ARP Sélection

Background

ARP Sélection is a French film distribution company founded in 1990 by Michèle and Laurent Pétin. ARP is one of the most important distributors in France, and is best known for their work on several of Luc Besson's films. Interestingly, the "ARP" in the company name stands for "A Real Passion".

Contents

1st Logo (April 8, 1998)	2nd Logo (March 29, 2000-March 20, 2002)	3rd Logo (April 17, 2002-September 1, 2004)	4th Logo (January 30, 2003)	5th Logo (March 23, 2005-December 21, 2016)

1st Logo (April 8, 1998)

Visuals: On a black background, the serif letter "A" zooms in, which has its hyphen moved up so it can fit the letter "R", which slides in from the far left, inside to the right. The "R" then mirrors to the left in 3D style to make way for the letter "P", sliding in from the far right, which connects to the mirrored "R". "SELECTION" then fades in under the formation.

Technique: 3D animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Only seen on original prints of Taxi, as later prints use the 3rd logo.

2nd Logo (March 29, 2000-March 20, 2002)

Visuals: There is the planet Earth spinning and slowly zooming in on an almost black space background. Suddenly, it speeds up, then slows down as it spins to a gray coin, with the ARP logo and "a reel passion" in a cursive font printed on it. "SELECTION" zooms out and slams into the coin beneath the "ARP", as the coin shines four times, along with a star in the background.

Technique: 3D animation.

Audio: A high held-out synth note with a periodic whoosh lowering in pitch, and a strong droning sound when "SELECTION" zooms out.

Availability: Seen on Taxi 2, Les Blessures assassines, and La Chambre des officiers.

3rd Logo (April 17, 2002-September 1, 2004)

Visuals: An angle sign turns in and closes up, along with the letter "R" zooming out. The angle rotates and gains the form of the familiar "A", while the "R" lands inside it. Meanwhile, a box border forms around the letters, and as it's formed, the "R" flips to reveal the letter "P" joint to it. "SELECTION" then wipes in under the "ARP".

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: The opening of the movie.

Availability: Seen on La Repentie, Taxi 3, Monsieur Ibrahim and The Flowers of The Koran, and Clean.

4th Logo (January 30, 2003)

Visuals: There is the ARP Sélection logo on what looks like the front of a car, with blue on the top and six pairs of lines on the bottom.

Technique:A still, digital graphic.

Audio: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Only seen on the Game Boy Advance game adaptation of Taxi 3.

5th Logo (March 23, 2005-December 21, 2016)

Visuals: Over the close-up of a transparent spinning Earth globe tinted mint green, a splash of water appears dropping in and splitting into multiple parts that dry out throughout the duration of the logo. Then, the serif letter "A" in a dark shade of green zooms out, while the letter "R" appears inside and flips to reveal the letter "P" joint to it. "SELECTION" then appears and zooms out beneath the "ARP". The formation slowly gains more light before cutting off abruptly.

Trivia: The Earth globe is layered with a texture that never actually moves, with a separate layer for the continents and the oceans. Also, you might notice that the globe starts around France and makes a whole spin before cutting off at France again.

Variants:

Around the early 2010's, the logo was remastered with more vivid colors.
A short version with the end result is seen on film trailers.
On one film, the logo (without the globe background, but with the water intact) zooms out next to the EuropaCorp logo.

Technique: 2D animation layered with live-action effects.

Audio: A ding followed by shallow storm sounds, which continues into a choir with shrilling noises and another ding at the end.

Availability: Seen on many releases from ARP Sélection at the time, such as Les mots bleus, Vengeance, From Train to Busan, and Souvenir.