Bloodworth-Thomason-Mozark Productions

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Bloodworth-Thomason-Mozark Productions is a production company founded in 1982 by writer Linda Joyce Bloodworth-Thomason as "Linda Bloodworth Productions" and later, "L.J. Bloodworth Productions" . In July 1983, Bloodworth married Harry Thomason, who met her in 1980; during that time, the duo created "Mozark Productions", named after their respective home states Missouri (MO) and Arkansas, as well as an allusion to the overlapping Ozarks region.



1st Logo (September 29, 1986-May 11, 1991)

Early

Normal

Extended chimes


Visuals: Superimposed on the Designing Women credits, an orange heart slides to the right and reveals the text "MOZARK" (in a bulky font bearing a striking resemblance to the Burger King logo of the time) as the heart turns to red. As the heart disappears, the "MOZARK" turns to white, letter by letter. As it turns white, "Bloodworth/Thomason" appears on top, and "productions", in italics, appears at the bottom of the text. As the logo finishes, the text "in association with" is shown under. It then cuts to the Columbia Pictures Television logo of the time.

Variants:

  • On the first few episodes, there are no shadow effects.
  • Sometimes, the heart may be either purple or pink.
  • On "New Year's Daze" and "Reservations for Eight", the "productions" text is in the same font as the "Bloodworth/Thomason" text, making it look unevenly spaced.
  • On "Old Spouses Never Die", the logo is in warp-speed.
  • On "Killing All the Right People", the background is black.
  • On "Their Finest Hour", the background is a salmon color and the chime is not heard.
  • On "La Place sans Souci", the text appears out of sync with the heart wiping in.

Technique: Chroma-keyed cel animation.

Audio: A synth chime sound effect.

Audio Variants:

  • Sometimes, the logo is silent.
  • The end theme may play over the chime.
  • Sometimes on season 4 and 5, the chime is extended.

Availability: It's currently seen on the first five seasons of Designing Women on Logo TV. It's also intact on DVD releases of said show.

2nd Logo (September 17, 1990-December 11, 2001)

Early jingle

Standard jingle

IAW

Updated variant


Visuals: On a gray background, there is a white square with green mountains emerging from it, which represent the Ozarks with fog below it. Through the Ozarks is a long blue filmstrip, running up and down the gaps and also going over the top and bottom edges, leaving shadows and partially overlapping the text. Under that we see the text arranged like this:

BLOODWORTH/THOMASON
MOZARK
P R O D U C T I O N S

Variants:

  • Sometimes, the words "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" are above the logo.
  • On season 1 of Evening Shade and the first Season 6 episode of Designing Women, "The Big Desk", the logo has an alternate look where the ozarks box is smaller and the entire text is much larger (except for "IN ASSOCIATION WITH") and in a different font (in this case, Bookman). The logo is enclosed in a large outline fused from a square and a rectangle, casting a shadow over the background.
  • In 2001, an updated variant was introduced. The box and text are wider to match each other's length, with "BLOODWORTH/THOMASON" and "PRODUCTIONS" now fairly larger and "M O Z A R K" significantly smaller, but spaced to length with the others. The filmstrip also now quickly lights up from the back to the front, in sync with the start of the music and revealing its frames and holes.

Technique: A digital graphic for the regular version. Computer animation on the updated version.

Audio: Some ascending synth tinkles, followed by an orchestral synth chord.

Audio Variants:

  • The early version uses a calm 6-note synth tune.
  • NBC airings of Emeril used a generic theme.

Availability: Seen on Mozark shows, such as Designing Women (starting with the 6th season), Hearts Afire, and Evening Shade (all three shows are also on DVD).

  • The early jingle was heard on early episodes of Evening Shade whereas the updated version appeared on later episodes of the short-lived sitcom Emeril.
  • This may have also been seen on the HBO series 12 Miles of Bad Road, but we'll likely never know as it was cancelled before it debuted and hasn't been released ever since.
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