La Cinq
Background
La Cinq is a French television channel that operated between 1986 and 1992 and the first commercial television channel to operate in France. Despite ceasing its operations in 1992 due to financial problems and pressure from French authorities, a few fan-sites and advocates for the channel still exist.
1st ID (1986-1988)
Visuals: There is the channel's logo zoom out.
Trivia: This logo's design is based off the design of the original Telemilano 88 logo. However the snake model got simplified to the point of representing a simple 5. The bisclione present in the original logo was also removed and a star was used instead, showing their intent to broadcast within the entire European Union. The design of this logo would also be a major influence for later logo's made under the Telemilano 88/Canale 5 brand.
Variant: There is a startup variant where three layers of the French map are added together such as to get the colors of the French flag. Then we see a rainbow appear. Then a remote controller comes flying by. Then the remote controller is again moving away as 2 television screens fly by. Then we see the logo of La Cinq.
Technique: Motion-controlled animation.
Audio: A violin and oboe theme.
2nd (known) Logo (December 1990)
Visuals: There is a cartoon bunny walk to the top of a pedestal. He then directs a concert where another bunny in a clown costume appears, juggling balls on a unicycle, and another one inside a drum and a circular creature that plays it appear afterwards. Then another rabbit flies by, and the conductor bunny turns them into fireworks while the La Cinq logo and the line "JOYEUSES FÊTES" ("HAPPY HOLIDAYS") both appear below. The conductor bunny then peeks from the bottom of the screen with a sheepish grin.
Technique: 2D animation.
Audio: An orchestral mix of varying tunes.
Availability: Was used during the 1990 Christmas season.
3rd (known) Logo (1991-1992)
Visuals: On a background that circles between numbers before stopping on the number 5, the text "LA CINQ" appears letter-by-letter.
Trivia: This logo was created by Jean-Paul Goude based on the work of Jaspar Johns where paintings were made describing scenes with numbers.
Technique: 2D computer animation.
Audio: A drum theme and a woman singing.
Availability: Seen on the channel at the time, as well as on La Cinq Video VHS releases.
4th (known) Logo (April 12, 1992)
Visuals: Fading in from the last moment of Vive La Cinq, There is a planet slowly zoom out. After it settles on the center of the screen, the number "5" from the last logo begins circulating around it. A static-filled planet then covers it, creating a total eclipse with a teal haze appearing behind it. It fades to black as two slides appear, one reading “ La Cinq vous prie de l'excuser pour cette interruption définitive de l'image et du son” and the other reading “…C'est fini”.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: A synth version of "Also sprach Zarathustra" with the sound of a tap dripping. The dripping noise continues even after the animation and music have gone, although it’s a little bit more drawn out and the echo is cut a little bit.
Availability: Was only used on the channel's closedown, but can be found on YouTube.
