Background[]
Oz Films, also known as the Oz Film Manufacturing Company, produced quiet films, most notably the Oz series, all of which were commercial failures. The movies they made had many colors and custom themes playing over it, like in silent films.
Logo (1914-1915)[]
On a black background, there is a woman (supposedly Princess Ozma, played by silent film actress Vivian Reed) wearing two flowers and a crown-like object on her forehead with a Z inside a circle (obviously the company name) With a few loose curls hanging down, apparently supposed to be Princess Ozma from the book series. She looks around the screen and smiles. No obvious indication of the name is the company is shown and it only appears on the title card of the movie.
Variants[]
- The logo, including the film, has been shown in gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple tones.
- The logo also featured the woman's head in a close-up, to the point where her head almost covers the entire screen. Her loose curls are also missing. That is because this variant of the logo is played not by Reed, but by Violet MacMillian.
- There has been a short version spotted where it just shows her looking around the screen for about 4 seconds. This variant is mostly at the end of the films.
- The Patchwork Girl of Oz close-up variant lasts only 2 seconds, due to skips through the logo, which is a result of the film deterioration.
- If you look closely at the Ozma Head, its body is shown. The reason why that happens is because the actresses playing the logo were wearing entirely black clothes so that only their heads are visible.
- The logo may, at times, simply cut in instead of fading in.
Music/Sounds[]
None or a custom opening/closing theme of the film.
Variants[]
- Opening variant: A violin plays
- Closing variant: Same as the opening variant, but the notes are reversed
- Closeup variant: The violin plays with different notes, they also added a harp
Scare Factor[]
- Opening Variant: High to nightmare. Ozma seemingly being a head without a body just smiling at you alongside the sombre music have terrified many viewers. However, some may find beauty in it. The scare factor is much lower for those who are fans of it or are used to it.
- Closing Variant: See above.
- Close-up Variant: Nightmare. Ozma's seemingly detached head being even closer to the screen is likely to freak out even more people, the absence of music could even make it scarier, however, the scare factor is significantly lowered for people who like the logo or are used to it.
Videos[]
Oz Film Company Logo (1914)