QuickTime

Logo descriptions by RarityLand and OmegaSnowflakes

Background: QuickTime is an extensible multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. First made in 1991, the latest Mac version, QuickTime X, is currently available on Mac OS X Snow Leopard and newer.

1st logo (December 2, 1991)
Nicknames: "What's This All About?" "Now THAT'S cool." "QuickTime Clock"

Logo: A man walks up to the QuickTime logo and says "What's this all about?", The QuickTime logo begins to tick like a clock. The same man says "Now that's cool!"

FX/SFX: TBA

Music Sounds: The man speaking and the jingle playing.

Availability: Seen on QuickTime 1.1.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (December 2, 1991-1999)
Nicknames: "Quicktime Q", "Early Film Reel Q I"

Logo: On a black background there's 4 colored squares (one red, one yellow, one green, and one blue, looking similar to the Windows logo) with the "QuickTime Q" placed at the center of them, or one-fourth of the QuickTime logo. Below the squares there's a red rectangle with "QuickTime". The "Q" logo wipes into an Apple logo, play/next/previous/pause buttons, filmstrips, or various types of files, and then to the logo again.

Variant: Starting with QuickTime 3.0 (1998), the logo was slightly improved (with brighter colors).

FX/SFX: Early 2D animation, which is quite choppy; but we'll take it, because it's all computers were really capable of handling.

Music/Sounds: A choir throughout while a guitar and bass tune plays, then we start hearing a slow clicking-like sound, which the choir and last note of the tune is sustained.

Availability: Extremely rare. Found on software that carry QuickTime 1.0, and can be also found as a sample file. Also found on QuickTime 2.0.3 and QuickTime 3.0.

Editor's Note: A well-done logo.

3rd Logo (February 1994, 1996)


Nicknames: "Quicktime Q II", "Early Film Reel Q II", "QuickTime and the Grid", "Identificating QuickTime"

Logo: The previous logo zooms in spinning. A green grid appears with a moving arrow and digit numbers at the left. The logo starts to animate like before, before the grid starts to identify the logo. As "Identification: QuickTime" appears blinking in below, the grid and other elements zoom and go to the logo. A flash appears, and brings in the logo with the remaining light going to the white part of the Q.

FX/SFX: Creative 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh when the logo zooms in, then some beeps that go fast-paced. When the identifier arrow comes close to the center of it, the beeps slow down, then rapidly speed up again when red lines appear. A bang can be heard when we go into the QuickTime logo, and an electronic twinkle is heard when the light shines on the white part of the Q.

Availability: Appears only as a QuickTime 2.0 sample, which can be found on the 1996 CD-ROM of Noddy: The Magic of Toytown on a CD-ROM.

Editor's Note: Better animation than their first logo.

4th Logo (June 8, 1999-2001)


Nicknames: "Quicktime Q III", "Film Reel Q I", "QuickTime/Apple Combo"

Logo: On a white background we see a newer 3D version of the QuickTime logo, in blue. Below there's "QuickTime". The name fades out while the logo wipes clockwise into a red Apple logo.

FX/SFX: The logo wiping.

Music/Sounds: A short synth entry.

Availability: Seen on QuickTime 4.0, also found as a sample file, Can be seen on the 2000 CD-ROM Hi-5 Activity Centre.

Editor's Note: It's short, but sweet.

4th Logo (April 2001- )
Nicknames: "Quicktime Q IV", "Film Reel Q II", "Liquid Q", "Zooming Dot"

Logo: On a white background, a blue dot appears at the center, zooms and spins and leaves liquid trails which later form the QuickTime Q from before, but in a newer fashion. The other part of the film reel Q appears wiping and the word "QuickTime" ripples in.

Variant: Starting with QuickTime 7.x (2005), the logo was slightly improved (with smoother animation) and "QuickTime" is in a different font.

FX/SFX: The dot forming the logo, and the other parts appearing.

Music/Sounds: A 4-note synth bell and an ascending airy synth, accompanied by a synth pad.

Availability: Current. Still found as a sample file on newer versions of QuickTime.

Editor's Note: Same as the previous logo.