Darlow Smithson Productions

Background
Darlow Smithson Productions was a production company that was formed in 1988 by director David Darlow and John Smithson. In 2002, Darlow quit, while John Smithson followed suit in 2011. The company was sold itself to IMG Media in 2006, along with Tigress Productions and Tiger Aspect Productions, and both companies were sold to the UK division of Endemol in 2009. It is currently owned by Banijay since 2020.

1st Logo (March 14, 1993-2003)
Logo: On a black-dark blue gradient background, we see the 3D letters "d" and "s" rotates toward the screen before settling in the center. A white circle fades in, and the "ds" turns black as the words "a darlow smithson production" fades in and extra credit info fades in below the logo.

Variant: On Driven, the "ds" circle is red and stands next to the Ideal World Productions logo.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show.

Availability: Rare. Seen on Darlow Smithson's television shows from the period, like Black Box, Driven, Survival in the Sky, Crash, Mayday and documentaries like Japanese Teen Killers, Science and the Swastika and Hollywood, Inc.

2nd Logo (2003-2007)
Logo: On a black background, a symbol flashes and pulses in. It consists of a letter D extending into an S and colored in various colors. The symbol is distorted. Then the text:

DARLOW SMITHSON PRODUCTIONS in a monoscript font appears below the text. Sometimes, extra credit info appears below the logo.

Technique: The symbol flashing and pulsing in; the text appearing.

Music/Sounds: An electric shock sound over a synth note.

Availability: Rare. Seen on shows and documentaries from the company, like The Fight for Baghdad, The World's First Time Machine and Seconds from Disaster, among others.

3rd Logo (2007-2012)
Logo: On a black background, the distorted "ds" symbol from the last logo draws in. It shifts to the center as the text "Darlow Smithson Productions" wipes in below the logo, and a line fades in. A streak wipes the byline below the logo.

Bylines:
 * 2007-2008: "an Times New Roman media company" (with "Times New Roman" in corporate font).
 * 2008-2009: "AN IMG ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" in a common font.
 * 2009-2012: "an endemol company" with the Endemol logo at the right.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the logo is on a white background.
 * Sometimes, the logo is bylineless.
 * Sometimes, the logo is still.

Technique: The DS symbol drawing in, the sliding of the text.

Music/Sounds: None or the end theme of the show.

Availability: Common. It was seen on documentaries and shows from the time period in the UK, but not on US shows and documentaries, such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Tsunami: Caught on Camera and Thrilla in Mania.

4th Logo (2012- )
Logo: On a black background, a colored circle swirls in, revealing that the swirling object is the "ds" object from the last logos. The word "dsp" slides in from the right, and then the company byline fades in below the logo.

Bylines:
 * 2012-2016: "an endemol company", with the Endemol logo to the right of the byline.
 * 2016-2021: "part of EndemolShineGroup" (in its corporate font).
 * 2021-: "We are Banijay", with the Banijay logo to the left of the DSP logo.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the logo is shown in-credit.
 * Sometimes, the logo is on a white background.
 * Sometimes, the logo is still.
 * Rarely, the company name is omitted.

Technique: The swirling, the sliding.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show.

Availability: Current. Seen on DSP's shows from the period, like The Mill, Hawking, To Catch a Comet, Nazi Mega Weapons, Secrets of the Salisburg Poisonings and Agatha and the Truth of Murder, among others.