Playtone

Main Logo Variations

Background

This is the production company of Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman formed in 1998. The company's name and logo originate from the fictional record label Playtone Records from Hanks' 1996 directorial debut, That Thing You Do!. The success of the film served as a springboard to launch an actual Playtone Records label.

1st Logo (September 9, 2001-)

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Visuals: On a black background, a colored oval with the text "PLAY•TONE" on it zooms in and shakes vigorously, then it stops and fades out.

Variants:

• On TV shows, the logo is still.
• Two main color schemes are used:
  • A green oval with the dot in between "PLAY" and "TONE" being blue.
  • A yellow oval with the entire text in black.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: It depends on the variant, but most themes involve a four-note ascending theme, followed by a held-out last note (based on the final five notes of "That Thing You Do!" written by Adam Schlesinger, bassist of the alternative rock group Fountains of Wayne, and performed by the fictitious band The Wonders):

• The My Big Fat Greek Wedding films: The drums are sampled from the original "That Thing You Do!" recording and the five-note theme is played on a mandolin, followed by a short accordion ditty.
• The Ant Bully: A version of the above theme but played with different instruments.
• The Circle: The entire theme is sampled from the original "That Thing You Do!" recording.
• Additional musical variants can be found here.

Otherwise, it uses the opening/closing theme of the movie/show, or silence.

Availability: It debuted on Band of Brothers and has since appeared on the majority of the company's productions.

2nd Logo (September 25, 2008-)

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Visuals: On a black background, a brown Playtone logo made of scratched metal emerges from the darkness.

Technique: CGI. This logo was done by Wes Ball.

Audio: Silence or the opening/closing theme of the movie/show.

Availability: Seen on City of Ember, Game Change, Parkland, Greyhound, and A Man Called Otto, among others. It was also seen on the miniseries The Pacific, Olive Kitteridge, and Masters of the Air. Used in tandem with the previous logo.