Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Home Video Bumpers)

1st Bumper (1980s)
Bumper: On a background of multiple stripes (from top to bottom: yellow, thin blue, black space, yellow, blue, thin white, thick red), we see the large word "ALSO" in a thick red font, with the word "AVAILABLE" in an italicized, formal font, underlined in red. The white line is gapped on the right by the word "FROM", in the same font; the same space has a small black line drawn in the thick red stripe at the bottom. It quickly "page turns" to reveal the RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video logo.

FX/SFX: The "page flip".

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Scarce. Only known so far to appear on rental copies of Ghostbusters (sale copies have no previews) from 1984-85.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Bumper (1989-1990)

Bumper: On a magenta background, one of these would be on the screen: COMING SOON ON VIDEOCASSETTE COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU (here, the font is different and with shadow effects and the background is gradient.

Variants:Another version of the "COMING SOON TO A THEATRE YOU" screen has a pink gradient background and no shadow effects.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Ultra rare. Seen on RCA/Columbia tapes of the time. One of which is See No Evil, Hear No Evil. The pink "COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU" screen is seen on The Karate Kid Part III.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Bumper (February 1990-1993)

Nickname: "The Filmstrip"

Bumper: On a blue gradient background, a silver filmstrip with black pictures with the yellow words "Sneak Preview", stacked on top of each other, flies in from the right. The screen then focuses on the strip as it moves until it stops, with the beginning of the trailer in places of the "Sneak Preview" pictures. The trailer then zooms in from the filmstrip, filling the whole screen.

Variant: Sometimes, the trailer will play during the animation. Other times it doesn't start until the screen zooms in the preview.

FX/SFX: Just simple computer animation from 1990.

Music/Sounds: A low synthesized note that plays for the duration of the logo. There is also a male announcer that says one of the following: For soon to be theatrical releases, "And now, a special sneak preview of movies coming to a theater near you." For upcoming releases on home video, "And now, a sneak preview of upcoming videocassette releases."

Availability: Uncommon, though this is easier to find than the previous bumper, because it was used for a longer duration and it being on more tapes. Can be found on VHS release from RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video and Columbia TriStar Home Video, such as Immediate Family, Casualties of War, Pump Up the Volume, My Girl, the first two Look Who's Talking films One False Move, Hudson Hawk, Men at Work, Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice, Arena (1989), Fast Getaway, Too Much Sun, Night of the Living Dead (1990), City of Joy, and Single White Female. Also seen on the original VHS releases of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Groundhog Day (a couple of the few CTHV releases to have this and the third CTHV logo).

Editor's Note:If you look around the sides while the trailer plays, you can see some of the filmstrip outside. Sometimes, it's not there, but it's usually kept.

4th Bumper (Castle Rock Variant, 1996-1997)

Bumper: On a black background, one of the following lines would be on the screen: "The Following Feature Is Coming Soon To A Theatre Near You." "The Following Feature Is Coming Soon To Home Video."

Variant: A rare variant of the "theater" line reads "The Following Features Are Coming Soon To A Theatre Near You."

FX/SFX: Just a fade-in/fade out.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Seen on the original VHS releases of select Castle Rock Entertainment films that were distributed by CTHV and Turner Home Entertainment in that period, such as Alaska, The American President, City Hall, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Othello, and Striptease. Don't expect to see these bumpers on later home video releases of Castle Rock's library, since they been re-issued by Warner Home Video instead.

Editor's Note/Final Note: After Columbia TriStar Home Video changed its logo in 1993, from there on until the end of pre-recorded VHS, they just used their logos for sneak preview bumpers. Descriptions of those can be found on the regular logo descriptions of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment at the CLG Wiki. These bumpers, however, mark a surprising exception to the rule.