Digital Cinema Media

Background
Digital Cinema Media (DCM) is Europe's most profitable cinema advertising company, formed by UK cinema chains Odeon and Cineworld. It started off in the 60s/70s as Rank Screen Advertising (RSA), supplying adverts for Rank/Odeon cinemas (hence the name). They stayed like this until 1996, when they were bought by Carlton Communications and were renamed Carlton Screen Advertising. The company's UK and Irish services were split after Odeon and Cineworld acquired the UK operations and renamed it to its current name; Carlton's operations in Ireland remained until March 2014, when it was rebranded as Wide Eye Media. This was the last Carlton-owned company to use their name, long after their merger with Granada in 2004 to form ITV plc.

1st Logo (1969?-1973)


Nickname: "The Cube/Pyramid in the Abyss"

Logo:
 * Opening: On a black background, a bunch of squares inside of each other are seen in the center of the screen. The squares then roll to the left, revealing it's a cube with that pattern on it. The cube then rolls more in sync with the music until it turns to reveal "Times New Roman" in an abstract font dead center of the screen.
 * Closing: On the same background, a pyramid with a spiral pattern on it rolls until it shows the address off-center.

FX/SFX: Stop-motion animation.

Music/Sounds: A dark piano and cello tune that plays in sync with the animation.

Availability: Extinct.

2nd Logo (1973-1977)
Nicknames: "70's Space", "Countdown In Space"

Logo:
 * Opening: On a space background that we slowly zoom into, there is a rectungalar "10" with clips in it in the middle of the screen. The clips then start playing as the countdown starts. When it reaches "0", it cuts to black.
 * Closing: On the same background, "RANK SCREEN ADVERTISING", in the same font as the countdown numbers, appears one-by-one with the address, in a box of clips like in the opening.

Trivia: The footage of space used in this logo (as well as the next) was actually taken from the 1946 film, A Matter of Life and Death. A film in which J. Arthur Rank's Eagle-Lion Films actually worked on.

FX/SFX: The countdown and background.

Music/Sounds: A funky disco tune with "space"-like effects.

Availability: Extinct.

Legacy: This logo is a favorite of many British cinema fans.

3rd Logo (1977-1988)
Nickname: "70's Space II"

Logo:
 * Opening: On the same background as before, a huge letter "R" (in white) slides in from the left side of the screen, and (with a kind of "ghosting" effect) shrinks to the top. Then the letters "A", "N" and "K" do exactly the same, and they spell the word "RANK". When they are in place, the words "screen" and "advertising" slide up from the bottom of the screen one-by-one with the same ghosting effect, and then a smaller "present" flies in from the top of the screen in the same fashion.
 * Closing: The text is already formed and the address trails up under it.

FX/SFX: The "ghosting" of the words/letters.

Music/Sounds: A rather stereotypical "space" synth tune.

Availability: Extinct.

4th Logo (1988-Fall 1992)
Nickname: "Projector Parts"

Logo:
 * Opening: On a metallic background, we see two projector sprocket wheels with film going through them. We zoom onto the film and a light shines through the sprockets. It cuts to two film reels each with film coming on and off of them. We again zoom onto the film, and a light shines through the sprockets like before. We then cut to a close up of the side of some shiny object, which then spins around and is revealed to be a projector lens. Light shines through the lens and then the words "RANK SCREEN ADVERTISING" appear on the lens.
 * Closing: The projector lens is already revealed and the light wipes the name and the address in.

FX/SFX: All CGI effects.

Music/Sounds: A rather generic tune, with a kind of "whoosh" sound whenever light shines.

Availability: Extinct.

Legacy: The sudden cuts between the scenes make this logo quite jarring. Nonetheless, it's a favourite of many cinema fans.

(Fall 1992-September 1995)
Nicknames: "RSA", "Not To Be Confused With The Hip-Hop Producer", "Rank Screen Advertising Advertising", "Redundant Name"

Logo:
 * Opening: On a city background, we see a strip of film fly past from the left of the screen, led by a star. The film/star flies down close to us, and the letter "Serif" flies down from the top of the screen to the left. The same happens again, but from the right of the screen and the letter "Serif" flies down from the top to the right. That leaves a gap, and the film flies around in an "S" shape through that gap left by the "Serif" and the "Serif" . An "S" is formed from that movement (with the star at the top of it) and the star shines, after which the word "Serif" fades in at the bottom right.
 * Closing: The animation starts where the "S" is formed, and the rest of the logo and the address appears.

Trivia: It is most likely that the footage of the city used in this logo is filmed near the RSA headquarters in London.

FX/SFX: The film/star flying around and shining, the letters coming in and "ADVERTISING" fading in.

Music/Sounds: An eight-note synthesized fanfare.

Availability: Extinct.

Legacy: The abbreviation "RSA" already contains "Advertising", which makes the use of that word under the logo redundant, hence the nicknames.

(September 1995-March 1997)
Nickname: "The Filmreels"

Logo:
 * Opening: A filmreel with film coming out appears in a misty area, and another filmreel appears. The reels fly through the area as they enter an  area and film comes out of the other reel. The two reels merge into one and enter a white flash, which fades to "Serif" with the byline "An RSA Advertising Company" below it on a black background. A white dot, from which seven lines materialize out, is above the text.
 * Closing: The opening fades in, then after a few seconds, cuts to the end result. The company's address (127 Wardour Street, London W1V 4NL) appears below the logo.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A re-orchestrated version of the RSA Advertising logo's music.

Availability: Extinct.

(March 1997-December 2008 [March 2014 in Ireland])


Nicknames: "Flaming Rod", "Flaming Carlton Star"

Logo: Variant: An early version exists that has the shot of the rod in the air removed.
 * Opening: We see coal burning. An iron rod with a star-shaped brand on it plunges down onto the coal, and then we cut through numerous different shots of it. On the last one, the rod rises out of the coals, and we cut to a shot of it in the air, then it thrusts into the screen (surrounded by fire) after which the words "CARLTON Screen Advertising" fade in. The word "CARLTON" is the logo used from 1993-2004. The scene then fades/cuts out.
 * Closing: There were two closing versions. The first version fades in to the end result, having the rod cool down. The second version cuts in, then the rod and background fade out, leaving the logo on a black background.

FX/SFX: Live-action; designed and filmed by Lambie-Nairn, known for creating many other British idents.

Music/Sounds: A bunch of sound effects of the iron. Amidst that, a short horn sounder is played, followed by a "big bang" and heated fizzing when the star rod hits into the screen.

Availability: Extinct. Only seen in UK cinemas until 2008 and in Irish cinemas until 2014. Also seen on foyer tapes from the early/mid 2000s. This was the last Carlton-branded logo, used even 10 years after the brand was discontinued in general.

Legacy: This logo is infamous for its fiery atmosphere, which scared some moviegoers, especially since it was on the big screen. However, it is a finely executed logo for its time. Although it has not aged well, this logo was quite a long lasting one, only being phased out in the digital era.

1st Logo (December 2008-April 2011)
Nicknames: "The Power of Cinema Advertising", "Cinema Slideshow"

Logo: On a black background, at the top left of the screen, some text says "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING". Then two rectangles, one and one, appear and get increasingly bigger. When they are done, all sorts of pictures/clips of different movies and things start appearing, like clips such as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (the teaser trailer), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and the picture of a guy sitting in a theater eating popcorn, for example. When they are done, a string of light appears and forms the DCM logo with the text "DIGITAL CINEMA MEDIA" underneath it, while at the top left of the screen, the text says "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING" and "TO ADVERTISE VISIT DCM.CO.UK". The logo fades out afterwards.

Variant:
 * A short variant exists at the end of the advert reels.
 * A custom made closing variant exists for 3D films. It starts off in a starry background with many colorful silhouettes of plants and a red butterfly as it looks at one of the branches, then it flies towards the camera as it turns into a string of light and forms the DCM logo along with sparkling lights in front of it. The text would also display at the top left of the screen, "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING IN 3D".

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A short synth tune, which ends with a loud bass note and a crash, followed by 3 more synth notes.

Availability: No longer in use.

2nd Logo (April 2011-January 2013)
Nicknames: "The Power of Cinema Advertising II", "Lanterns"

Logo: On a black background, we see a bunch of -colored lanterns suddenly lighting up. These lanterns are then shown in various formations and colours in several different shots. Eventually, these lanterns reveal the words "DIGITAL CINEMA MEDIA" one-by-one, and at the end they come together to form the DCM logo from the previous logo. Below the logo, the captions "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING" and "VISIT DCM.CO.UK" appear.

Variants:
 * A stereoscopic 3D version of this logo exists, premiering with the UK theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
 * A short version exists. Only used at the end of the advert reels.
 * Another closing variant exists as part of a promotion with the Sour Patch Kids candy. It starts off with the normal closing variant, until a few seconds later, the logo is revealed to be from a film reel as a part of it was taken by a green sour patch kid as he looks at it and then faces the camera. It then cuts to the final shot of the logo as the same sour patch kid looks at the logo and then proceeds to touch it while looking at the camera as the logo for the candy appears on the right, along with links to its UK Facebook and Twitter accounts.

FX/SFX: Although you may think that this is CGI animation, it was actually live action, done by BAFTA-winning design company Jump (notable for branding work on The X Factor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.) It can be noticeable judging from a bit of camera shaking when "DIGITAL" appears.

Music/Sounds: A remixed version of the synth tune from the previous logo, this time starting and ending with a seat-shaking bass note.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the logo's later years, the music is in low tone and some of the percussion were delayed.

Availability: No longer in use.

3rd Logo (January 2013-)
Nicknames: "Dynamic Advertising", "Welcome To Our World"

Logo: Against a background of various changing scenes, the new DCM logo appears, which consists of three shapes designed to loosely resemble "DCM". After a while, the text "dcm" appears to the top right of said logo, while "Dynamic advertising" appears below it.

Later Variant: In 2014, a slightly different version replaced the logo above. It's essentially the same until the formation of the DCM logo. After that, the words "digital cinema media" fade in one-by-one under their respective letters, then slide to the center. The text shines and the background turns to black, with a smaller version of the DCM logo appearing in the centre of the screen and "WELCOME TO OUR WORLD" in a tall font appearing above it. The scenes continue inside the logo as usual.

Variants: There are three variations of this ident, named "Amazement", "Laughter" and "Suspense".
 * Amazement: The scenes include shots of a cornfield, the moon, the Milky Way galaxy, the inside of a space shuttle, shots of jellyfish, an exploding bomb and the Aurora Borealis.
 * Laughter: The scenes include a guy with a rabbit head getting up from a bench, a baby elephant running, a spaceman playing golf on the moon, a disco ball, someone "grabbing" the sun in their hands, and a puzzled dog, then an apple exploding, a baseball flying in, and finally and bunch of balloons hurling across a sky.
 * Suspense: The scenes include a gun being fired, a fox growling, someone's pupil shrinking, a TV being smashed, a match being lit, and finally an overhead shot of a swimming pool.

FX/SFX: Live-action with superimposure, done by Fearlessly Frank and Daniel Eatock, with post-production handled by INTRO.

Music/Sounds: Each variant has their own unique track, all created by Jungle.
 * Amazement: A piano solo with a "beep" (pre-2017); a harsh drum-and-bass tune with a dramatic choir, with the "beep" removed (post-2017).
 * Laughter: A whimsical tune with a few cartoony effects thrown in.
 * Suspense: Synths playing along with a ghastly scream, tyres screeching, and a propeller plane diving.

Availability: Current.
 * "Amazement" is the most common variation. It is generally seen before almost every film shown in Odeon/Cineworld cinemas. The exceptions are listed below.
 * "Laughter" is generally seen before comedy and animation films, although most of them use "Amazement" since 2014. It was spotted before showings of Identity Thief, the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo, Lion, Hidden Figures, the 2017 re-release of Trainspotting and Top Gun: Maverick.
 * "Suspense" is rare, and had been seen before showings of Trance, The Place Beyond The Pines, The Conjuring, World War Z, Side Effects, and Django Unchained. Although a version with the new logo sequence was made, it went unused and this variant was discontinued in 2014; showings of films that might use "Suspense" now use "Amazement" instead.

Legacy: This logo has a really creative concept. The featured scenes capture the overall feeling of the film it is shown before almost perfectly.