USA Originals

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

Revision as of 01:06, 6 December 2022 by SuperMax124 (talk | contribs) (Text replacement - "FX/SFX" to "Technique")


1st logo (1992?-1996?)

Logo: Against a gray stone background, we see the USA Network logo below a box with the text "PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH", and they both slowly zoom in.

Variant: On Pacific Blue, the logo appears on a red background.

Technique: Not much animation.

Music/Sounds: A gentle, 4-note synth tune. On the red background variant, it's silent.

Availability: Only known so far to have been seen on Quicksilver, Free 4 All, Pacific Blue and other USA original productions of the era. Perhaps more notably it appears on the first season of Street Fighter: The Animated Series.


2nd logo (1996-1998?)

Nickname: "USA Studios", "The Fountain"

Logo: We pan down from a large entrance archway of a studio, rows of palm trees and buildings and we see a fountain, aglow with orange CGI "water", as the USA Studios logo (the USA Network logo of the era, a serif-font "USA" with a star shape integrated into the "U", with "STUDIOS" below instead of "NETWORK") rotates into place facing the camera from the right. As it rotates, the fountain sprays water upwards.

Variant: There is a short version.

Trivia: At this point, the "look" of USA Network revolved around the fictional "USA Studios" complex; idents provided glimpses of a control room, movie intros showed people inside the "USA Studios Film Vault", and schedule bumpers showed soundstages being prepped for production.

Technique: Good CGI and live-action footage. Not bad for 1996.

Music/Sounds: A majestic two-note fanfare, ending with a harp crescendo. The short version uses a majestic 3-note jingle based off USA's signature of the era, combined with rushing water noises.

Availability: Was seen on USA original programs and movies of the era, such as Savage Dragon, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, the second season of Street Fighter: The Animated Series and Wing Commander Academy. Some original programs from this period don’t use this logo, namely Duckman.


3rd Logo (1998-1999)

Logo: On a white background, the USA NETWORKS logo slowly zooms in and shines, then a URL fades in.

Variants:

  • Sometimes the URL is omitted.
  • On Happy Hour, the logo is on a black background.

Technique: The logo shining.

Music/Sounds: A three-note tune based on the USA Network jingle.

Availability: Seen at the end of Journey to the Center of the Earth (miniseries) on ION Television.

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