it would promote their product, or they might say they want to approve everything that uses it. (The latter is more likely.)
 
starcentral said:
Use the CineAlta logo, that's what I'm doing in my marketing and self promotion with the F3.

I do have serious graphics capabilities though, so give me some ideas and I can come up with something. I've already started working on several F3 banners for websites, I'd be happy to share that for use by anyone who wants to promote the F3.

All this makes good sense to me. We should even register a site dedicated to the F3 with tons of into and resources to it on the internet to educate people on what it is and why it is so great. I can offer to host the site for free, I own web server that I rent space out to clients.
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Can we see some of what you've done?
 
I made this draft using various images from Sony's site. Definitely violates some copyrights to use it on a large scale, but for personal brochures and self marketing I think its okay.

sony F3.jpg
 
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A really nice banner. I need to look into the trade mark and copyright issues. Its not that we are claiming the trademark as our own, but merely advertising that we are using their product.
 
I wouldn't worry about copyright. Use the cinealta logo if you want. Just don't modify it and don't make it part of another logo if you are worried about copyright and if you don't want to take the risk of someone telling you to take it down (because that's the worst thing that could happen, seriously).

Sony doesn't care about people that uses their logo to rent the camera they sold. Besides that it's free promotion.

Like Timur said, use the cinealta logo. Everyone knows it and everyone trusts it.
 
Duke M. said:
A really nice banner. I need to look into the trade mark and copyright issues. Its not that we are claiming the trademark as our own, but merely advertising that we are using their product.
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There are some mistakes, but it was just a draft I worked on. I had another version but need to dig it up.

I still think the CineAlta logo makes the most sense to market, I keep telling people the F3 is from the same line of cameras used by George Lucas on Star Wars. If that doesn't work, tell them it costs $16k. :D
 
killamill said:
I wouldn't worry about copyright. Use the cinealta logo if you want. Just don't modify it and don't make it part of another logo if you are worried about copyright and if you don't want to take the risk of someone telling you to take it down (because that's the worst thing that could happen, seriously).
Sony doesn't care about people that uses their logo to rent the camera they sold. Besides that it's free promotion.
Like Timur said, use the cinealta logo. Everyone knows it and everyone trusts it.
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The Cinealta logo is known, but pretty much everything else you said is legally incorrect. Please don't give advice like that.

If you do a big budget movie and show a Pepsi or Coke logo (product placement) without getting permission and try telling them it's promotion for their product when the lawsuit is filed. You'll end up paying a bunch a money.

Universal closed down all the Star Trek fan sites on the internet a few years back when they didn't pay licensing fees.
 
Use CineAlta logo for personal website use, it should be no problem, and its pretty much what everone else does. Not to mention the gold reflective version of the CineAlta logo is very nice looking.
 
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