Picturehouse Films

Background
Picturehouse Films was launched by marketing/distribution executive Bob Berney in 2005 as a joint venture between New Line Cinema (when it folded Fine Line Features) and HBO Films to distribute documentaries, foreign films, and independent films. In 2008, TimeWarner moved away from producing independent films, and closed both Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures. In January 2013, Berney purchased the Picturehouse trademark and logo from Warner Bros. and revived it as an independent film company. Picturehouse went dormant in 2015 when Berney became the marketing and distribution head of Amazon Studios, but it came back in 2019 when his contract expired.

1st Logo (2005)
Logo: Just the word "PICTUREHOUSE" on a black background, with a TimeWarner byline.

Variant: Sometimes the logo doesn't have a byline.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming in slowly.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Seen on the trailers for earliest Picturehouse-released films, including Notorious Bettie Page, Ushpizin, and The Thing About My Folks.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (July 22, 2005-October 9, 2008, June 5, 2013-)
Nickname: "The Picturehouse Sign"

Logo: We see the camera looking down from a tall building at dusk, and some sparks fly off an unidentifiable object. We then fade to a camera panning across the first few letters in a neon sign reading "PICTUREHOUSE", lighting up, and startling some birds. We then fade to the camera panning back at a different angle, and all the letters in the sign brightly illuminate. The standard TimeWarner byline fades in below.

Variant: When this logo returned in 2013, the logo is bylineless, due to the company now being independent.

FX/SFX: Excellent CGI.

Music/Sounds: A string fanfare with sparking/buzzing sounds.

Availability: Common. Seen on foreign and indie films as well as documentaries from 2005 to 2008, and from 2013 onwards.

Editor's Note: None.