5 ms·
The Photo Behind the Iconic Columbia Pictures 'Torch Lady' Logo (2022)
- xnx 3y agoSeems like the current iteration is the version of the logo Columbia has used the longest: https://www.hatchwise.com/resources/the-complete-history-of-the-columbia-pictures-logo https://www.hatchwise.com/resources/the-complete-history-of-...
- viraptor 3y agoWhat do the model payments look like in this situation? I hope she got more than a one-off payment for becoming the face of Hollywood in a way. Is that further complicated by them using a painting based on the photo?
- darksim905 3y agoPretty sure the history goes she got paid anywhere from $25 to $500 for the photo as a one time payment.
- ErigmolCt 3y agoWith models I think it usually goes that way
- globular-toast 3y agoWhy? The model gave her time and got paid just like countless other workers. Does a bricklayer continue to receive payment for every year the house is lived in?
- probably_wrong 3y agoPerhaps not a bricklayer, but many of the actors in those same films keep getting paid long after the film is done. And I bet "the Columbia logo lady" is more popular than most of them.
- robertlagrant 3y agoThat's because of competition. Royalties are negotiated up front, like any other compensation.
- globular-toast 3y agoThose actors usually exchange some of their up-front payment for a percentage of the film's profit. In other words, they are taking on some of the risk associated with film production and betting on their own appeal being enough to turn a profit and generate income. It would be like a bricklayer not taking any payment until the house was sold and therefore taking on the risks associated with the housing market. Most probably wouldn't want that. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
- bazoom42 3y agoIt is not a question of popularity, it is a question of negotiating power. Actors have a strong union and the “name” actors are important enough for the success of movies that the studios are willing to accept these conditions.
- ksherlock 3y agoA leading actor might negotiate a percentage of revenue (profit rarely exists due to Hollywood accounting) but union actors, directors, writers, stunt people, etc receive residuals for reruns, syndication, DVDs, streaming, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual_(entertainment_industry) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual_(entertainment_indust...
- viraptor 3y agoThe bricklayer knows what the end result will be, how it's going to be used, and sets the rates accordingly. After a photo shoot you can end up in the bin, or shown probably close to a million times a day to people around the world for decades.
- echoangle 3y agoIf the people selling photographs don’t like that, they should license them accordingly, right?
- viraptor 3y agoIn some imagined utopia, sure. Currently the bar to clear is "stop the production companies from eliminating most actors and destroying the the cinema as it exists" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_SAG-AFTRA_strike https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_SAG-AFTRA_strike I'm not sure who will want to discuss licensing rather than getting another person who needs money immediately and won't ask so many questions. Assuming they'll even bother with a model rather than an AI setup fixed up by a contracted graphics person.
- echoangle 3y agoCorrect, that should tell you everything you need to know about the market value, and why they don’t get constant royalties for images. There’s a lot of competition because many people are willing to do it for little money. I do not understand why people think this is bad though, that’s just how the market value of services is determined.
- account42 3y agoSo you think the brick layer should be paid different amounts if the building ends up being used as a soup kitchen or office building?
- viraptor 3y agoYou know the comparison is flawed and the two kinds of work are very different in almost every way. I expect some kinds of work to be measured in different ways than other, in the same way I don't think programmers should be paid per keypress.
- RamblingCTO 3y agoIt always amazes me how old film has such a quality, even after all these years. The photos could've been taken yesterday. Immaculate.
- aaronblohowiak 3y ago'91 was not "old film" as far as film goes..
- euroderf 3y agoConsider not the logo but the clip that opens films. Show the gal, show the torch, show "COLUMBIA". YMMV, but IMHO the preceding version (pre-90s) was much more, let's say, sensual. More feminine, less severe. I figured that the new (90s) version was a sop to the Anti-Sex League. Going for a Nancy Reagan vibe.
- lqet 3y agoFor comparison, here are all of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YSMJTA5ohI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YSMJTA5ohI The 2024 anniversary logo actually cycles through all of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygaVoEhjyOA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygaVoEhjyOA
- somat 3y agoI would not say much more, perhaps a little more. and that was really only the early ones. after the 70's she was more stylized. until the 90's version featured in the article. The article actually confused me because I was sure that Columbia pictures had been using illuminating Columbia since.. well a lot longer than 1993. And I was sort of right, it was a series of similar women in similar poses since 1928. I did find this handy collection of logos however, which was fun to go through. https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Columbia_Pictures/Other https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Columbia_Pictures/Other
- euroderf 3y ago> I would not say much more, perhaps a little more. and that was really only the early ones. "Fair enough" (after reviewing online materials cited herein)
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- qingcharles 3y agoA lot of painted film posters are like this, e.g. Back to the Future posters are all actual posed photographs used for the painting. (probably all the Star Wars ones too as the artist is the same) p.s. BTTFIII poster has Mary Steenburgen cut out and glued onto it later as she wasn't on the original poster that was painted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Struzan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Struzan https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/ejsb22/michael_j_fox_and_christopher_lloyd_posing_for/ https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/ejsb22/micha...
- scott_s 3y agoAlex Ross (comic book artist who paints his pages; https://www.alexrossart.com/ https://www.alexrossart.com/) also uses models for most (all?) of his work.
- crq-yml 3y agoIt's just good illustration practice to stage your scenes if you can, as a way of getting the most detailed reference possible. The technique dates back centuries, only limited by the available technologies(grid viewfinders, mirrors, lenses). By the 20th century photography was available enough to make it relatively trivial to take a snapshot of yourself to get poses and expressions, thus there was a rise in artists claiming they did not use references for PR purposes, e.g. Frank Frazetta made this claim about his paintings repeatedly, even though the documentation exists showing that he staged himself for photos in his comics work back in the 1950's.
- nxobject 3y agoOne of my most favorite details from the article is the use of Polaroid in professional portrait photography: > I put a Polaroid back on the Hasselblad camera to start with some test shots.” > In the old days of film, a kind of early “chimping” was still prevalent, especially on 120 film shoots. Many Hasselblad shooters, including Anderson, would knock off Polaroids to see or show the client 21/4x21/4 proofs. Another fun fact: Ansel Adams shot President Carter’s portrait of office with a large format Polaroid.
- ErigmolCt 3y agoA love the fact that there are competitions where photos should be made in traditional techniques
- KineticLensman 3y ago> chimping For those who aren't aware, the phenomenon where photographers spend too much time looking at the screen on the back of the camera and saying "ooh ooh ooh" rather than concentrating on the shoot. Personally I check the histogram and overexposure zebra stripes when the exposure changes radically, but other than that primarily keep shooting.
- paradox460 3y agoThe Paramount mountain is the peak of Ben Lomond in Ogden, Utah
- lancesells 3y agoStill iconic and I like it but the interesting thing about that is the face clearly shows the light source not coming from the torch.