Digital Cinema Media

Background

Digital Cinema Media (DCM) is Europe's most profitable cinema advertising company, formed by UK cinema chains Odeon and Cineworld in 2008 after they bought the UK operations of Carlton Screen Advertising from ITV plc.

Contents

1st Logo (December 2008-April 2011)	2nd Logo (April 2011-January 2013)	3rd Logo (January 2013-)

1st Logo (December 2008-April 2011)

Visuals: On a black background, at the top left of the screen, some text says "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING". Then two rectangles, one blue and one yellow, appear and get increasingly bigger. When they are done, all sorts of pictures/clips of different movies and things start appearing, like clips such as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (the teaser trailer), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and the picture of a guy sitting in a theatre eating popcorn, for example. When they are done, a string of light appears and forms the DCM logo with the text "DIGITAL CINEMA MEDIA" underneath it, while at the top left of the screen, the text says "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING" and "TO ADVERTISE VISIT DCM.CO.UK". The logo fades out afterwards.

Variants:

A short variant exists at the end of the advert reels.
A custom made closing variant exists for 3D films. It starts off in a starry background with many colourful silhouettes of plants and a red butterfly as it looks at one of the branches, then it flies towards the camera as it turns into a string of light and forms the DCM logo along with sparkling lights in front of it. The text would also display at the top left of the screen, "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING IN 3D".

Technique: 2D animation, with some of the film clips being live action.

Audio: A short synth tune, which ends with a loud bass note and a crash, followed by 3 more synth notes.

Availability: No longer in use.

2nd Logo (April 2011-January 2013)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a bunch of red-coloured lanterns suddenly lighting up. These lanterns are then shown in various formations and colours in several different shots. Eventually, these lanterns reveal the words "DIGITAL CINEMA MEDIA" one-by-one, and at the end they come together to form the DCM logo from the previous logo. Below the logo, the captions "DISCOVER THE POWER OF CINEMA ADVERTISING" and "VISIT DCM.CO.UK" appear.

Variants:

A stereoscopic 3D version of this logo exists, premiering with the UK theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.
A short version exists. Only used at the end of the advert reels.
Another closing variant exists as part of a promotion with the Sour Patch Kids candy. It starts off with the normal closing variant, until a few seconds later, the logo is revealed to be from a film reel as a part of it was taken by a green sour patch kid as he looks at it and then faces the camera. It then cuts to the final shot of the logo as the same sour patch kid looks at the logo and then proceeds to touch it while looking at the camera as the logo for the candy appears on the right, along with links to its UK Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Technique: Although you may think that this is CGI, it was actually live action, done by BAFTA-winning design company Jump (notable for branding work on The X Factor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.) It can be noticeable judging from a bit of camera shaking when "DIGITAL" appears.

Audio: A remixed version of the synth tune from the previous logo, this time starting and ending with a seat-shaking bass note.

Availability: No longer in use.

3rd Logo (January 2013-)

Amazement variant
Laughter variant
Suspense variant

Amazement variant
Laughter variant
Suspense variant

The Aliens variant

Visuals: Against a background of various changing scenes (which were actually stock footage), the new DCM logo appears, which consists of three shapes designed to loosely resemble "DCM". After a while, the text "DCM", in small letters, appears at the top right of the said logo, while "Dynamic advertising" appears below it.

Later Variant: In 2014, a slightly different version replaced the logo above. It's essentially the same until the formation of the DCM logo. After that, the company name, in small letters, fades in one by one under their respective letters, then slides to the center. The text shines and the background turns to black, with a smaller version of the DCM logo appearing in the center of the screen and "WELCOME TO OUR WORLD" in a tall font appearing above it. The scenes continue inside the logo as usual.

Variants: There are three variations of this ident, named "Amazement", "Laughter" and "Suspense".

Amazement: The scenes include shots of a cornfield, a flock of birds flying, a pyramid, clouds moving, the Milky Way galaxy, the inside of a space shuttle, a spotlight turning on, a bomb exploding, a geyser, an octopus, shots of moon jellyfish, the Moon, the Aurora Borealis, and an overhead shot of Earth.
Laughter: The scenes include a guy with a costume rabbit's head getting up from a bench, a baby African elephant running, a spaceman playing golf on the moon, a brownish yellow explosion, a disco ball, someone "grabbing" the sun in their hands, reversed footage of fireworks, a puzzled Jack Russel terrier tilting its head, an apple exploding, a water balloon popping, a baseball zooming towards the screen, and many balloons floating in the sky. A pair of chattering teeth, the face of a rabbit, and underwater bubbles are also shown in the logo at the end.
Suspense: The scenes include an autumn leaf, what appears to be a coral reef, a garden snail, water drops on grass, a housefly, a close-up of a cat's eyes (which doubles), a grey fox growling, someone's pupil shrinking, a different and even closer close-up of an eye, a spider, a match head, a child playing with a toy plane (where more scenes are shown inside the logo, including wet skin), a match being lit, gray smoke, a gun being fired, an explosion with a few men running in it, a clown mask, heels walking on a street, a silhouette breaking glass, a close up of a retro TV, a woman behind curtains taking a bath, a pool being filled up, another close-up of a TV, police lights, and an overhead shot of a swimming pool. There is also repeated flashing in the last half.

Other variations:

To promote E4's The Aliens, the logo was hijacked by the Alien Leage, as with TV airings of shows on E4.

Technique: 2D animation, with most of the footage being live-action, done by Fearlessly Frank and Daniel Eatock, with post-production handled by INTRO.

Audio: Each variant has its own unique track, all created by Jungle. In all variants, a beep can be heard when the company name appears (the 2013 variant) and when the text shines (the later variant). Sound effects are also heard, which correspond to the things shown on-screen.

Amazement: A piano solo (pre-2017); a harsh drum-and-bass tune with a dramatic choir, with the "beep" removed (post-2017).
Laughter: A whimsical tune.
Suspense: An electronic synth tune.

The sound effects per variant were as follows:

Amazement: First, nature sounds are heard. Then, there are wind noises when the pyramid appears. Beginning the clouds part, a buildup is heard, continuing to the spotlight part, before cutting to a spotlight click, dying down after. A unintelligible voice is heard when the geyser appears, continuing to the jellyfish part. Whooshes can be heard during all this. A deep boom can be heard towards the end as well.
Laughter: First, elephant sounds are heard, followed by a golf hit and then a water-like sound. Twinkling sounds follow, before tires screeching and a crash are heard, continuing to the apple part. A whining dog is also heard as this happens. Cartoon noises are heard afterwards, before a bang towards the end.
Suspense: First, water flowing is heard. When the cat appears, wolf growling can be heard, continuing to when the fox appears. When the spider appears, a woman screaming in fear can be heard, continuing to the matchstick. Just as the scene changes, a propeller plane diving can be heard, continuing to the gun part. A match striking sound is heard as this happens. When the gun flashes, a firing sound, followed by a warfare, can be heard, before it cuts to glass breaking. Towards the end, static can be heard.

Availability:

"Amazement" is the most common variation. It is generally seen before almost every film shown in Odeon/Cineworld cinemas. The exceptions are listed below.
"Laughter" is generally seen before comedy and animation films, although most of them have used "Amazement" since 2014. It was spotted before showings of Identity Thief, the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo, Lion, Hidden Figures, the 2017 re-release of Trainspotting, and Wish.
"Suspense" is generally seen before action and horror films, although most of them have used "Amazement" since 2014, as with Laughter. It is seen before showings of Trance, The Place Beyond The Pines, The Conjuring, World War Z, and Django Unchained, for example.

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Digital Cinema Media