Searchlight Pictures

Main Logo Variations Trailer Variations

Credits

Descriptions by
Jess Williams, Rod1014, curiousgeorge60, Logophile and others

Captures by
V of Doom, CuriousGeorge60, Mr.Logo, Logophile, Donny Pearson and others

Editions by
BaldiBasicsFan, HolbyCity2023, Michael Kenchington and others

Video captures courtesy of
John Mello, Kyle Chapman, Other Files: The Final Season, The AVTB Archives, LogicStock, SpikeyTheDog188 and Broken Saw

Searchlight Pictures
Founded:	1994
Founder:	Tom Rothman
Formerly:	Fox Searchlight Picturess (1994–2020)
Parent:	Fox Entertainment Group (1994–2019) The Walt Disney Studios (2019–present)
Subsidiaries:	Searchlight Television

Background

Fox Searchlight Pictures was formed in 1994 under News Corporation (now owned by The Walt Disney Company) as a division of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) mainly to release independent, arthouse, horror, and foreign films, as well as some comedy, action, romance, and family films.

On January 17, 2020, parent company Disney announced that it would remove "Fox" from the company's name, presumably to avoid confusion with Fox Corporation, renaming it Searchlight Pictures.

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Contents 1st Logo (1995-1996) 2nd Logo (March 22-November 8, 1996) 3rd Logo (September 19, 1996-February 11, 2011) 4th Logo (March 18, 2011-December 16, 2019)

Searchlight Pictures

Contents   (February 14, 2020-)

Fox Searchlight Pictures

1st Logo (1995-1996)

• 
  1995 version

Logo: On a black background, there is a vertical white line on the middle left which protrudes to the bottom of the middle. On the right of the line are the stacked words "FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES", aligned to the left and set in a font called Bodega Serif Black.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: Just the soundtrack from the trailer.

Availability:

• Only seen after the 1994 20th Century Fox logo on the trailer for The Brothers McMullen.
• This was a custom variation made for the trailer, as FSP did not have a standalone logo yet.
• However, the film itself uses the third logo instead.

2nd Logo (March 22-November 8, 1996)

• 
• 
  Social media version
• 
  Blue border version
• 
  Banner version
• 
  An extremely rare blue variant of the logo
• 
  Corporate logo without background
• 
  A BIGGER SPLASH version

Logo: Same as the 1994 20th Century Fox logo, but it is a still picture, and the text "20th CENTURY FOX" is replaced with "FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES", with "SEARCHLIGHT" in the middle larger, and with "FOX" above and "PICTURES" below, respectively. The News Corporation byline is intact, but the registered symbol is removed.

Trivia: This logo is based on the 1992 20th Television logo, but with the sky background from the Foxstar Productions logo. This logo is designed by Studio Productions (now known as "Flip Your Lid Animation").

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None, or the opening theme of the film/trailer.

Availability: Rare/near extinction. This was a placeholder for the next logo.

• It was only seen on four films: Girl 6, She's the One, Looking for Richard, and The Secret Agent.
• Current prints of the latter two films have the next logo or the 1994 20th Century Fox logo plastering it, though it survives on the first title with the 1994 logo preceding it, and also remaining on the second title without any changes whatsoever.
• Also seen on trailers for very early releases from Fox Searchlight Pictures.

3rd Logo (September 19, 1996-February 11, 2011)

• 
  16:9 version
• 
  Scope version
• 
  Fullscreen version
• 
  Bylineless version

Logo: We start out looking at a city skyline (most likely that of Los Angeles, California). The camera begins to move right, past a searchlight. The searchlight turns on, followed by two more in the background turning on. We then reach the middle of the Fox "stack" structure, but instead of seeing a narrow "CENTURY", we see a large "SEARCHLIGHT". The camera pulls back and reveals "FOX" above and "PICTURES" below. After the logo is finished zooming out, the byline "A NEWS CORPORATION COMPANY" fades in, then the rightmost searchlight moves towards us, filling the screen with light, then we fade out.

Trivia: There is a brief animation rendering error about 7 seconds into the logo, as the camera pans past the front-right searchlight (before approaching the main structure). When it reaches the left side of the screen, the lighting and shading on the searchlight base suddenly shifts and changes positions.

Variants:

• On some films, the News Corporation byline is slightly smaller. This is primarily used for films with a wider aspect ratio, but on some movies, such as Slums of Beverly Hills and Boys Don't Cry, it is used on the regular 16:9 version of the logo, while some wider films, such as Titus and Slumdog Millionaire, use the regular byline instead.
  • There is also a looser cropped version.
• An official bylineless version exists, but it was used solely for corporate purposes, and as such did not appear on any film.

Technique: Great CGI.

Music/Sounds: A few seconds of silence, as the searchlight turns on, the 1994 20th Century Fox fanfare, composed by Bruce Broughton, plays.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• Starting in 1999, the 1997 Fox fanfare, composed by David Newman, was used.
• On some films like 28 Days Later and Day Watch, there is a low-pitched version of the fanfare.
• On I Heart Huckabees and The Ringer, after the light covers the screen, the opening voiceover begins.

Availability: Very common. It appeared on all Fox Searchlight films from this era, beginning with Blood and Wine, and it made its final appearance on Cedar Rapids (trailers for said film use the 4th logo).

4th Logo (March 18, 2011-December 16, 2019)

• 
  16:9 version
• 
  Scope version
• 
  2013 16:9 version
• 
  2013 scope version
• 
  20th Anniversary variant
• 
  25 Years tag

Logo: This is a redone and more realistic version of the previous Fox Searchlight Pictures logo, based on the structure of the 2009-2020 20th Century Fox logo. This time, it is in a dark/orange evening environment. There are newer and more realistic textures added to the structure, we can see palm trees at the bottom at the start (as well as the addition of the Hollywood sign on the hills), three searchlights are deleted, and near the right at the end, and it's more obvious at the end that the right searchlight is pointing at us when it fills the screen with light. An "®" symbol is also now added to the logo.

Trivia:

• This logo is based on the 2009-2020 TCF logo and was designed and animated at the defunct Blue Sky Studios.
• If one looks closely at the cityscape during the beginning of the logo, the same Ice Age billboard from the 2009-2020 20th Century Fox logo can be seen.

Bylines:

• March 18, 2011-July 5, 2013: "A NEWS CORPORATION COMPANY"
• September 18, 2013-December 16, 2019: Bylineless

Variants:

• There are variants where the structure is seen in an extreme close-up (ala cropped from scope into 1.78:1) or shown at a far distance in the entire 16:9 frame.
• There is a 4:3 variant seen on some TV spots as well as fullscreen prints of many films from 2012 onward, starting with Sound of My Voice.
• Starting with the release of Enough Said on September 18, 2013, the News Corporation byline is excluded and the logo is bylineless for the first time since the 1995 logo. This is mainly due to the split of News Corporation on June 28, 2013.
• There is a rare 20th Anniversary variant, where "20TH ANNIVERSARY" is engraved under "PICTURES". There is no full version of this variant, nor did it appear on any films, as it was only on a 20th Anniversary video.
• In 2019, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary. After the screen is filled with light, it fades to a dark grey background with a silver rectangle. The object has a large "25" on the left with "YEARS" inside the 5 on in the first quarter on the left, and in the other three quarters is the print logo, minus the searchlights. Although this appeared on trailers for Antlers, the next logo appeared on the film itself.

Technique: Same as before, but with more realistic effects.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1999 variant of the last logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the 25 Years variant, when the searchlight flashes, a slightly reorchestrated last note can be heard (if you listen closely), along with the fanfare's own last note.

Availability: Very common.

• First seen on the trailers for The Tree of Life on December 16, 2010, Cedar Rapids just two months later (the film itself used the third logo), and on later trailers for Win Win, which was also the first film with this logo.
• The last film to use this logo with the News Corporation byline was The Way Way Back.
• The last feature film to use this logo with the "Fox Searchlight Pictures" name was A Hidden Life, and the last short film released under the name was Sew Torn.
• The 20th Anniversary variant is unused, and was only seen on a 20th Anniversary video.

Searchlight Pictures

(February 14, 2020-)

• 
  16:9 version
• 
  Scope version
• 
  Fullscreen version
• 
  Print version

Logo: Basically an enhanced version of the last logo. It's nearly the same as before, except "FOX" has been removed from the top of the structure, and the words are slightly taller and larger to accommodate for it, a la the final Fox Interactive logo. The Los Angeles cityscape in the background is larger and more detailed with greater depth, the mountains are more realistic and multilayered, the skyline is much different, the ® symbol has been removed, the searchlights (aside from their light beams) are a lot darker in color (compared to the 20th Century Studios logo which has the same colors for the searchlights but sleeker and shinier), and the Hollywood sign is pushed up to resemble the one in real life.

Technique: CGI designed and animated by MOCEAN (who also did the 20th Century Studios logo the same year), based on Blue Sky's design.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Music/Sounds Variant: On The French Dispatch and Antlers, the logo is completely silent.

Availability: Current and common.

• First seen on "For Your Consideration" spots for Jojo Rabbit (the film itself has the previous logo), released on January 29, 2020.
• It then made its official theatrical debut on Downhill, released on February 14, 2020, and then appears on every film following it.
• Also appears as a de-facto home video logo on current Searchlight Pictures home media releases, after the final TCFHE logo retired, and is the first logo here to do so.

Copyright stamps

• 1994-2020: Copyright © [YEAR] Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc.
• 2020-: Copyright © [YEAR] Searchlight Pictures, Inc.