Fine Line Features

Credits

Descriptions by
MatthewLMayfield and Jess Williams

Captures by
Eric S., Bob Fish, and wolfie14

Editions by
V of Doom, AlmightyKingPrawn, Blue2000 and TheRealMarcel2000

Video captures courtesy of
Logo Archive and Jordan Rios

Background

Fine Line Features (also spelled as "FineLine Features") was the specialty movie division of New Line Cinema established in 1990 to release films of a more "indie" flavor than its parent company. In 2005, New Line teamed up with fellow Time Warner subsidiary HBO Films to form Picturehouse, a specialty film label of which Fine Line was folded into.

Logo (March 10, 1991-June 10, 2005)

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Visuals: Over a black background, a thin, glowing horizontal blue line fades-in, dividing the screen in half. Then, a horizontal white line draws itself inside. The entire line rotates clockwise and shrinks a bit in the process. When the line becomes vertical, it rotates again, revealing an abstract "F" (it really looks like a corner) with a steelish tint. Then, from behind, a rectangle moves clockwise, and moves itself to the top of this "F" shape. It forms an angle, much like a director's block. Around the same time, a blue spotlight/circle backdrop forms behind this shape. The text "FINELINE FEATURES", which is sandwiched between two lines, fades in while the tops of both shapes shine afterwards. The respective company byline is seen below.

Bylines:

• March 10, 1991-September 5, 1997: "A division of New Line Cinema"
• October 17, 1997-December 22, 2000: "A Time Warner Company"
• January 26, 2001-October 24, 2003: "An AOL Time Warner Company"
• April 2, 2004-June 10, 2005: "A TimeWarner Company"
• A bylineless version exists.

Trivia: This logo was designed by Pentagram.

Variants:

• There is a still logo that has the logo stacked together, with lines sandwiched between the company name. This appeared on the trailer for An Angel at My Table.
• On early films with the Time Warner variant, the company name and byline are set in VAG Rounded instead of Futura.
• Starting in 1999, the animation briefly pauses when the line becomes vertical, the "F" stretches itself slightly, and the font size is increased for the text.
• In 2000 for Fine Line's 10th anniversary, the words "10TH ANNIVERSARY: 1990-2000" spin around the logo, coming to a stop in an arc around the logo.

Technique: CGI by Pacific Data Images.

Audio: None.

Audio Variants:

• Some current prints of movies, like Desperate Living and Normal Life, use the 1994 New Line Cinema fanfare due to a plastering error.
• On Head Above Water, it has a shortened version of the logo with the Tig Productions jingle. Very likely an editing goof.

Availability: Seen on independent/art-house films produced by the studio. It was first seen on Shadow of China and was last seen on The Bridge of San Luis Rey. On current prints of The Player, this was plastered by the New Line Cinema logo. It is unknown whether it appeared on theatrical prints of the final Seven Arts Pictures feature, Light Sleeper, which was released through Fine Line.