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When you watch a film in the cinema, or curled up on the sofa at home, you probably don’t pay too much attention to the signs that appear in those Hollywood productions. But as sign makers, we notice every sign we see on the silver screen! It’s part of the magic for us, and today we wanted to have a bit of fun with it, share some of the most famous signs found in film and TV, and give you an insight into how they’ve been made.
The Jurassic Park Gates
Let’s be honest, even if you’ve never seen the full film, everyone has seen the iconic Jurassic Park gates. It’s the sign that welcomes visitors into the park and sets the tone for the tour they are about to embark on. Visitors are driven through two enormous, primitive gates, with torches blazing on either side. It was designed to make you think of the King Kong gates, rustic and atmospheric.
The sign makes an appearance in every other film in the Jurassic Park universe, modified with each park’s name. The gate itself was likely made of moulded plastic, foam, plaster and paint to make it look realistic. The letters above the arch have been fret cut and then covered in two colours of vinyl wrap to give it that red colour with yellow edging. This was likely done so that the letters could be oversized for the arch, without needing a square sign background, allowing them to stand out more. The set designers could then position the letters using plastic studs to create this iconic gate and arch.
Amity Island
Jaws is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic films of our time. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film tells the story of an insatiable great white shark that terrorises the people of Amity Island over the 4th of July. Now, Jaws has a lot of signage, painting the picture of a very real and rustic seaside town, but by far the most recognisable and well-known is the Amity Island welcome sign. A huge billboard erected to celebrate their 50th Annual Regatta on the 4th of July weekend, the Amity Island billboard features a woman on a surfboard enjoying the sun and sea. When the shark starts attacking, the billboard is defaced with a shark fin and ‘help’ coming from the woman’s mouth. While town officials are annoyed at this vandalism, a scientist uses it to explain just how big the shark is so that the mayor will take the threat seriously. Overall, it’s a fairly prominent prop in the film!
The Amity Island sign is a typical billboard sign, so its base construction will include a steel frame and a sheet of backing material known as facing. For modern billboards, we would print artwork onto large sheets of paper or vinyl, which could then be spread across the frame’s surface. For Amity Island, the sign has a very ‘hand painted’ finish, which makes us think this was a community project and was painted by the locals before being attached to the billboard frame. This was a very common approach to billboards at the time, before vinyl printing really became accessible in smaller communities.
The edging of this billboard is a little different as well. It’s almost as if it’s placed into a giant yellow picture frame, which is constructed in much the same way as a traditional picture frame, using wood and glue. This adds to that community project feel, and again looks hand-painted. On a modern billboard, this would be a flat surface all the way to the edges, so brands could make the most of their advertising space.
Los Pollos Hermanos
Los Pollos Hermanos translates to ‘The Chicken Brothers’, and is the name of the fictional fast food restaurant from the hit TV show ‘Breaking Bad’. The show ran from 2008-2013, and focussed on Chemistry teacher Walter White and his journey into manufacturing drugs as he struggles to pay for his cancer treatments. Los Pollos Hermanos makes its debut in the second season of the show as the cover for a large-scale drug dealer, and it remains a feature throughout.
Like many restaurants and hospitality businesses, Los Pollos Hermanos features a large sign on the front of the building bearing their name, logo and brand colours. This particular sign type is a sign tray, which means it’s a 3D sign that sits away from the wall. This adds extra dimension and makes it stand out, which is why the set designers chose it – for maximum impact! These signs are printed straight-to-board and grooves are cut using a CNC router to ensure a clean and accurate cut. Another, larger shape is then cut around the board so that we can fold back the edges along those V-grooves, which creates a seamlessly joined tray. They’re a popular and more stylish alternative to flat signs, and means you can attach the sign to the wall without any visible fixings.
Why Signs Are So Important To Films
Think about simply driving through a town. Every few feet you will see road signs, business signs, hanging signs, maybe billboards. Taking a trip on a train? You’ll see station name signs, room name signs, notice boards and underground tube stickers. Signage forms a crucial part of background life, so to make films and TV shows feel realistic, they need to recreate all of these elements for their fictional settings.
There are also a number of locations that look perfect in the foreground but have a lot going on in the background that might break immersion, be too complex to build for one or two shots, or just not look good on film. Think a main road in the background of The Hobbit, or needing a library background that won’t be in focus. In these cases, film-makers will commission a printed backdrop that they can use to create the feel and look they need for the shots, and hide whatever the real background of the location is. You might have also seen this kind of backdrop in photography or even in theatre productions.
In both cases, signage is what takes a film set from looking cheap to looking realistic, allowing the filmmakers to create truly immersive and high-quality films and TV shows.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this tour through Hollywood with us! If you’d like us to talk about more famous signs, please do let us know and drop us some suggestions! Alternatively if you’re looking for a way to make your business stand out from the crowd and like the idea of these signs, we can help. Our expert sign makers can craft a wide range of signs, no matter how big or small, to give your brand the support it needs. If you’re looking for new signage or brand printing for your organisation, we can help. Just get in touch with the team today to book your free consultation.
For more information on Famous Signs In Film & TV (And How They’re Made) talk to Signwrite Studios Ltd