Image Entertainment

Background
Image Entertainment Inc. was founded in 1981 as a LaserDisc distributor and became a major act of the format. Once DVDs dominated the home media market and soon rivaled VHS in the late 1990's, Image re-focused its output distribution to DVDs. They have also released a wide variety of entertainment as a production company, including feature films, TV series, and music programs. In 2012, Image was acquired by RLJ Acquisition, Inc. and was merged with another purchase, Acorn Media. The name stopped being used on-screen in 2015. After that, it was an in-name only subsidiary of RLJ Entertainment until 2018. The RLJE Films name has been used since 2017. AMC Networks purchased RLJ Acquisition on November 1, 2018.

1st Logo (1983-1989)
Logo: On a sunset background of a city, we see flying discs zooming in and spinning around, with the logo doing the same thing at the same time. The logo rests in place and the background fades to black, leaving the logo in place. The logo reads "image (in a sunset-colored gradient font and the g's tail stretched to the left) ENTERTAINMENT INC".

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A short synthesized melody that loops seven times.

Availability: Rare. Seen on releases of the time, mainly adult titles, which are very hard to find.

2nd Logo (1989-1998)
Logo: On a background, we see the inside layer of a LaserDisc/DVD. A white laser suddenly hits it creating a ray of light. The laser travels around the layer as it begins to spin and we zoom out to reveal two layers covering the layer, which form a LaserDisc/DVD with the Image logo on it. The logo flies out of the disk from the back and rests in the middle with the laser disappearing and the disc leaving the screen falling down. The words "ENTERTAINMENT INCTM" and the byline "The Finest in Laser Videodiscs" fade in.

Variants:
 * On some releases, the logo fades to a black screen. Depending on the release, "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman" or "THE MUSIC DISC" would appear.
 * In 1997, when Image began expanding to DVD, the byline was changed to read "The Finest in Home Entertainment". This appeared on both DVDs and some late-life LaserDiscs from 1997-1998 as Image Entertainment began to phase out LaserDiscs to focus more on DVD distribution.
 * On some releases, there is no byline.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A dramatically ascending majestic fanfare accompanied by the laser's scrapping, followed by a more calming synth choir and some bell notes.

Availability: Common. It can be seen on LaserDiscs and DVD releases of the time, mainly direct-to-DVD and low-budget movies produced by various small studios and by Image sometimes. It also appears on many Orion Home Video LaserDisc and DVD releases from the mid-90s such as the first two Robocop movies.

Legacy: This logo has gained a lot of recognition for its synth orchestra and CGI.

3rd Logo (1998-July 21, 2009)
Logo: On a black background, a light red gradient ring zooms out, while the word "image" (in a gradient, different from the previous logos) appears turning counterclockwise one letter at a time. The word "ENTERTAINMENT" fades in zooming out. The company's web address, www.image-entertainment.com, fades in. The logo then fades out and the ring zooms out to the upper-right corner, disappearing in the background and leaving only the web address remaining.

Variants:
 * There is a trailer version coming up in color with no ring.
 * Another colored version without the ring appears on the trailer for My Name is Bruce.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A soft piece accompanied by a flute and a horn. On most releases, the logo is silent.

Availability: Common. Seen on their DVD releases of the time as well as the final LaserDiscs they released in 1999 - the former of which are more common in bargain bins than those with the previous logo. This does not appear on DVDs of The Twilight Zone (the 1960s TV series) as they only use the 1992 CBS Video logo.

4th Logo (August 2009-September 29, 2015)
Logo: A spectrum of small cubes suddenly zooms in quickly. A ball of cubes breaks up and a trial of small cubes travels around in a neutron-like way. The words "IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT" (in a different, all-uppercase font than before) appear and turn counterclockwise. The last trail of cubes turns and rests on the "I" with a cine of light, leaving one  cube above the "I".

Variant: On later releases, namely after the company was acquired by RLJ Entertainment, an abridged version is used.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: The cubes whooshing accompanied by a peaceful string melody, which is a remix of the previous logo's music. A small note is played when the cube rests. Sometimes, the logo is silent.

Availability: Common. Besides DVD and Blu-ray releases, it is also seen on 2009-2015/2018 theatrical releases and TV series (since Image has grown into a film production company along with distributing other companies' titles).