Skydance Media

Background
Skydance Media (formerly Skydance Productions) is an American production company based in Santa Monica, California. It was founded by David Ellison on April 4, 2006, and did not use a logo until 2010. The company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with Paramount Pictures starting in 2009, and has renewed the agreement twice out to 2021. David's sister, Megan, founded Annapurna Pictures.

The company name comes from Ellison's love of aviation, since he is an accomplished pilot and took inspiration from flying aerobatics known as “skydancing”, giving his company a name to evoke limitless possibilities.

Skydance created a production label named Uncharted in December 2016 in order to house content that falls outside of the action, sci-fi or fantasy genre. They later launched an animation division in partnership with Ilion Animation Studios on March 16, 2017. The following year, the company partnered with Tencent Pictures, buying a 5% to 10% minority stake. In February 2020, RedBird Capital Partners and CJ ENM invested in the company.

1st Logo (December 22, 2010-July 31, 2015)
Nickname: "The Front of the Sun"

Logo: We start with a bright flash on one side of a giant letter. The camera zooms out to reveal the Sun and other letters floating in space, supported by metallic constructions. Then we move right and only the corona of the Sun remains in the background, as the letters leave their supports and form "SKYDANCE" in a serif font, with "PRODUCTIONS" underneath already formed, flipping in letter-by-letter.

Variants:
 * A prototype version is seen on the trailer for True Grit, where part of the sun blur is seen and there is only the stars in the sky.
 * On World War Z, the logo is tinted in.
 * On Terminator Genisys and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (the latter is the last movie to use this logo), the logo is enhanced to have "PRODUCTIONS" and the sun's glowing removed. The company name shines as the logo is formed while a trademark symbol appears next to it.

FX/SFX: The animation of the letters. Superb CGI from Picturemill.

Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral fanfare, composed by Pinar Toprak. A behind the scenes video of the making of the fanfare was uploaded by Toprak herself and can be seen here. Sometimes, it's silent or it uses the opening theme of the film.

Availability: First seen on True Grit, and also appears on Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Guilt Trip, Jack Reacher, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Star Trek Into Darkness, World War Z, and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. The version with music can be found on Picturemill's website and on Skydance's official YouTube channel. The last film to use this logo was Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, while its last appearances overall were on most trailers for Star Trek Beyond, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (July 22, 2016-July 23, 2021)
Nicknames: "The Front of the Sun II", "The New Front of the Sun"

Logo: We fade into the Sun as it spins and zooms out as it gives off some form of solar flare. The zoom reveals coronal rain all over the sun, as a big serif "S" flies in from the left, followed by a "K" and so on, until we see the finished product as it continues zooming out, later stopping to show the company name from before, now slightly-spaced out as it shines and zooms in; set on a space background.

Variants:
 * At the end of films, the logo is still.
 * On Terminator: Dark Fate, the logo is and static shocked.

FX/SFX: The sun giving out a solar flare and coronal rain, and the flying and zooming of the letters. Very nice CGI from Imaginary Forces.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo, but extended. Like the last logo, it's either silent or uses the opening theme of the film.

Availability: First seen on Star Trek Beyond and later seen on films from the company, such as Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Life, Geostorm, Annihilation, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Gemini Man, Terminator: Dark Fate, 6 Underground, and The Old Guard. It made its final appearances on Tom Clancy's Without Remorse and Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, both released between a gap of the next logo's debut.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (December 19, 2020- )
Nicknames: "The Front of the Sun III", "Above the Front of the Sun"

Logo: We fade into a close-up shot of the sun at first as the camera pans and rotates, as it gives off many solar flares. After a few seconds, we see an "E" fly in from the left, followed by an "N", and so on, until the letters form the wordmark like from before; now with a curve at the bottom of the letters, flying above the sun against a new space galaxy background. Then a flash of light draws an arch underneath the name.

Trivia: This logo is based on the print logo Skydance introduced back in 2020.

Variants:
 * A shortened version exists, where it skips the first few seconds of the animation.
 * A variant celebrating the company's 10th anniversary also exists; this has "CELEBRATING 10 YEARS" underneath the arch. This marks the 10th anniversary of the company's second film and the first film to use its logo, True Grit. Some people will be confused by this, as it marks the 15th anniversary of the company on April 4, 2006 and the Skydance's first film, Flyboys.
 * Like the previous logo, at the end of films, the logo is still.

FX/SFX: It's all done in mind-blowing CGI.

Music/Sounds: A brand new majestic orchestral fanfare; which is completely different from the first two logos. Composed by Lorne Balfe. There is a Behind the Scenes video that he posted on his Twitter, which you can see here. Sometimes, the opening theme of the film plays over or none.

Music/Sounds Trivia: For the recording of the new theme, Balfe went to 4 different locations across the world (Three of them being Los Angeles, Beijing and London) to record the arrangements, with mixing being done in Dubai.

Availability: Current. First debuted on the "About" and the "Leadership" sections of the company's website in December 2020, and later debuted on The Tomorrow War as a shortened version, released on July 2, 2021. The 10 Years variant made a surprise appearance on the trailer for Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part One and on the actual film of Top Gun: Maverick. The version without "CELEBRATING 10 YEARS" first debuted on the Australian trailer for Snake Eyes; while the proper full version with theme made its debut on The Adam Project. This logo is expected to be seen on future films from the company.

Editor's Note: None.