Nickelodeon Studios

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Nickelodeon Studios was a television studio in Universal Studios Florida that also served as an attraction in the park, allowing kids to attend tapings of Nickelodeon's game shows. The first program taped there, Super Sloppy Double Dare, was taped in Spring 1989, with the attraction fully opening on June 7, 1990. The attraction, while initially very popular, began to decline in the 2000s as Nick began slowly shifting their live-action output to closed-set sitcoms and moving filming to Nickelodeon on Sunset in Hollywood as well as of lack of talent in the Orlando area. The final show taped there, Nickelodeon SPLAT!, finished taping on August 17, 2004, with the attraction permanently shutting down on April 30, 2005 and was replaced by Blue Man Group, but closed years later.



1st Logo (August 13-October 1990)

Visuals: This logo is set over an overcast sky. The camera zooms down to reveal the Nickelodeon Studios facade. The shot then fades to a shot of the Universal Studios globe fountain, with the globe rotating counter clockwise. The Nickelodeon facade can be seen in the distance.

Trivia: This was filmed very early on in the studio's life, possibly even before Universal opened as the Slime Geyser is missing (it was installed between July and October 1990) and the orange and white queue tents are nowhere to be seen.

Technique: Live-action.

Audio: A voiceover (usually a character or announcer from one of the shows) saying "This show (or the title of the show) was/is recorded/produced/taped (in front of/before a live studio/live audience) at/in Nickelodeon Studios (in Orlando) at Universal Studios Florida/in Orlando, Florida", which varies.

Availability: Seen on Family Double Dare and Outta Here! as well as one season 3 episode of Make the Grade.

2nd Logo (August 1990)

Visuals: Over an overcast sky is the view of the Nickelodeon Studios shot from before, albeit the view is from the left. (The only moving thing is the sky.) It then fades to the Universal globe from before (but closer to the camera than normal) with three people walk by in the distance. The logo freeze frames at the end.

Technique: Same as before.

Audio: Same as the previous logo, but Maria Milito provides the narration.

Availability: Seen only on most season 3 episodes of Make the Grade.

3rd Logo (November 1990-1991)

Visuals:

  • November 1990-1991: Over a sunny sky, a ground-level view of Nickelodeon Studios’s main building, looking from the southeast is seen. In the foreground is the Slime Geyser, erupting with its signature slime. The camera fades to a shot of the Nickelodeon sign on the front of the building, which pulls back to reveal the metallic Universal globe like the previous logos.
  • July 19-November 10, 1991: It starts on an overcast day (like the first two logos), but this time the clouds are darker which makes it look like it's about to rain. The camera shows the view of the Nickelodeon Studios shot, albeit further away from the globe, and zooms the globe is placed more in the center.

Variants:

  • On few occasions, the shot of the Slime Geyser is cut short. On some occasions, the shot is cut entirely.
  • On the original airing of a S1 episode of Welcome Freshmen called Mind Games, only the shot of the Slime Geyser is seen. This is because the tape ends only with the first few seconds of the normal version. However, all further airings of said episode play the normal version in full.
  • On Clarissa Explains It All, the logo transitions from the Thunder Pictures logo.
  • An extended version of the overcast variant has a shot of kids running towards the Nickelodeon Studios building (this shot was also used in a few Universal Studios Florida commercials from 1993-94).

Technique: Same as before.

Audio: Just the monologue.

Audio Variants:

  • On Welcome Freshmen, Get the Picture, and Christmas at Eureeka's Castle, the closing theme accompanies the monologue.
  • A generic voiceover has Wendell Craig says "This show was produced in Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.".
  • On Nickelodeon Launch Box, the closing theme plays underneath the monologue.
  • On Eureeka's Castle: Don't Touch That Box!, the sounds of kids cheering are heard before the monologue is spoken.

Availability:

  • The overcast version is seen on Eureeka's Castle: Don't Touch That Box! and also on season 1 of Hi Honey, I'm Home!.
  • The sunny version with the Slime Geyser shot is seen on the Eureeka's Castle holiday specials, episodes 1-3 of Nickelodeon Launch Box, most of season 1 of Welcome Freshmen, and most Season 1 episodes of Get the Picture.
  • The short version without the Slime Geyser shot is seen on the first season of Clarissa Explains It All and few season one episodes of Get The Picture.
    • This was also used on 2011-2015 broadcasts of seasons 2-5 of All That on TeenNick's The 90's Are All That block, plastering over the 1994 version of the 5th logo on season 2 and the 1994 and 1996 Nickelodeon Productions logos on seasons 2 through 5.

4th Logo (October 1991-2003)

Visuals: Similar to the last logo, except it's animated. There is a realistic coloring of a side view of the front of Nickelodeon Studios (that looks like it was done with a colored pencil), including the Slime Geyser. Around the building, there is a hot pink line. The sequence then fades to a front view of the building, with the Universal Studios globe visible next to it. The entire picture "wiggles" throughout.

Trivia: This is the only logo to be animated; all others used live action footage.

Variants:

  • On The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo and season 1 of Figure It Out, a copyright stamp is superimposed at the bottom of the screen.
  • On Seasons 2-5 of Clarissa Explains It All, the logo (just like the previous logo) transitions from the Thunder Pictures logo.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: Like the last logo, just the monologue. Otherwise, the closing theme accompanies the monologue.

Audio Variants:

  • On later Russian airings of Noah Knows Best, a voiceover says the monologue in Russian.
    • On a Russian airing of an episode, there is no announcer, leaving just the end theme.
  • Gullah Gullah Island has a short guitar tune playing underneath the voiceover. Sometimes, there is no music, or the ending theme of the episode plays instead.
  • On Roundhouse, a child giggles after the ending monologue. On most episodes, another voiceover interrupts and repeats what the first voiceover says, causing the first one to say "Shut up!"
  • On Weinerville, Dottie (played by Marc Weiner) does the voiceover, and ends her spiel by going "Woo!".

Availability:

  • First seen on Season 2 of Get the Picture and was later seen on Nick Arcade and GUTS and most other live action Nickelodeon shows from the era.
  • The last known appearence on a new program was on the Nick GAS series Gamefarm, which aired in 2003.
  • Despite the Universal globe being updated in 1998, this logo remained in use until 2003, also possibly due to the Universal globe being moved to a different area to accommodate Universal Studios Florida's CityWalk expansion.

5th Logo (May 9, 1992-December 27, 1997)

Visuals: This logo is set on a sunny day. It ends with a shot with Nickelodeon Studios and the Universal globe (unlike in the previous logos, the globe is much closer to the screen and also placed more in the center, and the Nickelodeon Studios facade is further away from it), with the shot transitioning from a crossfade.

Variants:

  • Starting in 1994, it starts with a new shot taken from the perspective of a park guest approaching the main building on foot.
  • On season 2 of What Would You Do? and the pilot of All That, the shot of the kids running towards the building is re-used from the overcast variant of the 3rd logo.
  • On one season 1 episode of All That and at the end of Double Dare: Super Sloppiest Moments, only the ending shot is seen.
  • An extended version of the zoom-in towards the building which starts further out can be found on an rare Nickelodeon promo. This version was used during the ‘Greetings from Nickelodeon Studios’ block on The Splat.
  • A copyright stamp may also be seen below, either all throughout the logo or during just the globe sequence.

Technique: Same as the first three logos.

Audio: Either just the monologue or the closing theme accompanying it. However, a silent version was used at the end of the Sony Wonder VHS release of Double Dare: Super Sloppiest Moments.

Availability:

  • The 1992 variant debuted on season 3 of Welcome Freshmen and was later used on My Brother and Me, Nickelodeon's All Star Challenge, Legends of the Hidden Temple and the first season of Allegra's Window.
  • The 1994 variant was only seen on seen on seasons 1-2 of both All That and Kenan & Kel. Though, 2011-2015 broadcasts of Season 2 of All That on TeenNick's The 90's Are All That block plaster it with the short version of the 3rd logo. However, it is intact on Paramount+ and Netflix.
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