PolyGram Music Video
Dean Stewart Rumsey
Editions by
Michael Kenchington
Video captures courtesy of
Dean Stewart Rumsey
Background
PolyGram Music Video was the American music video arm of PolyGram Records and a sub-division of PolyGram Video.
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| 1st Logo (1983-1986) | 2nd Logo (1987-1988) | 3rd Logo (1988?) | 4th Logo (1989-May 21, 1991) | 5th Logo (Australian variant) (1980s) |
1st Logo (1983-1986)
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Visuals: On a blue background are the white letters "PMV" in a blocky font. Starting in the center of the "M", the logo starts freezing and becoming 3-dimensional icy block letters. When the 2-D letters go to 3-D, the blue background wipes to a blue/black gradient background.
Technique: Motion-controlled animation.
Audio: None.
Availability:
- It can be seen on old Sony Video 45, EP, and LP releases that were produced under license from PolyGram, such as Tears for Fears: The Videosingles and Bon Jovi: Breakout, respectively.
- It can also be seen on Musicvision releases that were produced under license from PolyGram, such as Scorpions: World Wide Live.
2nd Logo (1987-1988)
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Visuals: On a maroon/black gradient background are several dark "PMV"s all lined up. The logo zooms into the maroon wall to one of the "PMV"s. Through the hole in the "P" on a silver "PMV" that zooms outward, it plasters adjacent to the black "PMV" that is behind the silver one.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: Three slow, dramatic synth strings parts play, then two reverbed drum beats, a reversed cymbal crash, and a final synth string note.
Availability:
- It has been seen on such VHS tapes as Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet - The Videos and Def Leppard: Historia, respectively.
- A DVD copy of Def Leppard Historia/In The Round In Your Face Live also preserved it and hidden the opening logos.
3rd Logo (1988?)
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Visuals: Same as the 1981 PolyGram Pictures logo, but "PolyGram Musicvideo" is plastered over the original company name, then the stars disappear.
Technique: 2D computer animation.
Audio: The closing theme of the show or movie.
Availability: Seen on Tina Turner: Rio '88.
4th Logo (1989-May 21, 1991)
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Visuals: On a black background, a 4-member band, consisting of a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer and a keyboardist, wipes in like paint streaking up and down the screen until the band is fully revealed. The guitarist is standing on a triangle and the bassist on a square. There are also 2 right triangles on the keyboard stand and a semicircle is on the bass drum of the drum set. The camera cuts to the keyboardist's keyboard, then the bassist's bass, then the bassist's square, then the drummer's bass drum, and then the guitarist's guitar, then the keyboardist, and then the guitarist's triangle until going back to the full band view when they and their instruments fade away, leaving the shapes behind as they fly around on the screen arranging them as the square and the semicircle form a "P", the 2 right triangles form an "M", and the triangle forms the "V". The letters land on a light green rectangle. Underneath, the words "POLYGRAM MUSIC VIDEO" wipes in underneath it.
Technique: A combination of hand drawn animation and computer graphics.
Audio: An instrumental rock ballad with a crowd cheering at the end.
Availability:
- Seen on such VHS tapes as Def Leppard: In The Round In Your Face - Live and Rush: A Show of Hands - Live, respectively.
- It is also seen on Mylène Farmer in Concert.
- It also appears on the 1989 UK VHS release of Now That's What I Call Music 15 and the 1990 UK VHS release of Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982) after the 1986 Channel 5 Video logo as well.
- This logo was discontinued following a reorganization that saw it releasing more than just music titles, ultimately taking on the name of its parent company.
5th Logo (Australian variant) (1980s)
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Visuals: First, purple neon sparks fly from the middle of the screen to the top and bottom. This fades away through a circle iris effect to reveal a starfield and a rectangle containing the map of Australia with a TV displaying a music note within it. The map of Australia shines, then the word "PolyGram" in its corporate font trails in backwards and settle on top of the map of Australia. The same thing happens with the phrase "MusicVideo" except it settles below the map of Australia. Little stars that border the rectangle of the logo shine from the middle outwards and turn red. The whole logo then shines and flies away to the top left corner of the screen. Almost instantly, the word "PRESENTS" light trails in and sparkles.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: A theme comprising mostly of a Moog synthesizer warble.
Availability:
- Most tapes found with this as a print logo usually show the regular PolyGram Video logo instead.
- It is currently unknown where this logo can be found. [Examples?]
