One of the first (and most exciting) parts of starting your own film production company is creating your film production company name. This name is going to reflect your groundbreaking style, show off your professional and one-of-a-kind brand, and set the tone for the projects you’ll take on as your company takes off. It also may be difficult to come up with a name that hasn’t already been taken. So how can you approach this suddenly daunting task? Is there a name left for you and your hardworking team? Keep reading for tips on how to create a production company name.
Best Names for Production Companies
Why a good company name matters
Before we dive in, it’s critical to understand what your film production company name can do for you and your brand, and starting your own production company sometimes means finding ways to work smarter, not harder. In this way, your production company name can do some leg work for you (the best film company names, or best production house names, do).
A film production company name can establish what you and your company do. For instance, a company named “Silk Laboratories” will tell a different story than “Silk Confections.”
For your production company name, you can consider words like “entertainment,” “productions,” “films,” or “media” to clearly convey what services you provide.
You'll also want an ideal logo that has its own set of considerations. In this video, get some essential logo and branding tips.
Logo & Branding Tips
The best film company names will also give your company a creative and exciting edge. Of course, the look of your branding in general will aid in this intrigue, but an imaginative production company name could draw folks in, simply upon reading the name itself.
How to Name Your Production Company
Production company name generators
You can always search for production company name ideas into a search engine. But no one can tell you the best film company names for the unique individual that is you. What do you mean to convey with your production company name?
We’ve covered establishing your services and creativity in the company name itself, but what is best practice for deciding what that actually means for your production company?
Blossom Films, production company logo
You can start by considering your brand, and not just color schemes or logos, but your brand itself. Once you have a clear idea of not just what you do, but who you are, you’ll already be that much closer to landing on the right moniker. Maybe your brand needs to reflect (and therefore convey) strength. Maybe it needs to convey whimsy, or beauty, comedy, nature, or growth.
Deliberate what you want your trademark to be. Does the idea of command feel aligned with your production company’s values and projects? What words express the idea of command?
Here's Jonathan Bell on how to "win the name game."
How to Create a Great Brand Name
You should also consider professionalism when concocting your creative production company name. In an effort to be professional on our end, we won’t list too many unsavory examples here, but it’s in your best interest to steer clear of any gross, silly, insulting, or offensive production company names.
Remember, your production company name is part of your image; if no one wants a part of your image, they’ll probably keep looking for other production companies with which to collaborate.
Note: Just because your production company has a professional name doesn’t mean it has to be lackluster. Reflect on some popular production companies you know and love (Monkeypaw Productions, DreamWorks, LAIKA); they’re impactful but also professional. And you can find a name that works well for your company that also checks those boxes.
Monkeypaw Productions, production company logo
If this still isn’t stirring any ideas, you may come up with some cool concepts by considering translations of words, especially if your production company is international or based in a location where English may not be the first language. Does your unique documentary film production company specifically explore Latin cultures? Does it specifically work with local filmmakers in various countries? Is your company bilingual?
Esperanto Filmoj, production company logo
On that note, perhaps your company could use more of an eponymous approach (Disney seems like a pretty forward-thinking name for a company, but we’re pretty sure that one’s already taken). Or maybe you yourself have a particularly noteworthy name, or remarkable, personal anecdote that made you fall in love with your craft.
Essentially, don’t shy away from putting yourself into your company if it feels like an accurate depiction of who you are and the services you provide (even if that means creating a word of your very own).
Protect Your Production Company
Confirm your name’s availability
Once you’ve found or created the perfect production company name, you need to make sure it’s available. With millions of companies out there (thanks, the internet…), production-related or not, this may seem like an impossible task. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to easily check the status of your desired production company name (thanks, the internet!).
Choosing a Domain Name
Typically, the best go-to for finding protected work is the U.S. Copyright Office. Not only can you protect your work here (and we can’t stress this enough: you should always invest in protecting your work with the Copyright Office), but you can see who else’s work is protected.
However, this doesn’t exactly apply to protecting your business’s name. In the case of naming your new production company, you may have protection under federal trademark laws. Visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for more on how to protect your great new company name.
You can also check name availability through the U.S. Small Business Association’s website. A bonus of this site is that you can also use their services to register your company name with the appropriate agencies. A similar site to check out would be Start.biz, where you can also conduct a business name search to determine your production company name’s availability.
Finally, one of the best things you can do once you’ve chosen and protected your film production company name is make sure the domain name is available for your new website.
In fact, this should be part of your production company business plan. Regardless of which server will host your site, you can look through various databases to make sure your URL isn’t already being used by someone else (even if it’s not their registered company name, the specific URL could already be in use). GoDaddy and Google have their own search engines for this, but you can also use sites like who.is to confirm that you can get your exact preferred URL up and running ASAP.
Creating your ideal film production company name is no easy task, but utilizing the tips above to consider what is important to you as a creator should put you on the right track. You are a unique artist, and your name can and will reflect that once you’ve done some thorough brainstorming. Just don’t forget to register and protect your new company name once you’ve done all the legwork.
up next
Start your own production company
Maybe you began by selecting your production company name, and now you need to start the production company itself. If that sounds like you, follow the link below to learn the essentials of starting your own production company.
Up Next: How to Start a Prod. Co. →
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