Sony Pictures DVD Center

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

Credits
Descriptions by
EnormousRat, LogosSuper142 and thehugetvfan

Captures by
EnormousRat, LogosSuper142 and thehugetvfan

Editions by
EnormousRat, LogosSuper142, thehugetvfan and Jesse Coffey


1st Logo (1998-2008?)


Visuals: On a black background, a large lens flare glares and releases a faint rainbow ring, and light rays cause a massive supernova in the center of the screen. Within the ever-expanding supernova, a trio of lights, colored red, green, and blue respectively, swirl around and circle the center of the supernova. As the streaks reach the center, they turn sharply at a diagonal angle upwards and fly off-screen, causing the screen to flash and the supernova to dissipate, leaving a still image of 3 lines diagonally rising up in the same colors, casting colored shadows in a white spotlight. Below the logo, the following text fades in a Futura font:

SONY PICTURES DVD CENTER
MASTERING THE ART OF TECHNOLOGY

Variant: Another variant has the text read this in an Arial Font:

S O N Y P I C T U R E S
DIGITAL AUTHORING CENTER

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: The sounds of wind blowing through play, as well as what sounds like rockets going off, before it ends in a loud whoosh noise. Quiet chime-like ringing plays throughout the rest of the logo.

Availability: Seen at the end of various Region 2/4 DVDs released by Columbia TriStar Home Video. It was also seen on a few early Region 2 SPHE releases, such as the 2005 DVDs of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II.

  • In the US, the print logo appears on the DVD cover and label, but the visual logo usually does not appear on the DVD itself. It does appear on Pink Floyd's The Wall (produced by Columbia Music Video), Foolish, Animal Farm, The Limey, and Arabian Nights (from Artisan Entertainment), The Tuskegee Airmen (from HBO) and the 2005 reprint of Pokémon: I Choose You! Pikachu (from Viz Video).
  • It appears at the end of the Region 2/4 DVD releases of the first two Jurassic Park movies, possibly due to Columbia TriStar handling distribution for Universal releases at the time.
  • It is also at the end on the Australian DVD releases of Kermit's Swamp Years, Buddy, Stuart Little (the 2014 Aussie DVD reprint retains this logo) and Charlie's Angels.
  • The Digital Authoring Center variant appears on some later Region 2 releases from SPHE, such as Crossroads, Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild and Open Season.
  • This was also seen on the 2017 Australian DVD release (distributed by Shock Entertainment) of The Craft, possibly because the menu, movie, Dolby Digital trailer and warning screen were re-used from the original 2002 Australian DVD release (distributed by Columbia TriStar Home Video).
  • Some of the first DVD's with this logo, such as the 1999 Australian DVD releases of Madeline (the 1998 live-action adaption) and Cruel Intentions, and UK DVDs of Multiplicity, The Cable Guy, and Cruel Intentions, have this play after the viewer selects "Play Movie".
  • This is absent from the 1999 Region 4 DVD of Ghostbusters and the 2000 Region 4 DVD releases of Mr. Jones and A League of their Own.

2nd Logo (2000?-2006?)


Visuals: On a black background, a shiny "S" shape made of red, green, and blue stripes wipes in from bottom to top. Below, the following text wipes in below in the Sony corporate typeface at the time:

Sony DVD Center
Excellence in Technology & Innovation

Variant: An alternate version exists where the "S" is already seen as a embossed black object, where the 3 stripes wipe in one-by-one from the top, and the name fades in one-by-one before the tagline flashes in below, also with a embossed backing. Everything is slightly smaller and shifted up as it takes place on a grey scanline background.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on releases where this appears in place of the first logo.

  • It appears mainly on PAL DVD releases, including those of the 1958 film Cowboy, the 1966 film Alvarez Kelly, and Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You.
  • This also shows up on the 2001 Region 4 DVD release of China Moon (even though the print version of the previous logo appears on the back of the DVD case).
  • It also appears on the 2004 Region 4 DVD release of Blind Date (and its late 2010's reprint), the 2003 Region 2 DVD releases of Another You and Macbeth, the 2002 Region 4 DVD release of Fools Rush In, and the 2002 Italian DVD of Shampoo (it also appears on a 2006 reprint of that film).
  • The alternative version is known to have appeared on the 2003 PAL DVD release of the Universal Pictures film Harvey. The alternative version also shows up on the 2003 UK/Australian DVD releases of A Simple Wish and Flipper (1996 film).
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