Pilot Studio

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Pilot is a Moscow-based animation studio founded in 1988. It was the first private studio in the former USSR and became widely known for its series (especially famous Pilot Brothers - Братья Пилоты) even in foreign countries. In 2010, the studio was forced to reduce its work because of the lack of money.



1st Logo (March 11, 1990-2002)

Visuals: A line appears. Later, the gold script "PiLOT" and "MOSCOW ANIMATION STUDIO" appear above the line in the "turning/refracting prism"/"shadow line" style (a la Amblin Entertainment).

Variants:

  • On Coup (Путч) (1991), the logo (which is black and placed on a white background) is still and is drawn a bit differently.
  • On Exhibitionist (Эксгибиционист) (1995) and Gone with the Wind (Унесённые ветром) (1998), the logo (including the line) is white.
  • On both of the early Pilots Brothers games (Братья Пилоты: По следам полосатого слона and Братья Пилоты 2: Дело о серийном маньяке), the logo has no line and the script (together with the text) is gold. However, the logo still appears in the same "turning/refracting prism"/"shadow line" style.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on shorts of the time starting with Poumse (1990). It also appears on the first two Pilot Brothers games. It last appeared on Hush (2002), with the later prints of the short using the 3rd logo.

2nd Logo (2001)

Visuals: Over a blue background is the script "PiLOT" (which differs a bit from the original logo) written on a scratched sheet of paper. "MOSCOW ANIMATION STUDIO" is written below.

Technique: A digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availablity: Only seen on Latex (Латекс) (2001). Later prints of the short have the 3rd logo.

3rd Logo (February 2, 2002- )

Visuals: The script "PiLOT" (which is the same as in the first logo) is drawn with the top-right stem of the T extended. The studio's tagline flips in one-by-one below. Since 2009, the tagline wipes in instead.

Variants:

  • On Bookashkis, after the logo fades out, a black screen with white "presents" text appears.
  • On Ivan Juan, the logo is black and is placed on a white background. It's also a still logo.
  • Taglines have changed from time to time:
    • "MOSCOW ANIMATION STUDIO" (in English) (2002-2003)
    • "МОСКОВСКАЯ АНИМАЦИОННАЯ СТУДИЯ" (MOSCOW ANIMATION STUDIO) (2003)
    • "БОЛЬШАЯ АНИМАЦИОННАЯ СТУДИЯ" (BIG ANIMATION STUDIO) (2004-2008)
    • "НО Фонд поддержки анимационного кино" ("The Animated Film Support Fund" non-commercial organisation) (2009)
    • "Анимационная студия Александра Татарского" ("The animation studio of Aleksandr Tatarsky") (2009-)

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A drum roll.

Audio Variants:

  • On Bookashkis, To the South of North, Ivan Juan and 2+1=, the logo has no sound.
  • On Bad Boy (2003), it uses a different melody: 6 bass notes and an electric guitar chord.

Availability: Appeared on numerous animations produced by the company. It first appeared on Bookashkis ("Букашки") (2002) and Bad Boy ("Нехороший мальчик") (2003). This logo has also plastered the previous logos on the older shorts' current prints.

  • The variant with the "MOSCOW ANIMATION STUDIO" tagline (in English): Seen on Bookashkis ("Букашки") (2002), Bad Boy (2003), To the South of North ("К югу от севера") (2003) and Ivan Juan (2003). Later prints of To the South of North and Ivan Juan have this variant plastered with the "МОСКОВСКАЯ АНИМАЦИОННАЯ СТУДИЯ" variant.
  • The variant with the "МОСКОВСКАЯ АНИМАЦИОННАЯ СТУДИЯ" tagline: It has appeared on the older shorts' later prints (usually plastering the older logos) which were also released on DVDs in the early 2000s (most of the short compilations were distributed by RUSCICO). On the later prints of "Gone With The Wind" ("Унесённые ветром") (1998), the logo didn't fully plaster the old logo, causing the print to have two logos in a row at the beginning (together with the 1st logo). This variant is also still used as a profile picture of their official Facebook page.
  • The variant with the "БОЛЬШАЯ АНИМАЦИОННАЯ СТУДИЯ" tagline: Seen on earlier episodes of The Mountain Of Gems ("Гора самоцветов") and shorts of the period.
  • The variant with the "НО Фонд поддержки анимационного кино" tagline: Only appeared on one of the 2009 episodes of The Mountain Of Gems. Other 2009 episodes have the current variant.
  • The variant with the "Анимационная студия Александра Татарского" tagline: Current. Seen on The Mountain Of Gems since 2009 and the recent productions of the Pilot Studio, for example, the "Piglet" animated series ("Поросёнок").

4th Logo (2002)

Visuals: On a black background, the white Pilot Studio logo is shown. "МОСКОВСКАЯ АНИМАЦИОННАЯ СТУДИЯ" is seen below.

Technique: A digital graphic.

Audio: The opening theme.

Availability: Seen on Red Gates of Rashomon (Красные Ворота Расёмон), About The Girl Who Found Her Bear (Про девочку, которая нашла своего мишку) and Foundling (Подкидыш). All of the shorts were released in 2002.