Coronet Films

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Coronet Films (also known as Coronet Instructional Media Inc.) was an American educational film production company and distributor founded in 1941. They were known for their documentary shorts which were shown in public schools, mostly in the 16mm format, from the 1940s through the 1990s.



1st Logo (1941?-1945?)

Visuals:

  • Opening: There is the text "CORONET" in a serif font. Underneath is "INSTRUCTIONAL Films", with the above in a sans serif font, and the below in a script font. Below it is "PRESENTS".
  • Closing: The text "THE END" is placed above, below is "CORONET INSTRUCTIONAL FILMS" in a stacked format.

Variant: A colorized version for the closing was used in The Supai Indian, where the background is dark blue, the words are light blue and "INSTRUCTIONAL FILMS" in yellow.

Technique: None. [possible misuse]

Audio: The opening/closing theme.

Availability: Seen their earlier films like Shy Guy and The Secretary's Day. It, along with all other logos by the company, is intact on Rifftrax riffs of their shorts.

2nd Logo (1941-1966)

Visuals:
  • Opening: On a gray textured background, there is a light gray crown with "A Coronet Film" in front of it.
  • Closing: On the same background with the crown, the text "The End" is in place of the former, and "CORONET INSTUCTIONAL FILMS" is seen underneath the crown.

Variants:

  • Colorized versions of it exist, those being:
    • A dark teal or dark blue background with the crown colored dark blue, with its borders in yellow.
      • At the end of Mark Twain Gives an Interview, the crown is abscent, the text is shifted above with additional info below.
    • A navy background with the crown colored light blue, with its borders in yellow.
      • At the end of Storytelling: Can You Tell It In Order?, the background is black.
    • A maroon background with the crown colored dark tan, with its borders in yellow.
      • At the end of The Littlest Angel, the below text is omitted, and the above is settled to the middle.
  • Earlier films have the text read "A CORONET PRODUCTION".
  • The text may differ in some films.
  • The logo may be superimposed on some films, with the crown abscent.
  • On Color Categorizing Behavior of Rhesus Monkeys, For the closing version, it has the two pairs of text enclosed in a dark green rectangle on a red background.
  • Rarely, "Sound RCA System" is in place of the latter.

Technique: None. [possible misuse]

Audio: The opening/closing theme of the film.

Availability: Seen on many educational 16mm films from the 1950's and 60's such as Act Your Age. While, as mentioned, all of the logos are intact on Rifftrax riffs of their shorts, this is the one that appears on there most often.

Legacy: This logo is quite notorious as a Rifftrax running gag, where Mike, Kevin, and Bill always make a riff poking fun at the low quality of the company's work every time the logo shows up.

3rd Logo (1949-1982)

Visuals:
  • Opening: On a gray background, there is an outlined coronet that is shown to the left. "A CORONET FILM" is seen next to it, which is in a stacked format.
  • Closing: On the same background, the coronet is shown on the top-left, next to it is "THE END" in a stacked format, and "A CORONET FILM" is shown below in a horizontal format.

Variants:

  • Colorized versions exist, where one is shown in a dark blue or blue background, with the coronet in yellow.
  • The text may be positioned to the below in a stacked format, with the coronet above. For the closing version, "THE END" takes place in the middle.
    • Sometimes, the below text for the closing is omitted.
  • The text may differ in some films.
  • The logo can be superimposed, in a different font, either stacked in different positions and/or without "A" and "FILM".
    • Rarely, a very few films have "A CORONET FILM" intact.
    • On the second edition of Developing Responsibility, The Secretary: A Normal Day and Viruses: Threshold of Life, the standard logo is superimposed.
      • On How To Read Newspapers (2nd Edition), it is entirely colored black, and superimposed on a newspaper background.
  • The logo can be either set to a mixed background, as shown below:
    • A gray background with a mixture of dark shades.
    • A tan background with a mixture of red and green, shown on Fruit Files: An Inquiry Into Behavior. The closing version omits "A CORONET FILM".
    • A black background with rectangle patterned shades of blue and green (+ orange and magenta in the closing), with the coronet shown in yellow, shown on Learning About Human Behavior.
    • A red cloudy background with shades of pink, shown on Heat for Beginners.
    • A red background with a mixture of orange and dark shades, shown on Heat and Temperature.
    • A grainy tan background with mixtures of white, dark red and yellow, shown on Safe Living At School (2nd Edition) and Beginning Responsibility: Being a Good Sport.
    • A gray-ish blue background with sports of dark purple, dark blue, black, orange and yellow, looking like it's made with crayons. Shown on Beginning Responsibility: Getting Ready for School.
    • An orange background with stitches of dark and light shades, shown on Electromagnets And Their Uses.
  • Some films about stories, such as A Visit from St. Nicholas have the text read as "A Coronet Fantasy".
  • Some films such as Pavlov's Experiment: The Conditioned Reflex has the coronet and text below, with the title of the film shown above, shown either superimposed or on a stylized background.
    • On Linda and Jimmy, the background is blue, the coronet is at the top-left, the title of the film is shown in the middle, and below is "PRODUCED FOR CORONET".
    • On Writing: An Interview with Irving Stone, the title of the film is shown to the right, in a separated, stacked format.
  • Some films may have the text "This film may not be copied or televised without written permission." below.
  • Rarely, the logo is shown below or above credits.
  • Rarely, "presents" is in place underneath it.
  • On Beginning Responsibility: Taking Care of Things You Share, the coronet is all black with the text in a medieval-like font, and set on a white background. The closing version takes place on a dark blue background.
  • Rarely, the names of the company's supervisors appear below the logo.
  • On "E" is for Energy, it's set on a black background where the coronet in yellow is shown above, with "Coronet" below in a childish-like font. When the film starts, the coronet fades out and the letters (sans the "e") slide out to the top. At the end of the film, the coronet is at the top-right corner with "Produced for Coronet" next to it, and below are the names of the creators of the film.
  • On Yoshiko, the Papermaker, the coronet is blue.
  • On Listen Well, Learn Well, the coronet and text slide from the right, standing in the middle. For the closing, "a" and "film" was added between the text, and the coronet it shown above it.
  • On Your Study Skills: Learning From Pictures, it's set on a black background. four shapes (purple, yellow, red and teal) appear in order, with one of them being a horizontal narrow border. The text "A CORONET FILM" then appears over the narrow part. Then, four coronets (yellow, teal, purple and red) respectively flash in random orders. After that, the shapes reappear. The closing version is set on said colors striped background with the coronet, below it being "THE END".
  • On Happy Birthday USA, the text is in a cartoon-drawn font, and is stacked by each word. The closing version has it placed on a sky blue background. The coronet is now cartoon-drawn, with the entire in yellow and it's circles in green. Then, a hand holding a revolver which is likely in the shape similar to a megaphone, appears from the right. It points to the coronet, and shoots it, and knocks the coronet off. From what it knocked off is revealed to be a screw cap attached to a string.

Technique: None. [possible misuse]

Audio: The opening/closing theme.

Availability: Used in tandem with the 2nd logo. Seen on films from the era, including Fruit Files: An Inquiry Into Behavior, Learning About Human Behavior, The Hopi Indian, Parents-- Who Needs Them?, Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire, American Tell Tale Heroes, Japan: The Land and the People, One More Year on the Family Farm?, among others.

4th Logo (Mid 1980s?-1989)

Visuals: On a blue background is a stylized coronet shown above, with "CORONET Films" underneath it.

Variants:

  • Like before, it may be shown superimposed on some films.
    • On Physical Sciences: Light and Images, the logo is tinted black.
  • On some films, the standard logo was used as a closing version.
  • On the three Taking Responsibility short films and Map Skills: Using Scale, it has the coronet and text shown in a cartoon-drawn style.
  • On 1986-1987 prints of Wonder World of Science short films, the background is light blue-sky blue gradient, the coronet is in yellow and the text is in a stacked format. The closing version has the coronet and text placed to the left, with above being the title of the film, and to the right is a cartoon-drawn head of an orange cat (Wondercat, the mascot of the show).
  • Like before, some films may have the text "This film may not be copied or televised without written permission." below.

Technique: None. [possible misuse]

Audio: None. Otherwise, the opening/closing theme.

Availability: It was seen on films from the era, and was also shown on VHS tapes of NOVA episodes.

5th Logo (1989-1990s)

Visuals: On a black background, a series of particles are seen forming the "Coronet" text, with a big shining star in the middle. It fully forms, filling it in a gold gradient color with the star dying out. Then, an abrupt shine appears, forming the coronet from before, in a gold gradient color. It all shines.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on its later films before its closure, examples are How Many Days To America?: A Thanksgiving Story and People Are Different and Alike.

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