Raimi Productions

Credits

Descriptions by
Eric S. and others

Captures by
Eric S.

Editions by
CuriousGeorge60, Blue2000 and Michael Kenchington

Background

Raimi Productions (formerly known as Renaissance Pictures) is the production company founded by film director, Sam Raimi (creator of the controversial Evil Dead series, Darkman, and the first three Spider-Man films and the MCU movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Although the company started up in 1982, Raimi didn't use an animated logo until 1994. Raimi Productions' offices have been housed on the Universal Studios backlot since 1987, and most of their productions beginning with Darkman, have been released by Universal. In 2019, the company changed its name to Raimi Productions.

Renaissance Pictures

1st Logo (August 26, 1994)

Nicknames: "The Earth and the Sun", "WHOOOSH!", "1994: A Renaissance Odyssey"

Logo: In space, the words "RENAISSANCE PICTURES" (stacked on top of each other with "PICTURES" in spaced-out letters, in blue) are suspended above the Earth. The sun rises behind the name, as it rotates upwards to face the viewers (like the 1968 MGM film, 2001: A Space Odyssey).

FX/SFX: The sun rising.

Music/Sounds: A high whoosh.

Availability: Very rare. Originally seen on the pilot episode of the M.A.N.T.I.S. series.

Editor's Note: A decent first animated logo, and is less infamous and - fortunately - tamer than the next logo.

2nd Logo (September 2, 1994-April 29, 2018)

Nicknames: "Thunder from Hell", "Bad Weather at the Louvre", "The Hercules/Xena Logo", "The Evil Portrait", "Ah-Woo-Tee", "Monks of Intimidation"

Logo: We zoom out on an engraving-like portrait (on what appears to be a piece of aging parchment at first glance) of someone in 16th century dress (though the head is about all that's seen, and it bears a striking resemblance to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa). A crack appears on the bottom right, and then the portrait then zooms in toward the viewer, ripping into two pieces in the process. As the ripped portrait's two pieces pull away, some lightning flashes are seen with crashing thunder. When the portrait's sections clear the screen, one more lightning flash occurs, this time revealing the words "Renaissance" in a strange script typeface known as Pepita, and "PICTURES" below it in spaced-out letters, in the Friz Quadrata typeface (best known for being used in the logos of the original six Fox stations, the end credits of DreamWorks Animation movies, and the Law & Order logo).

Variants:

• There's an early version of the logo where the crack appears early as the portrait finishes zooming out before it rips into two pieces. This variant only appears on the first two TV movies of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
• There exists a short version starting with the company name appearing, glowing, and then dimming. This version is only known to exist on one show, American Gothic. Only the sound of thunder is heard.
• There is another short version that begins with the portrait already still before the crack appears.
• There is an abridged warp-speed version of the logo that appears on Legend of the Seeker and Ash vs. the Evil Dead. Also, it's enhanced.
• A still version of this logo exists. The text only appears in this variation.
• There is also an open matte version of this logo.
• A variant where the brightness darkens during the flash on the logo also exists which was seen on a July 2019 rerun of an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess on 4Music in the UK. This was most likely done to prevent people from getting seizures.

FX/SFX: The zoom-out, the picture tearing, the striking thunderbolt.

Music/Sounds: A sound bite of a Tibetan chant (described by one of the logo nicknames), a loud ripping noise, and the thunder. Tibetan monks are known for singing in a very low vocal register, which makes this logo very ominous.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• On M.A.N.T.I.S. and season 2 episodes of Cleopatra 2525, it's the finishing of the closing theme.
• On Ash vs Evil Dead, only a loud whoosh is heard; it is silent on the portrait zooming out.
• A high tone variant also exists which is mostly heard on PAL prints.

Availability: Uncommon.

• The long version appears on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (including the TV movies) and Xena: Warrior Princess (the former is seen on H&I) while the latter was last seen when the show reran on Oxygen) and also appeared on Darkman II: The Return of Durant, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die, Hercules and Xena: The Battle for Mount Olympus, some episodes of Young Hercules, and at least one episode of Legend of the Seeker.
• The short version with only the text is extinct, and appeared only on American Gothic, which was last seen on Chiller.
• The still version appeared on episodes of M.A.N.T.I.S. excluding the pilot episode, which has the previous logo.
• The short version with the portrait intact has appeared on the short-lived series Jack of All Trades and Cleopatra 2525, as well as Young Hercules (which was last seen when Encore WAM, now Starz Encore Family, reran it).
• Last seen on Ash vs Evil Dead on Starz; the show was cancelled after three seasons.
• It makes a surprise appearance on Evil Dead: The Game.

Editor's Note: This logo is pretty intense with the choice of graphics, zooming effects, thunder and lightning and the music choice. It's known to have scared many viewers since it began, especially children. Then again, considering this is the company owned by the man behind The Evil Dead, this was probably intentional.

Raimi Productions

(July 12, 2019- )

Logo: On a black background, we see the word "RAIMI" (in a serif font and in an arch). Underneath it is a crystal ball, with several rays coming from the sides. Underneath that is the word "PRODUCTIONS" (in the Friz Quadrata typeface, same font as the second Renaissance Pictures logo), with each word in the letter being slightly spaced apart.

Trivia:

• The logo was designed by Filmograph.
• The logo was inspired by Raimi's film Oz: The Great and Powerful, where Raimi's director credit was seen across a crystal ball.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Current. This can be seen on Crawl and Umma. Don't expect this to appear on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Editor's Note: Much tamer when compared to the second Renaissance Pictures logo.