Viacom18 Studios

Background

Viacom18 Motion Pictures is a film production division of a joint venture between Viacom (now Paramount Global) and Network 18 based in Mumbai. It is originally formed as Studio18 in 2006, and it was renamed five years later. It was later renamed as Viacom18 Studios in 2019. Due to Viacom being one of the partners in the company, Viacom18 also theatrically distributes films from Paramount Pictures in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka since mid-2011, starting with Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Contents

1st Logo (February 25-September 23, 2011)	2nd Logo (January 6, 2012-November 10, 2017)	3rd Logo (January 25, 2018-)

1st Logo (February 25-September 23, 2011)

Visuals: On a black background, the outline of the Viacom 18 logo glimpse before the background flashing to white, the red line wiping with the words "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S" and the byline "A JOINT VENTURE OF VIACOM AND NETWORK 18" wipes in and the whole logo zooms in slowly before the logo fades out to black few seconds later.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A crystallized glockenspiel tune turning into a three-note triumphant fanfare with two drumbeats and cymbal.

Availability: Appeared on their first films, starting with Tanu Weds Manu and last appeared on the Hindi dubbed version of the Canadian film Breakaway known as Speedy Singhs.

2nd Logo (January 6, 2012-November 10, 2017)

2012 version

Later 2012 version

2013 version

2016 version (recorded)

Visuals: There is the word "VIACOM" (in its current font and in blue) next to a bigger red rounded box with "18" (in white) inside it on a black floor located on a dark blue background with a light in its center. We then see a trail of light which travels through the "O" in "VIACOM". The light flashes and then forms the logos of Colors, Nickelodeon, MTV and VH1. The trail of light then flies to the right of the screen. The camera pans to follow it revealing the Viacom 18 logo with the Viacom logo being centered. The trail of light draws a red line under the Viacom logo as the letters in "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S" zoom in under the Viacom 18 logo, one by one. The black floor, now more below the logo, is traced by 2 light trails as the word "PRESENTS" zooms in below. As the word zooms in, its letters space themselves out. As it zooms in, the word also changes colors from white to purple to pink and then finally to red. The camera then slowly zooms away from the finished product until the logo fades to black.

Variants:

The logo was enhanced later on in 2012 where the background appears to be in an emerald tint. The 2010 MTV logo is used, while the Sonic Nickelodeon and Comedy Central logos are added.
In 2013, the Rishtey logo is added between the Colors and Nickelodeon logos, and the MTV logo is white and under it a green rectangle with "STAY RAW" on it.
In 2016, the Colors Infinity logo is added after the Comedy Central logo.
There is also a variant where we cut to "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S" zooming out letter by letter.
"PRESENTS" in violet sometimes fades in under "M O T I O N P I C T U R E S".

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A majestic disco-synth soundtrack.

Availability: Appears on films from the time period, starting with Players and last appeared on Hindi dubbed version of Aval known as The House Next Door. It might've appeared on Indian theatrical prints of Paramount films at the time.

3rd Logo (January 25, 2018-)

Visuals: The sequence starts with a theater at nighttime, where the screen zooms out to reveal the marquee, which reads "NOW SHOWING" and [name of the film] below it. Atop the marquee is a clip from the said film you are watching. Similar to the 2016 Marvel Studios logo, the screen pans up to see a clip from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and we see two buildings, also having clips playing in it, which are Drishyam and Gangs of Wasseypur. The screen then pans through a building with a clip from O.M.G,: Oh My God! in it alongside a clip from Mary Kom, and the screen zooms through a building with a clip from Special 26 playing, and we see a building which has Kahaani and Gabbar Is Back on its sides. The screen pans through a building playing Queen as we pan down to a busy street. Then the camera pans through the side of a building with a clip from Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 and Madras Cafe on its side, and another film as we pan up to see a building with a clip from Tanu Weds Manu playing atop it. The screen then pans up as the camera becomes a birds-eye vide of the city, and the lights go out to form the Viacom18 logo in yellow in a similar fashion to the 2008 Miramax logo. The words "MOTION PICTURES" appear below a red line, while the ball of flash draws the tagline "Redefining Indian Cinema" at the bottom.

Variants:

Starting on August 9, 2019, the tagline "Redefining Indian Cinema" is omitted, as well as the "MOTION PICTURES" word is replaced by the "STUDIOS" text.
On later films with this logo, the clips are placed at different spots.
On Laal Singh Chaddha and Drishyam 2, the logo is cut short.
On Fighter, a special variant is used. At the end, the animation of the lights forming the logo are slightly different, forming a gold Viacom18 Studios logo, which shrinks to the right. "100", with the "0" cut and overlapping part of the Viacom18 Studios logo, slides in next to it as the Viacom18 logo reverts back to its ormal colors, with "FILMS" in Avant Garde sliding down under the "100". The tagline "REDEFINING INDIAN CINEMA", now in gold, appears through a shine from the left side of the screen.

Technique: CGI with live-action footage for the movie clips.

Audio: A proud, heroic traditional fanfare and whooshes as the camera pans through the buildings.

Availability: The first variant appeared on Padmaavat and last appeared on Romeo Akbar Walter, released on April 5, 2019. The "STUDIOS" variant first appeared on the release of Manmadhudu 2, and later seen on other films.

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Studio18

Viacom18 Studios