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Universal Television?
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorT!M
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There are huge numbers of TV shows from what is commonly referred to as "Universal Television". In the eighties - think 'The A-Team', 'Airwolf', 'Knight Rider', 'Magnum P.I.', 'Miami Vice', 'Quantum Leap', and many others - it consistently looked like this:



Aside from the logo, there's also always a written-out copyright credit at the end of the credits for "Universal City Studios", like this:



It may be of interest that the rules state: "Do not abbreviate Studio or Media Company names. e.g, use Universal Pictures not just Universal".

So what's the accurate studio name for our purposes here? Just Universal - despite the explicit abbreviation comment in the rules? Or the full Universal City Studios? Or something else, like Universal Pictures or Universal Television?
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorTheMadMartian
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A very little research reveals that it is, indeed, Universal Television.
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorNexus the Sixth
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Why would we use a credit that is not anywhere to be found on the release?
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorAiAustria
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Quoting iPatsa:
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Why would we use a credit that is not anywhere to be found on the release?

... can't see any reason to do something like that...
Complete list of Common Names  •  A good point for starting with Headshots (and v11.1)
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorTheMadMartian
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The rules tell us to enter studios in the following order: Theatrical Release Studio(s) & Production Company(s).

'Universal City Studios, Inc' is neither a Theatrical Release Studio nor a Production Company, so it is out.  What we are left with is 'Universal'.

The rules go on to tell us, as T!M noted, "Do not abbreviate Studio or Media Company names. e.g, use Universal Pictures not just Universal", so 'Universal' is also out.  The only choices that are left are to leave it off or enter the actual company name which, in this case, is 'Universal Television'.
No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever.
There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom.
Against this power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand.
The Centauri learned this lesson once.
We will teach it to them again.
Though it take a thousand years, we will be free.
- Citizen G'Kar
 Last edited: by TheMadMartian
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributorscotthm
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Quoting TheMadMartian:
Quote:
'Universal City Studios, Inc' is neither a Theatrical Release Studio nor a Production Company, so it is out.

How have you determined that "Universal City Studios, Inc." is not a production company?

---------------
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorGSyren
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Using "Universal" if the credits just say "Universal" is not abbreviating. It is as credited. That shouldn't be a novel concept.
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorMerrik
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Not so sure about that.

I used to own a company. It was a personal training company (I don't want to put the name of the company here because it was a messy breakup with my business partner and I'd rather not promote the company in anyway shape or form  ).

We had, of course, our full company name, and then we had a logo. The logo was just two letters, the first letter of the first word, and the first letter of the second word.

We placed our logo on a ton of stuff. Way more stuff than we actually put the full company name down on. Basically the only thing we put the full company name down on was legal documents with an exception here and there.

So, if we produced, like, a short documentary or something... an instructional video, and we only put our logo on it... is everyone saying THAT is what should be entered instead of the full company name?

We barely use "as credited" as it is around here (well, you know what I'm saying lol)

If the actual company name that produced/released/distributed a film/television show is Universal Pictures, Universal Television, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, then entering "Universal" would indeed be abbreviating, no matter what it is "as credited".

If the production company behind whatever show we're talking about is Universal Television, then Universal Television should be entered, no matter how their logo or credit appears.
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 Last edited: by Merrik
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorMerrik
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It's the same thing I've been seeing with Blumhouse recently.

According to everything I've looked up about the company, the full actual name of the company is Blumhouse Productions.

A lot of the time, their fancy little mini-movie/logo at the beginning of a film simply says "Blumhouse". And then the credits will say "A Blumhouse Production".

Well, we wouldn't enter the company name as Blumhouse Production just because that's what it says, it doesn't make any sense. And the logo they have only says Blumhouse, but if we enter that, it's abbreviating the studio name, which the contribution rules tell us not to do, so we enter Blumhouse Productions.

For the record, I have no idea about Universal here. I don't know enough about the company's actual name, and my local has about 10 different variations for Universal 
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorGSyren
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Well, I disagree. Two points:

1. There are thoundsands of studios in 100+ years of movies. It is impossible to research "actual names" for every studio that ever existed. We need a rule that handles all studios the same. And the only way to do that is to use the credited name.

2. Even if we were to go for actual name, that name should be the name of the studio at the time of production, not the current name. Again, impossible to research for every studio.

If we say that we should use actual name for a few studios, but not for others, well that's a slippery slope if I ever saw one.
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorMerrik
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Quoting GSyren:
Quote:
1. There are thoundsands of studios in 100+ years of movies. It is impossible to research "actual names" for every studio that ever existed. We need a rule that handles all studios the same. And the only way to do that is to use the credited name.


Fair enough... I agree to an extent for sure! I have a thread up right now asking about another studio that I can't find enough information on to see how it should be entered (and unfortunately no one else has responded to it at the moment). The only problem is the rules don't tell us to use the credited name. They say do not abbreviate. So if Universal just puts up their logo, but it's a Universal Pictures release, as per the rules, we're supposed to enter it as Universal Pictures.

Going back to the company I used to own, the abbreviation we used in our logo was EP. That was it. Some fancy schmancy graphics (no... not at all  but a couple of basic ones  ) and like I said, we put that on more stuff than we ever put the full company name. If that were the case here, and our logo ended up on a film or documentary or something, going by as credited would have us enter EP as the production company... a production company that technically doesn't exist.

Like I said, I agree to an extent absolutely... the LAST thing I want to do is put more freakin' work into finding something out, especially a studio which is not something I particularly care about really... but if the actual studio name behind it is Universal Television (I haven't looked anything up, I'm just saying if THAT's the company name), then that's the name we're told by the contribution rules to use, no matter what a logo or something else may say.

Not particularly MY opinion, just going by what the rules say.
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 Last edited: by Merrik
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorT!M
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Merrik certainly has a point: this is the "Contribution Discussion" forum, so I was asking how this should be handled for for contribution purposes, per the current contribution rules. That's not the same as asking how everyone would like to handle it.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorGSyren
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Well, I don't agree that "Universal" is an abbreviation. If it had said "Universal Television" and we had entered "Universal", then we would have abbreviated it.

Now, it may be that Universal themselves have abbreviated "Universal Television" to "Universal". But that's their business. It's not for us to say. If they call themselves "Universal" in the credits, then "Universal" it is. In my opinion.
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorTheMadMartian
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Quoting scotthm:
Quote:
Quoting TheMadMartian:
Quote:
'Universal City Studios, Inc' is neither a Theatrical Release Studio nor a Production Company, so it is out.

How have you determined that "Universal City Studios, Inc." is not a production company?

---------------

I am what you would call a Studio Buff and Universal is one of my favorite old time studios.

I did extensive research, some 12 years ago, when this first came up at Intervocative.  While I won't repost all of that research again, I will give you the long and the short of it...

Universal City Studios, Inc was created by MCA, back in 1964, to bring both Universal Pictures and Universal Television under the same corporate umbrella.  This corporate umbrella also included the studio tour which is now the theme park we know today.  While that 'parent company' owns the copyrights, they do not produce movies or TV shows.
No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever.
There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom.
Against this power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand.
The Centauri learned this lesson once.
We will teach it to them again.
Though it take a thousand years, we will be free.
- Citizen G'Kar
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorTheMadMartian
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Quoting GSyren:
Quote:
Well, I don't agree that "Universal" is an abbreviation. If it had said "Universal Television" and we had entered "Universal", then we would have abbreviated it.

Now, it may be that Universal themselves have abbreviated "Universal Television" to "Universal". But that's their business. It's not for us to say. If they call themselves "Universal" in the credits, then "Universal" it is. In my opinion.

While that is all well and good, the rules, quite clearly I might add, tell us that 'Universal' it isn't.  There is no exception that says, "unless that is what is shown on screen," and that was by design.

What is shown on screen is a logo, not a credit.  Many companies do this, opting for a logo rather than a written credit, but Universal was one that did it most often so, if memory serves, they were chosen as the example.
No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever.
There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom.
Against this power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand.
The Centauri learned this lesson once.
We will teach it to them again.
Though it take a thousand years, we will be free.
- Citizen G'Kar
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorGSyren
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The way I read the rule, it's an example that means "If it says Universal Pictures, don't abbreviate it to Universal". It doesn't, in my opinion, mean that if Universal decides to call itself just "Universal" we cannot use that.

So it's a logo? Do the rules say not to use the logo, if that's all there is? No. In fact:
Quote:
Some companies (using similar but different names) may serve more than one function. List such companies only once, using the name from the logo.

That may, or may not, refer to Media Companies, the context doesn't make it entirely clear, but it shows that Ken is not against the use of logos for information.
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