Langley Productions

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Langley Productions was initially established in 1983 as "Barbour/Langley Productions", named after Malcolm Barbour and John Langley, the creators of Cops. It didn't use a logo until 1988. In 1994, Barbour left the company, and two years later, the company was renamed to its current name to reference the departure, though the previous name was still used on Cops until 1999.

Barbour/Langley Productions

1st Logo (November 2, 1988-December 12, 1992)


Logo: Over a black background, the text "BARBOUR" flies from the right of the screen, with "LANGLEY" doing the same thing from the left. They both criss-cross and land on opposite sides, and a white slash draws itself between them. "PRODUCTIONS, INC." appears below.

Variants:

  • On season 1 of Cops, a copyright notice would appear.
  • An early version of the logo exists where the logo disappears like a TV turn-off can do.

Technique: Computer animation.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic 8-note synth tune that begins with 4 descending notes, followed by a 5th done on synth strings when the words land. Then 3 more ascending notes follow. This was all done on a Roland D-50 synthesizer with the patches "Future Pad" (for the descending and ascending notes) and "Pizzagogo" (for the 5th note).

Availability: Rare.

  • It can be seen on 1989-1992 episodes of Cops.
  • It was also seen on very early episodes of Code 3 and American Expose: Who Murdered JFK, respectively.

2nd Logo (August 15, 1992-September 18, 1999)


Logo: Almost the same as before, except everything is silver and in 3D, and occurs at a faster rate. Also, there is no "INC." at the end, and the text is in Univers font.

Variant: When the logo first appeared in 1992, some episodes of Cops had the "BARBOUR/LANGLEY" text shining.

Technique: Same as the last logo.

Music/Sounds:

  • 1992-1993: The last logo's theme, which was sometimes shortened.
  • 1993-1999: A southern guitar riff.

Music/Sounds Variant: Some Cops tapes have a silent variant.

Availability: Uncommon.

  • It appears on 1992-1999 episodes of Cops.
  • A still version of the logo may appear on Spike airings on Cops.
  • It was also seen on later episodes of Code 3.

Langley Productions

1st Logo (1996-November 23, 2008)


Logo: On a black screen, the letters in "LANGLEY" fly into place, scattered about. The word "PRODUCTIONS" then flips up, and the logo shines.

Variant: There is a variant where the logo starts as all the letters have fully appeared. The variant debuted in 2004 as a secondary variant before became the primary variant, which actually debuted in late 2005.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as the second variant of the second logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Street Patrol, a different guitar theme is used, which is sometimes abridged.

Availability: Common.

  • It appears on Cops episodes from the era, as well as Jail and Street Patrol.
  • It first appeared on The amazing video collection VHS Series released by Marketing Works.

2nd Logo (September 7, 2008-June 3, 2018)


Logo: On a black background, we see a blue flash. This causes the words "LANGLEY PRODUCTIONS" to appear, in an Avenir font this time. Plus, "PRODUCTIONS" is in spaced-out letters.

Technique: Computer animation.

Music/Sounds: The abridged music variant from the previous logo, but the generic Fox jingle plays over episodes that aired on Fox until 2013.

Availability: No longer current.

  • It was seen on post-season 21 episodes of Cops and was used together with the previous logo for a very brief time.
  • It can also be seen on Jail as well.

3rd Logo (June 4, 2018-)


Logo: On a black background, we see the same logo, but the letters flip and zoom out in the center, and they are in 3D and metallic colored.

Technique: Computer animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as before.

Music/Sounds Variant: On PlutoTV prints of Season 13 of Cops, this plasters the 1st logo but leaves its music intact.

Availability: Current. It was seen on Cops from season 31 onwards.

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