A logo for the Fixed Camera Appreciation Society

ReverendSpeed · May 27, 2022, 8:40am

Concept : An image to encapsulate the Fixed Camera Appreciation Society (I can’t link to this, but a quick Google search should reveal us!) , a Steam Group for folks who like games like the original Resident Evils, the first Alone in the Darks, Dino Crisis etc.

Purpose or Goal : To develop a better representational image / logo than the current one - to develop an identity which can be used in videos, websites and games.

Format : Primarily digital, for website and video.

Audience : Gamers in their 20s-mid 50s of both genders, employed professionals in (probably) western countries with a high degree of computer / console / gaming literacy, probably with an interest in older videogames or games with a slightly unusual design.

Your Experience Level : I am a professional 3D modeller and Unity programmer, but while I’ve made a couple of logos in the past, I am basically untrained in the graphic design process of building a logo.

Nature of Job: This is a free work for the equivalent of a book club or other gathering of enthusiasts.

A recent example of a Fixed Multicam game:

When I started the group, I threw together a basic representational image, seen here…

icon01001x256RS

It’s a fast, rough sketch, but it’s served us well enough for a few months. With the group growing, I’m thinking of doing some videos for promotion - but I really need to develop a proper logo for the group.

The trick is - ‘Fixed Camera Appreciation Society’ is quite an abstract concept and tricky (for me, at least!) to boil down into a distinctive, clear image. I’ve brainstormed some related elements / imagery…

Indication image is from a camera: Lens / viewfinder / fisheye / chromatic aberration /
Representation of camera: Tripod / stand / old camera bodies /
Representation of appreciation: Heart / thumbs up / 5 stars
Representation of computer 3d: frustum / vanishing point / 3 point perspective

…but it’s kinda hard to capture the essence of these games - the idea of the third person character in a composed fixed camera shot…!

I drew up a few sketches to see if I could find some new ideas…

1653638496008 1653638540056

…playing around maybe with some kind of lens frame …before ultimately coming back to the original idea, with a slightly better framing and background:

icon02001x256RS

…Still not great, though. I’d love to work out some simple, clear design with a nice silhouette and clean lines. I’m a decent modeller (despite the images on this page) and it’d be nice to do something that could be animated in 2D or 3D as well.

At this stage, I think I just need a fresh set of eyes, or pokes or prods in the right direction. If you guys have any notions, please feel free to send 'em my way… =)

–Rev

Just-B · May 27, 2022, 3:03pm

I have no idea what a steam group is and have no interest in computer games, which means that I’m not even close to being your target audience.

Logos aren’t typically full-blown color illustrations, but perhaps the approach works for a game.

The angle of the illustration looks like it’s from the viewpoint of a surveillance camera, which I’m assuming is the point. However, what is the pink heart about? It stands out as alien to the rest of the illustration. Why is the illustration so dark? It’s almost as if it was the view from a camera with a lens coated in algae.

I’m not sure I’ve even given you a relevant critique because I’m sort of just not getting this or the reasons behind it. Mostly, I’ve just made some observations out of ignorance.

Eriskay · May 27, 2022, 3:27pm

If an old-timer does not understand, you’re half way there.

PrintDriver · May 27, 2022, 3:55pm

I’m an old timer and I get it, LOL
At least in a simplistic fashion as I don’t recognize any of the game names except I’ve heard Dino Crisis mentioned in a non-gaming Discord I frequent.

the little heart is a love icon similar to what is seen floating over characters in Sims, which I only know vicariously through others (that game is a time suck, LOL but if they enjoy it…shrug)

the fully rendered almost Minecraft-like guy in the little logo the OP created isn’t something that could be anything but inkjet printed if you ever decide to do club gear or trinkets. You might do a flat vector version for stuff like that. Or not. But the idea is already a fairly good one for representing this type of gaming environment. Compared to your other sketches it is much more dynamic and engaging.

ReverendSpeed · May 27, 2022, 4:17pm

Hey folks! Thanks for the notes!

So, any renders here are just quick sketches, absolutely NOT near a finished illustration or flat design. In some cases, I’m more comfortable building 3d models than drawing - so I’m just quickly testing out composition and iconic elements.

Ultimately, I’d like to output the final logo as a 2D Black and White vector image (having handdrawn/traced/painted/rendered/whatever my way to the final piece).

Ayyyyy, glad that came across. That’s helpful. The games this society appreciates are ones where it looks like the player is moving from one surveillance camera to another. Instead of the camera following the player (as with most action games), here the player moves in and out of shot in a manner reminiscent of cinematic editing. Here’s some example footage from a classic of the genre, ‘Resident Evil’: youtu.be/73EazNXKJAQ?t=885

The pink heart is to signify ‘appreciation’ - as @PrintDriver identifies, a ‘love icon’, eg:

The viewfinder framing elements are to indicate a camera (as opposed to other approaches I’ve tried, with a lens, etc). There’s slight fish-eye distortion to attempt to enhance that impression.

The illustration, as it stands, is supposed to show a rudimentary human form looking up at a ‘fixed camera’ and ‘appreciating’ it.

There’s a slight whimsy intended in the contrast between the dingy environment and the ‘cute’ appreciation for the camera.

As I say,

Well, the colour and treatment of the image isn’t that important for me at this stage - I’m more playing about with the representational elements and their layout. However, the fixed camera approach was initially (Alone in the Dark 1992, Resident Evil 1996) used for horror games, so I briefly switched on a greenish volumetric environment and added a little chromatic aberration for atmosphere.

Um, you can probably disregard the colours. =)

Ultimately, I’m still feeling my way towards a design.

Fair! Fixed Multicamera is a somewhat… acquired taste. =D

I appreciate all of your input, folks. Any other thoughts on ways to represent ‘Fixed Camera Appreciation Society’ are welcome, as are any notes on whether the current general idea is worthwhile - and on how to sharpen that approach.

pluto · May 28, 2022, 3:15am

What a fun project to be working on, I remember when games like that used to be so popular in the early 2000’s on the PS1.

I think the issue with your logo is that it’s too complex - the logo isn’t supposed to be an illustration and I think that what you’ve currently got.

My advice would be:

Stop trying to draw a litteral respresentation of a fixed camera view.
Keep it simple and easy to reproduce.

ReverendSpeed · May 28, 2022, 9:37pm

=D It’s pretty fun! Those games are still being made, but it’s something of a niche audience now…!

At the moment, nothing that I’ve posted should be considered more than a sketch - doing a quick 3D model is sometimes faster for me than drawing (especially getting the perspective right!). Ultimately I intend reducing this to a fairly simple 2D B&W vector drawing.

That’s the trick, though. I’m finding it quite hard to identify some kinda iconic element to represent ‘fixed camera’. If I draw an actual camera, then that’s drawing attention to the hardware rather than the approach, for example.

The viewfinder 'L’s are good at marking the visual as being from a camera perspective and the heart is a universal symbol for ‘affection’ or ‘appreciation’… but if I just do them on their own, it looks like a heart in angle brackets. Maybe I could do the viewfinder in a heart? I’ve even drawn a camera wrapped in a bow, but that just looks like I’m gifting someone a camera…

I think there should probably be a 3d element in the logo, even if it’s not rendered in 3d, given we’re tracking a character in the room. I’m playing around with wireframe boxes and hexagons as an element, but nothing’s jumping out yet…

Thanks for the advice, though. I’ll keep scratching my head on this one.

ReverendSpeed · May 29, 2022, 4:45am

Further blind groping towards some kind of a logo. Again, though rendered, this is a SKETCH, purely intended as an arrangement of possibly useful elements, namely:

Wireframe environment / square on ground to indicate perspective
Heart to indicate appreciation
Viewfinder 'L’s to indicate this is a camera POV
Person to indicate camera awareness and locate the heart’s appreciation of camera

Still seems complicated. Too many elements? Like, ideally, you’d want something as simple and clever as the Fed Ex logo… but how do you cut down ‘Liking fixed multicam approach in games’?

Rrrgh. Too much stuff.

Should I just go with a lens ‘frame’? That moves away from ‘mounted camera’ and more into voyeurism / posing for picture territory…

ReverendSpeed · May 29, 2022, 5:08am

(Apologies, I can’t edit the post above…)
To clarify, I think I’m sorta heading in this kinda treatment / direction…

EDIT:
Quick dutch, reframe:

I’d consider turning the whole thing 45 degrees and making it a diamond, but the viewfinder Ls sorta lose their meaning a little when they become angle brackets <>.

ReverendSpeed · September 13, 2022, 1:37am

After a long time, came back to the project, have done a little more experimentation. As ever, images are sketches, thinking visually about composition:
97818086.42_image
So, the thought came to mind about cameramen - instead of just appreciating the angles, perhaps the logo could be about appreciating the craft that went into choosing each angle, making sure it worked for gameplay and was visually appealing.