AVM Productions

Background
AVM Productions (A.V. Meiyappan Productions) is an Indian film production company founded in 1945 by A.V. Meiyappan, who founded previously Sarashwathi Sound Productions and Pragati Pictures Limited in the 1930s. It is the oldest surviving film studio in India. Since 1947, the company has produced over 170 movies in the Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Even when A.V. Meiyappan died in 1979, the company remains one of the most famous film companies in Indian cinema. The A.V.M.'s Tamil & Telugu movie library are owned by AP International (for Tamil movies) or Rose Telugu Movies (for Telugu movies).

1st Logo (August 15, 1948)
Visuals: On a dark background, we see this 3D text (that looks like a structure), reading "AVM PRODUCTIONS".

Technique: None.

Audio: A somber melody of a clarinet while a tanpura drones in the background.

Availability: Seen only on Vedhala Ulagam.

2nd Logo (December 23, 1949-July 14, 1950, May 7, 1954)
Visuals: On a parquet floor (which is taken from the intro of Vazhkai), we see a similar 3D text from the previous logo, but the sides of the structure appear darker.

Technique: None.

Audio: A re-recorded version of the previous melody.

Availability: Seen on Vazhkai, and Bedara Kannappa. Despite the next logo being introduced, it makes a surprise appearance on Jeevitham.

3rd Logo (April 11, 1951-August 25, 1975)
Visuals: The signature logo text from the previous logo is seen on a Fox-like tower, placed on a cityscape background at night. The logo zooms into the text.

Variants: Various colored variants of the logo exist.
 * For example,  Pooja  had a blue sunset sky with a dark shade of white for the tower.
 * Sometimes, the logo is more zoomed out/in.
 * The logo also may appear very dark, leaving only the words.

Technique: Sometimes the logo is live-action, while other times (especially on earlier films) it's 2D.

Audio: A re-recorded version of the melody, which is now accompanied by a tanpura.

Availability: Seen on many films from the period 1951 and 1976, like Pooja, Uyarntha Manithan, Chori Chori, Bhakta Prahalada, Anbe Vaa, and Bahar. The AVM's film library (1951-1976) is owned by AP International for released Tamil movies.

4th Logo (December 20, 1980-)


Visuals: Same as the previous logo, but with a sunset yellow, red and blue background and with a different cityscape. This logo is preceded by the "in memoriam"-type screen of the studio's founder, A. V. Meiyappan.

Variant: Starting from the 2000s, the buildings have more light on them. The sky is also brighter.

Anniversary Variants: After the regular logo, one of the anniversary things will occur:


 * 50th Anniversary (1997): On a blue background, we see a clear Earth with golden continents. "AVM" then orbits it and "50" zooms out to take its place in front of the Earth. The background then becomes white as "AVM" in a red-blue gradient appears letter-by-letter in the top-left corner of the globe. A rainbow filmstrip then flies and becomes a normal filmstrip as it takes its place behind the Earth. "GOLDEN YEARS" then fades beside the Earth.
 * 60th Anniversary (2007): We zoom out from a golden "60" which is surrounded by colorful flashing lights. It then zooms out from a 3D version of the AVM structure (which lacks "PRODUCTIONS") behind a 3D cityscape, which has "DIAMOND YEARS" underneath "60". It is surrounded by golden searchlights, making it resemble the 2009 TCF/TCS logo. Fireworks then explode in the background.
 * 70th Anniversary (2017): In front of the Earth at night in space, white beads form the number "70" which then forms a golden outline of the number. Then it becomes daytime as a more faithful AVM structure (still no "PRODUCTIONS") forms behind it. "AVM" has purple bulbs in it. Fireworks explode to the left of the structure.

Trivia: It is possible, though unconfirmed, that an image of company leadership in this article may actually include the model used in the making of the logo.

Technique: Same as the previous logo but purely live-action. The 50th anniversary variant is a mix of 3D and 2D while the 60th and 70th anniversaries are in CGI.

Audio: The same melody from the previous logo. Starting in the 2000s, the melody was re-recorded once again to make it sound even more melancholic.

Audio Variants:
 * On its 50th anniversary, a bombastic fanfare with a flute tune based on the melody plays.
 * On one film, the fanfare is played on the normal logo due to the normal melody playing in a "Sincere Thanks To" sequence before the "in memoriam" screen.
 * On its 60th anniversary, an orchestral rendition of the melody, with sounds of fireworks on the end.
 * On its 70th anniversary, an more majestic orchestral rendition of the melody, also with sounds of fireworks on the end.

Availability: Seen on Murattu Kaalai, and Punnami Naagu. In addition, some variants of the logo have been seen on the TV series released by AVM on its official channel (for TV serials) in YouTube.