The ABM Group
thehugetvfan
Video captures courtesy of
Retronewfoundland
Background
The ABM Group was a Canadian home video distributor from Ontario. They were one of Canada's largest video companies in the early 1990s. Formed in 1989 as a merger of various companies (including Embury Communications), ABM released public domain films and started licensing content from other companies, including Starmaker Entertainment, Nelvana, and Paragon International. In 1994, Front Row Entertainment purchased ABM, and they stopped using the brand name a year later.
Logo (1989-1993)
Visuals: There is a zooming space background. After ten seconds of no animation, a pink comet shoots from the right. Then, when it hits the center, an explosion appears. The letters “A”, “B”, and “M” (in the Pegasus font) zoom in and spin, along with a fancy tail, all colored gold. A yellow line flashes quickly on the logo’s edges just before the explosion (now really white dust) disappears. The yellow word “PRESENTS” in the Brush Script font slowly fades in. After a few seconds, the logo fades out, and a warning scroll appears. After 13 seconds, the screen fades to black.
Trivia: The explosion seen here is actually footage of the Death Star destruction from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. There has been speculation about the footage used without permission of copyright.
Variant: Sometimes, the warning scroll doesn't appear, and we are left with 13 seconds of just the space background before the screen fades to black.
Technique: A mix of 2D computer effects and CGI.
Audio: An extremely long synth drone is heard throughout the entire logo, then, when the explosion appears, a “BOOM!” is heard, then wind is heard when the letters fly in, a clunk when the letters come into place, followed by a bell toll. At the end of the logo, we hear a some kind of a sound that looks like a game button being pressed.
Availability: Found on a Canadian VHS of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark: The Movie, as well as some public domain cartoon videos. Could be seen on re-released tapes from Kid Flicks, and Starmaker Entertainment.
