Channel Awesome Productions

Background

Channel Awesome Productions was founded in April 2008 by Mike Michaud, Mike Ellis, and Bhargav Dronamraju. Based in Naperville, Illinois, Michaud wanted to make a new media company and saw potential in Doug Walker and his ThatGuyWithTheGlasses YouTube channel, which was shortly taken down. Walker then helped the company in uploading what would become their most popular series, the Nostalgia Critic (starring Walker himself), making ThatGuyWithTheGlasses their first sponsor. They eventually sponsored other groups including Blistered Thumbs, Inked Reality, and Barfiesta, creating the success of countless other Internet personalities in the process. Ellis and Dronamraju have both since left (the former for legal reasons, and the latter for reasons unknown), and numerous other personnel left as well, making Michaud the sole CEO with Doug Walker involved in some business decisions. On April 2, 2018, a Google Doc titled "Not So Awesome" was released by unhappy ex-Channel Awesome personnel. The document caused much controversy towards the company. As a result, most members left, leaving only Nostalgia Critic and related shows, The Cinema Snob and related shows, and Larry Bundy Jr. (who stayed out of spite) to make videos for the company.

Contents

1st Logo (2010-2013; October 1, 2015)	2nd Logo (January 22, 2013-2018?)	3rd Logo (2015-)

1st Logo (2010-2013; October 1, 2015)

Visuals: On a space background with a planet at the bottom left corner with what appears to be the Sun giving off light from the top of the planet, there is a satellite flying from the right. Suddenly, a flash occurs, enclosing the satellite in a circle with the text "Channel" at the top and "Awesome" at the bottom.

Variants:

There is a long version in which the satellite files in from behind the planet, then there is a rippling effect as the satellite comes closer, before the flash.
There is a still version at the end of the Channel Awesome Halloween 2015 promo where the middle of the satellite is replaced by a skull. The circle and satellite are redesigned and a URL is below. This is in front of a black background. The URL then fades out and the circle disappears.
There is a still version on the ThatGuyWithTheGlasses One Year Anniversary Brawl.
In the Nostalgia Critic review of Moulin Rouge (2001), the logo is on a stage during the opening scene (which parodies the intro to the film) with Chester A. Bum (played by Doug Walker) "composing" the music that is used in the long version.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio:

Any quote from the movie that is reviewed in the episode. The Halloween variant used the ending theme from the promo.
The long version used a synth bell tune that gets a bit more powerful accompanied some synth whooshing sounds.
Another version of the long variant only has the synth whooshing sounds over it.

Availability: Seen on Nostalgia Critic episodes from the time, as well as on a few other Channel Awesome productions like Bad Movie Beatdown and That SciFi Guy.

2nd Logo (January 22, 2013-2018?)

Visuals: On a different space background, this time with the planet (Earth) and light at the bottom right of the screen, a slightly different satellite, which is vertically tilted, rotates clockwise while slowly flying in from the left. A flash occurs, revealing a metallic circle with the satellite enclosed in it. This time "CHANNEL AWESOME" is at the top of the circle and "PRODUCTIONS" is at the bottom. Again, the circle zooms back.

Variant: There is a longer version where the satellite is further back, and a ripple effect happens before the animation continues as normal.

Technique: CGI.

Audio:

Any quote from the movie reviewed in the video or sometimes the video itself.
The long version used the same synth bell tune from the previous logo.

Availability: Seen on NC episodes from the time, as well as on a few other Channel Awesome productions of the time. The long version was seen on the NC special The Review Must Go On. Strangely, some Channel Awesome members that aren't as well-known (such as The Rap Critic) still used the short version of this logo, while others didn't use any logo altogether. With the Not So Awesome/#ChangeTheChannel controversy causing most members of the site to leave, this logo is retired.

3rd Logo (2015-)

Visuals: On a black background with a different planet, the satellite from the 1st logo (which is more colorful and remade in CGI) flies in from the right, but at a faster pace than the previous logos. A flash occurs, revealing a red circle with a white burst inside, which spins for a split second. The satellite is in the circle as always. "CHANNEL" is at the top and "AWESOME" is at the bottom, however, the text is outside the circle this time and fades in. The logo zooms back as the URL "www.channelawesome.com" fades in below.

Trivia: The logo was designed by Katy O'Melia and animated by Channel Awesome affiliated actor and animator Fard Muhammad.

Variants:

There is a longer version, which starts off with a space background. Here, the screen zooms out from the planet as the satellite dish flies in from behind the planet. The space background fades away before this. The animation then continues as normal. The satellite also moves a bit slower.
On the Channel Awesome Halloween 2015 promo, the long version glitches out. This also happens in the short version on the Nostalgia Critic's Nostalgiaween 2015 videos.
A short version which cuts straight to the flash can be spotted on Awesome Comics and Tamara's Never Seen.

Technique: CGI.

Audio:

The normal version used any quote from the movie reviewed or the video itself, or the closing theme in the case of newer shows, such as Awesome Comics and Tamara's Never Seen.
For the long version, it's the theme from the previous logos, however, a rock n' roll type guitar is added and the ending is a bit more powerful and majestic a la the Universal Pictures logo.

Audio Variant: On the Nostalgia Critic's reviews of Wild Wild West (1999) and Wonder Woman (2017, the closing variant), the logo is completely silent.

Availability: Seen on current NC episodes, as well as on a few other Channel Awesome productions. The long version is seen on the Channel Awesome Halloween 2015 promo, the company's official YouTube trailer, NC episodes that don't involve a movie being reviewed, the NC spinoff Was That Real?, and the beginning of the NC review of Suicide Squad. The short version is seen at the beginning of NC episodes as of March 2017.