Bad Robot Productions: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 23:51, 5 December 2022

Background

Bad Robot is a production company by J.J. Abrams that specializes in television programs, as well as films and video games. The company was founded in 1999.

1st Logo (September 30, 2001-2008)

Nicknames: "Bad Robot!"

Logo: In a box containing fog and some zooming grass, which is situated against a black background, a silhouette of a robot sneaks through the grass at a distance from the left to the right, and then the shabby robot, which is revealed to have a red color scheme, a curved rectangular shaped head, and yellow eyes, appears in front of us. "BAD ROBOT", in a white abstract font, appears below the box when the robot is revealed.

Technique: Either Flash animation or visual graphics animation.

Music/Sounds: The sounds of rustling grass, then a boing sound. Then two little kids (actually J.J. Abrams' kids, Henry and Gracie Abrams) say "Bad Robot!". The voice could be heard over ABC's credits music/announcements on BR's shows on that network.

Music/Sounds Variant: On earlier episodes of Alias, an echo can be heard after the "Bad Robot" voice clip.

Music/Sounds Trivia: Although some fans believe that the name comes from a line in the animated film The Iron Giant, Abrams told Entertainment Weekly that it simply came to him during a writers' meeting.

Availability: Appears on J.J. Abrams' shows from 2001 to 2008, such as Alias, Lost, What About Brian, and Six Degrees.

Legacy: This is considered a humorous logo.

2nd Logo (2008-)

2008 version, before the transformation
2008 version, after the transformation
2010 version, before the transformation
2010 version, after the transformation
2013 version, without the symbols
2013 version, with the symbols
2018 version

Nicknames: "Bad Robot! II"

Logo: Same as the movie logo, except the logo is shortened to when the robot appears in full view from the left and the logo fades to a 2D illustration of the image (two logo shots here depict the logo before and after the transformation).

Variants:

In 2010, this logo and its movie counterpart was updated with an evening sky, more realistic-looking clouds, and a smoother-looking robot.
A sped-up version of the logo exists.
From 2013 to 2018, the footage is slightly enhanced. When the robot appears, "BAD ROBOT" fades in. After the voice clip, the symbols "@" and "_" appears in the company name, makes it read as Bad Robot's social media handle, "@bad_robot". The footage also doesn't transition to the 2D illustration of the robot. This variant first debuted on January 18, 2013 on the series finale of Fringe.
A more common short version of the aforementioned variant exists, starting from when the "BAD ROBOT" text fades in. This version first debuted on Almost Human. However, this variant does not appear on Person of Interest, as it used the 2010 version until its final episode in 2016.
Starting in 2018, the 2010 footage is reused, and "BAD ROBOT" fades in when the robot appears. Like the 2013 variant, it also doesn't transition to the 2D illustration of the robot.

Technique: Same as the film logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the first logo.

Music/Sounds Variants:

From 2013 to 2018, a "ding" sound is heard when the "@" and "_" symbols appear. The "ding" isn't played on the series finale of Fringe and the short-lived show Almost Human.
Sometimes the logo is silent, or the show's closing theme would play over.
On the three-second 2018 version, the sound does not play until one second later.

Availability: Appears on J.J. Abrams' newer and current shows, such as Fringe, Alcatraz, Almost Human, Believe, Person of Interest and Westworld. Also appeared on newer/later seasons of older shows running at the same time, like Lost.

Legacy: The retained voice clips of the kids saying the company name can still be considered funny, yet it can alarm daydreaming viewers who haven't seen this logo. The CGI appearance of the robot may get to some as well.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 '''Logo:''' In a box containing fog and some zooming grass, which is situated against a black background, a silhouette of a robot sneaks through the grass at a distance from the left to the right, and then the shabby robot, which is revealed to have a red color scheme, a curved rectangular shaped head, and yellow eyes, appears in front of us. "BAD ROBOT", in a white abstract font, appears below the box when the robot is revealed.
-'''FX/SFX:''' Either Flash animation or visual graphics animation.
+'''Technique:''' Either Flash animation or visual graphics animation.
 '''Music/Sounds:''' The sounds of rustling grass, then a boing sound. Then two little kids (actually J.J. Abrams' kids, Henry and Gracie Abrams) say "Bad Robot!". The voice could be heard over ABC's credits music/announcements on BR's shows on that network.
@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 *Starting in 2018, the 2010 footage is reused, and "BAD ROBOT" fades in when the robot appears. Like the 2013 variant, it also doesn't transition to the 2D illustration of the robot.
-'''FX/SFX:''' Same as the film logo.
+'''Technique:''' Same as the film logo.
 '''Music/Sounds:''' Same as the first logo.