Armenfilm

Background

Armenfilm (Russian: Арменфильм), also known as Hayfilm (Armenian: Հայֆիլմ), is an national film studio from Armenia, located in Yerevan. The studio was founded on April 16, 1923 as a production unit of the Soviet State Cinema Organisation, with Daniel Dznuni as its first director. Armenfilm was sold by the state to private investors in 2005 with a long list of conditions of revitalizing the studio's equipment and producing new content. It was rebranded CS Film Studios but failed to produce the required new feature films. In 2015, the Government of the Republic of Armenia decided that the new management had failed to satisfy the conditions of the sale and moved to reclaim the studio's assets.

Contents

1st Logo (September 1938)	2nd Logo (June 28, 1977-1998?)	3rd Logo (July 3, 2001-2007)	4th Logo (2007-)

1st Logo (September 1938)

Visuals: On a grain light gray background, there is a small vignette of a mountain range against a sunrise/sunset, which is surrounded by the company's name in Armenian and in a curved manner underneath sitting on top of a white rectangle and some cursive text on top, arching around the vignette. On the bottom, "Yerevan" in Armenian is seen in the bottom-left corner along with "1938" on the right.

Variant: There is also a Russian version with the line omitted.

Technique: A still, printed image.

Audio: The opening theme of the short.

Availability: Only seen on The Dog and the Cat (the first Armenian animated short).

2nd Logo (June 28, 1977-1998?)

Ընկեր Փանջունի (Armenian) variant
Ընկեր Փանջունի (Russian) variant

Visuals: There is a yellow background representing a sky/sunset with a highlands part of Mount Ararat, as well as the statue of David of Sassoun, after which, the "ՀայՖիլմ" or "Арменфильм" text fades in. The logo fades out.

Variants:

A prototype variant has "Арменфильм" being in a 3D font.
The logo may be still on some films.
The font and position may vary.
A scope version exists.
A black and white version also exists.
Depending on any film, the logo may be tinted or deteriorated.
On Дэвид Бек, the logo is paired with the Mosfilm logo with Cyrillic text on the top saying "СОВМЕСТНОЕ ПРОИЗВОДСТВО КИНОСТУДИЙ"
On Ընկեր Փանջունի, the logo pans in a starry background to the yellow circle. the statue of David of Sassoun fades inside the yellow circle and the company name with Mount Ararat above it fades in.
- In the Russian print of the logo, the text is in Russian.

Trivia: The statue of David of Sassoun, illustrated in the logo, is an actual statue in Yerevan sculpted by Yervand Kochar.

Technique: Superimposed animation.

Audio: The opening theme of the movie or silent.

Availability: Can be seen in a lot of Armenfilm movies, especially the ones from the 1980s.

3rd Logo (July 3, 2001-2007)

Visuals: There is an enhanced and shinier version of the statue of David of Sassoun in a different angle, than usual. Red CGI animated "ՀայՖիլմ" text in red spins around the logo and stops at a slightly off-center position. The logo fades out.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: A church bell chime.

Availability: It can be seen in Armenfilm movies, made from 2001 to 2007. Newer prints of movies from the era, such as Merry Bus and Unfired Bullets, use the 2007-present Armenfilm logo.

4th Logo (2007-)

Visuals: On a dark stormy background, there is a figure. Then, a flash of lightning appears, revealing that it's a closeup of a stone sword. The camera then pans through the sword as there are some wavy textures, with some lightning still flashing. We then see a head of a statue, which is the statue of David of Sassoun. The camera pans out from the statue as we see the statue in full view. Then, a flash of lightning appears, with the text

ՀԱՅՖԻԼՄ
ARMENFILM

flashing in. The logo fades out.

Technique: CGI by Triada Studio.

Audio: An ominous tune with a horn and violin, accompanied by the sounds of thunder, lightning and a sword swinging as the statue appears.

Availability: Seen on releases from the company.