I’m not sure how I missed this, but after a bit of research I discovered that the all-CGI MGM film reveal was initially planned to be revealed in theatres at the beginning of No Time To Die in 2019, but due to the pandemic that never happened. I got a chance to see the latest incarnation this afternoon while watching, you guessed it, No Time To Die on streaming in 4K. It’s nearly perfect, matching the lion in particular frame by frame. However there are so many golden touches through the reveal that areas missing that same level of attention to detail fall short. The 3D modeling, materials, and lighting is stunning, but some of the fades aren’t filmic, they just turn highlights gray during the transitions.
This spells truth to 16 bit compositing compared to 32 bit. Baked Studios should really give it a few tweaks in the correct compositing color depth to truly let it shine. The light rays are a bit too unnatural and feel quite digital. Adding some subtle smoke and variation in length as they interact with the logo reveal would give it just another little bit of subtle detailing. The lion is flawless albeit there’s something odd about the motion blur. Seeing the English translation of “Art for Art’s Sake” before transitioning into the Latin “Ars Gratia Artis” was a nice touch. All in all I’d still rate this work as a 95/100. It truly is the most historic update that MGM, or possibly any studio, has ever produced. For an abbreviated MGM logo history click here.
This beast has so many subtle beauties that it’s a joy to experience. In 2021 Metro Goldwyn Mayer released an all-CGI version of their famous film intro designed by Baked Studios. Baked Studios has offices in Los Angeles and New York and has a far proven track record of producing eye-catching content fueled by epic storytelling.