Focus Features

Background

Focus Features is the current indie/arthouse film subsidiary of Universal Studios, which was formed in 2002 by the merging of USA Films, Universal Focus and Good Machine, and specializes in independent and foreign films as well as other genre titles.

1st Logo (August 16-November 8, 2002)

Logo: On a black background, one by one, we see a light revealing each of the five letters of the text "F O C U S", with the "O" slightly out-of-focus, and under it is "FEATURES", all in white. The light emits a shadow behind the logo of what it just revealed.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Can be seen on Possession, 8 Women, and Far from Heaven.

2nd Logo (December 25, 2002-)

Logo: We see various yellow, green and blue circles (all out-of-focus) moving about, then the yellow words "F O C U S" and "FEATURES", in the same style as the last logo, fade in.

Variants:

For international releases, "INTERNATIONAL" would be shown under "FEATURES."
At the end of some movies (and on the start of The Northman), the print logo is used. It looks rather similar to the last logo.
On YouTube prints of The Man Who Wasn't There, the logo is in black and white (followed by the USA Films logo).
On the American release of The World's End, the animation is slowed down in order to plaster the Universal Pictures logo.
Starting in 2015, the byline "A COMCAST COMPANY" was added underneath the logo. This also applies to the ending print logo. This was first seen on the trailer for Suffragette.
In 2022, when Focus Features celebrated its 20th anniversary, the logo (in a slightly different font) was moved down to make room for a big number "20" with "YEARS" inside the 0.

Technique: 2D computer animation by Devastudios.

Music/Sounds: A calm 2-note string theme composed by Gregory Hainer and Michael A. Reagan. On some films, this theme is accompanied by the sounds of children laughing and birds twittering. Otherwise, it's either silence or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Common. This was first seen on The Pianist and can be seen on films from the company ever since, such as Brokeback Mountain, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Somewhere, 9, and Blockparty. In a rarity for Independent Lens, this logo is preserved on their presentation of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?. So far, the 20th Anniversary variant only appeared on its reel. It also plasters the Savoy Pictures logo on an AMC airing of A Bronx Tale.