Armenfilm

Background
Armenfilm (Russian: Арменфильм), also known as Hayfilm (Armenian: Հայֆիլմ), is an national film studio from Armenia, located in Yerevan. The studio was founded on April 16, 1923 as a production unit of the Soviet State Cinema Organisation, with Daniel Dznuni as the first director. Armenfilm was sold by the state to private investors in 2005 with a long list of conditions of revitalizing the studio's equipment and producing new content. It was rebranded CS Film Studios but failed to produce the required new feature films. In 2015, the Government of the Republic of Armenia decided that the new management had failed to satisfy the conditions of the sale and moved to reclaim the studio's assets.

1st Logo (1938)
Logo: On a grain light gray background, TBA

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the short.

Availability: Only seen on The Dog and the Cat (the first Armenian animated short).

2nd Logo (1940s-1997)
Logo: On any superimposed background, we see the text "Produced by the film studio "Հայֆիլմ" (Hayfilm), Yerevan" in Armenian.

Variant: Originally, the logo was originally named "Yerevan Film Studio" during the 1940's to 1957.

FX/SFX: None or the text fading in.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Very common. Also seen on its cartoon productions The Magic Carpet (1948) and Victoria (1997, an Franco-Armenian co-production).

Legacy: Our first ongoing Armenian logo that takes the longspan for 5 decades.

3rd Logo (1976-1995?)
Nicknames: "The Statue of David of Sassoun"

Logo: We see a yellow background representing a sky/sunset with a highlands part of Mount Ararat, as well as the statue of David of Sassoun, after which, the "ՀայՖիլմ" or "Арменфильм" text fades in. The logo fades out.

Trivia: The statue of David of Sassoun, ilustrated in the logo, is an actual statue in Yerevan.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Silent.

Availability: Common. Can be seen in a lot of Armenfilm movies, especially the ones from the 70's. Also seen on its animation productions The Wind, The Rat (both from 1988), and For You, Armenia! (1990).

Legacy: This Armenianfilm logo was longspan for 3 decades, and this resembles the Korean Film logo.

4th Logo (2001-2007)
Nicknames:: "CGI Statue of David of Sassoun"

Logo: We see an enhanced and shinier version of the statue of David of Sassoun in a different angle, than usual. Red CGI animated "ՀայՖիլմ" text in red spins around the logo and stops at a slightly off-center possition. The logo fades out.

FX/SFX: The text spinning.

Music/Sounds: A church bell chime.

Availability: Rare. It can be seen in Armenfilm movies, made from 2001 to 2006.

Legacy: This logo is pretty rare, as newer prints of movies, such as Merry Bus and Unfired Bullets, use the 2007-present Armenfilm logo.

5th Logo (2007-)


Nicknames: "CGI Statue of David of Sassoun II", "The Stormy Statue", "The Dark Statue"

Logo: On a dark stormy background, we see a figure. Then, a flash of lightning appears, revealing that it's a closeup of a stone sword. The camera then pans through the sword as we see some wavy textures, with some lightning still flashing. We then see a head of a statue, which is the statue of David of Sassoun. The camera pans out from the statue as we see the statue in full view. Then, a flash of lightning appears, with the text

ՀԱՅՖԻԼՄ ARMENFILM

flashing in. The logo fades out.

Trivia: This logo is created by Triada Studio based in Yerevan.

FX/SFX: Nice CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: An ominous tune with a horn and violin, accompanied by the sounds of thunder, lightning and a sword swinging as the statue appears.

Availability: Seen on releases from the company.

Legacy: Not many people are going to sit well with the darkness of the logo, sudden appearance of the statue and music. The fact that it also takes place in a stormy background doesn't help, either.