Must change production company name at DVinfo.net

Mark Gentile · December 12th, 2008, 02:18 AM

Hey Guys,

I know I don't have very many posts but I do visit this site every once and a while and I try to give advice when I can, I was hoping you guys could help me.

I work for a larger TV production company but I have my own independant company on the side. I mostly do short films, music videos and the like. I've had a logo I really like for a while but when I went through the proper channels to register my company name I found that it was already taken.

I was previously using the name Safehouse Films.

Like I said I really like my logo and would like to continue using it.

A friend suggested GenTree Films but I'm not sure about that.

Do you guys have any suggestions.
Here is the logo:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13...useLogoNew.jpg

Dave Blackhurst · December 12th, 2008, 02:42 AM

Um, I dunno, how about "Hangin'E" productions (I guess that's what is hanging there?).

Your biggest challenge will be to get a few ideas and then find something that isn't already in use/hasn't already been used... as you've already found out.

Ultimately you may end up making something up that isn't even a "real" word - in which case you should make sure it doesn't mean "your mother is as ugly as a Camel" in some other language...

You could always get all your friends together for pizza and (Root?) Beer and see how many crazy ideas you can come up with! Named a couple bands that way back in the day, only to find someone else using the same bloomin' name a state or two over...

Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to find a "new" and totally original ANYTHING nowadays, and if you do and make it big, it'll probably be knocked off in one way or another sooner than later.

Hope that isn't overly discouraging, sorry if my suggestion was rather sad, but it was the best I could come up with at the end of a long day! If you decide on "your mother is ugly as a Camel studios" I will of course insist on a kickback... and points on any blockbusters!

Mark Gentile · December 12th, 2008, 02:45 AM

Thanks for the advice....that beer thing hasn't worked yet unfortunately.

It is actually a house hanging from the tree. Hence the Safehouse name. I know, the first one wasn't that creative either.

Edward Phillips · December 12th, 2008, 08:39 AM

I would look to find something that has an availbale website domain name as well. It seems like everything is already "thought" out already. fusvhwufhunvnfh.com is probably already taken!

Best of Luck,
Edward,
Fusvhwufhunvnfh Films

Tripp Woelfel · December 12th, 2008, 09:06 AM

When I moved up here 15 months ago I needed to find a new company name. For some reason I fixed on coming up with something that would identify it with the area. Also, since I'm old I wanted something a bit traditional so I ended up with Covered Bridge Productions. The URL was available and the logo fell into hand quite simply.

The process was actually very simple for me after I distilled down the key elements of what I wanted the image of the company to be. Local, solid, long-standing. It wasn't really much more complex than that.

There was a disk drive/RAID company that I thought had a cool name back in the 90s. Micropolis. Truth is that the name, by design, didn't mean anything. It also didn't pigeon-hole them into the storage business. This was also by design. This sort of "product branding" latitude may or may not be important to your company name, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Starting about 15 or so years ago, many companies have developed company and product names that didn't mean anything. It was called the "empty vessel". The most common example I can think of is "Pentium". In cases like this, the sound of the name is more important than any meaning as the ultimate meaning will be developed by the public perception of the product itself.

You might want to spend some time randomly turning pages in a dictionary or surfing aimlessly around in wikipedia. You never know what you might come across.

In the end, this is a very personal decision and you are the one that has to noodle it through. It's like coming up with a new surname for yourself. You're the one who is going to have to live with it for a long time.

Shaun Roemich · December 12th, 2008, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Phillips

It seems like everything is already "thought" out already. fusvhwufhunvnfh.com is probably already taken!

Best of Luck,
Edward,
Fusvhwufhunvnfh Films

Hey, isn't that a coincidence. I'm with Fusvhwufhunvnfh Films North! <tongue planted firmly in cheek>

Do a quick web search for my company, Gearhead Visual. There's a LOT of Gearheads out there. I registered my domain name THREE YEARS before I actually put anything up JUST to hold it for when I actually had something to say. Glad I did!

Todd Giglio · December 12th, 2008, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Phillips

I would look to find something that has an availbale website domain name as well. It seems like everything is already "thought" out already. fusvhwufhunvnfh.com is probably already taken!

Best of Luck,
Edward,
Fusvhwufhunvnfh Films

LOL, Thanks Dude,

I'm still laughing! Love the name!

I went through the same thing with our production company (Drawing Chalk Pictures). Fortunately it wasn't taken and I was able to Trademark our logo.

Good luck with your finding your new company name.

Todd

Edward Phillips · December 12th, 2008, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun Roemich

Hey, isn't that a coincidence. I'm with Fusvhwufhunvnfh Films North!

Wow, were you at the Fusvhwufhunvnfh convention 08? Things got pretty crazy since the merger with Dsfhunrug Pictures.

This lame attempt of comedy does make another point however. My "real" company name is Corduroy Wednesday Films. It's good because no one is even close to resembling it, it has no other connotations from other sources, and it has a history to it as an inside joke amongst the founders as we always wore corduroy pants on Wednesday to establish a college campus fad.

The name is not so great when it comes to simplicity. People had a hard time spelling Corduroy and Wednesday so our main web domain became CWfilms.net but then TV network UPN became the CW but no one has really confused us with them as of yet.

Imaging 20 years ago talking about Google, Yahoo, Twitter and you would be babbling, now it's mainstream.

Allen Plowman · December 12th, 2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Phillips

My "real" company name is Corduroy Wednesday Films.

Aren't you the film company that produced "That 70's Show"?

Brian Drysdale · December 12th, 2008, 11:56 AM

I know someone who's company was called Fox Television. He made a fair amount selling the name to another company...

December 12th, 2008, 02:18 AM	#1
Mark Gentile New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Mississauga Ontario Posts: 7	Must change production company name Hey Guys, I know I don't have very many posts but I do visit this site every once and a while and I try to give advice when I can, I was hoping you guys could help me. I work for a larger TV production company but I have my own independant company on the side. I mostly do short films, music videos and the like. I've had a logo I really like for a while but when I went through the proper channels to register my company name I found that it was already taken. I was previously using the name Safehouse Films. Like I said I really like my logo and would like to continue using it. A friend suggested GenTree Films but I'm not sure about that. Do you guys have any suggestions. Here is the logo: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13...useLogoNew.jpg

December 12th, 2008, 02:42 AM	#2
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Um, I dunno, how about "Hangin'E" productions (I guess that's what is hanging there?). Your biggest challenge will be to get a few ideas and then find something that isn't already in use/hasn't already been used... as you've already found out. Ultimately you may end up making something up that isn't even a "real" word - in which case you should make sure it doesn't mean "your mother is as ugly as a Camel" in some other language... You could always get all your friends together for pizza and (Root?) Beer and see how many crazy ideas you can come up with! Named a couple bands that way back in the day, only to find someone else using the same bloomin' name a state or two over... Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to find a "new" and totally original ANYTHING nowadays, and if you do and make it big, it'll probably be knocked off in one way or another sooner than later. Hope that isn't overly discouraging, sorry if my suggestion was rather sad, but it was the best I could come up with at the end of a long day! If you decide on "your mother is ugly as a Camel studios" I will of course insist on a kickback... and points on any blockbusters!

December 12th, 2008, 02:45 AM	#3
Mark Gentile New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Mississauga Ontario Posts: 7	Thanks for the advice....that beer thing hasn't worked yet unfortunately. It is actually a house hanging from the tree. Hence the Safehouse name. I know, the first one wasn't that creative either.

December 12th, 2008, 08:39 AM	#4
Edward Phillips Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 118	I would look to find something that has an availbale website domain name as well. It seems like everything is already "thought" out already. fusvhwufhunvnfh.com is probably already taken! Best of Luck, Edward, Fusvhwufhunvnfh Films

December 12th, 2008, 09:06 AM	#5
Tripp Woelfel Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: North Conway, NH Posts: 1,745	When I moved up here 15 months ago I needed to find a new company name. For some reason I fixed on coming up with something that would identify it with the area. Also, since I'm old I wanted something a bit traditional so I ended up with Covered Bridge Productions. The URL was available and the logo fell into hand quite simply. The process was actually very simple for me after I distilled down the key elements of what I wanted the image of the company to be. Local, solid, long-standing. It wasn't really much more complex than that. There was a disk drive/RAID company that I thought had a cool name back in the 90s. Micropolis. Truth is that the name, by design, didn't mean anything. It also didn't pigeon-hole them into the storage business. This was also by design. This sort of "product branding" latitude may or may not be important to your company name, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Starting about 15 or so years ago, many companies have developed company and product names that didn't mean anything. It was called the "empty vessel". The most common example I can think of is "Pentium". In cases like this, the sound of the name is more important than any meaning as the ultimate meaning will be developed by the public perception of the product itself. You might want to spend some time randomly turning pages in a dictionary or surfing aimlessly around in wikipedia. You never know what you might come across. In the end, this is a very personal decision and you are the one that has to noodle it through. It's like coming up with a new surname for yourself. You're the one who is going to have to live with it for a long time.

December 12th, 2008, 11:56 AM	#10
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,152	I know someone who's company was called Fox Television. He made a fair amount selling the name to another company...