Media Institution- 20th Century Fox

A media institution is a company or organisation that is accountable for the production/exhibition of a certain media text ranging from; radio, tv, the internet, cinemas etc.

An example of a media institution is 20th Century Fox.

20th Century Fox was founded in 1935 and is regarded as one of the "Big Six major American film studios". 20th Century Fox is also a member of the Motion Picture Association of America. 20th Century Fox is responsible for a large amount of films that could be called all time classics. 20th Century Fox prioritises making films that will not only push the boundaries of technological media but also provide the audience with a good story.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Perhaps one of the most influential science fiction films of all time, 20th Century Fox is responsible for the development of Star Wars: A New Hope and still continues to earn money off of DVD sales and distribution revenue. Lucas's original plan wasn't to go to 20th Century Fox. Lucas's first idea was to go to Universal Studios but they turned him down. As a last resort, he managed to gain a risky investment from Alan Ladd Jr of 20th Century Fox. Despite the risk, it all paid off in the end. Star Wars became a global hit and Fox's stock skyrocketed, making the risk worth it. Out of all of the films that 20th Century Fox has been a part of the early Star Wars is the most iconic of the mix. Although a bold statement, Star Wars is most likely what propelled 20th Century Fox up the movie hierarchy and helped them to gain more notoriety.

Die Hard (1988)

Die Hard is considered an all time action classic, which later helped to shape the action genre for years to come. Die Hard is also a film that 20th Century Fox helped to create. Die Hard is perhaps one of the first all time great actions films to ever surface on a cinema screen. Die Hard won many awards and helped to create a borderline for the conventions of a typical action film, of which many films nowadays wish to replicate. With its use of a clear protagonist and antagonist, Die Hard also set the scene for different stereotypical character conventions. For example, a European antagonist such as Hans Gruber.

On Twentieth Century Fox's website, their mission statement is very clear. In their "About Fox" section they give a detailed insight into the kinds of films they wish to produce. Fox wishes to push the boundaries of imagination by creating amazing stories and characters that an audience will always remember. However, this isn't the only way in which Fox wishes to push through the boundaries. Fox boasts breakthroughs in the way in which films are shot. With the likes of motion capture and re-imagined 3-D Fox has created such technical masterpieces such as Avatar, which was one of the most successful 3-D films of all time drawing in a box office of 2.788 billion USD.

By looking at other institutions I can take inspiration from their logos and the ways in which their logos present the ideals and goals of a certain institution. I can also see the different ways in which logos have changed and evolved based on different ideals.

Here is an illustration that shows how some of the film studios logos have changed and become more modernised.

Companies such as 20th Century Fox have only really changed their logos a couple of times as technology has advanced. Paramount is another movie company that is extremely well known in the film world. I think that some of the companies have reduced the amount they have changed the logo to show that even with the times their quality of production hasn't changed. From these exiting logos I will have to make my own high stylised in order to reflect the qualities and goals of my own production company.

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