Video Collection International

Background
Video Collection International (formerly The Video Collection) was a UK-based video company formed in 1984 and established in 1985. Originally part of the Prestwich Group, based in New Southgate, London, it was subject to a management buyout headed by Steve Ayres as CEO and Paddy Toomey (ex-Woolworths) as MD. The vision of "Sell Through Video" was born with the strong Woolworths association driving the retail sales. The Video Collection was allied with ITV and Channel 4, and distributed many of their titles from their franchises; they also operated the Cinema Club budget label, as well as an American division, Strand Home Video. The company was renamed to VCI in 1994 due to financial difficulties, and in 1999 the company was sold to the Kingfisher group. In 2004, the company merged with BBC Video to form 2 Entertain.

1st Logo (1985-1989)


Logo: On a gray background, several white lines appear. A black rectangle with "COLLECTION" (in a tall white font) at the bottom flips up from the bottom of the screen and "the" flies and flips from the top. Then "Video" in a red rectangle (written with "V" in a black serif font and "ideo" a skinnier, white italicized serif font), swoops from behind the "COLLECTION" box and plasters itself on it.

FX/SFX: The swooping and flipping. Not bad for 1985.

Music/Sounds: A 13-note synth theme, accompanied by 4 deeper synths and 3 synthesized chords when "Video" appears. This was actually taken from a weather jingle TVS was using at the time.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be seen on releases of cartoons (mostly Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears) in the UK from the period. Even though the next logo was introduced a year after this one, this logo didn't end until 3 years later.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1986, 1988-1995, 1998)
Logo: Cutting in from black, a grey floor with light and dark grey "marble" scratches and a light grey grid is seen slowly shifting towards the upper right as a red triangle zooms out from the top left edge and moves towards bottom center with a shadow effect. A angled grey rectangle with a black front face then "opens" up and several more pieces appear around it, forming up a strange TV-like monitor with a satellite dish on top. The device rotates around a full 360 degrees as several pieces fly off it, then reattach, and then zooms in while tilting violently until the black screen takes up the whole area for a brief moment. It then cuts back to the floor, although its now stationary, and a red rectangle takes up the middle via a "blinds" effect before retracting on the sides. The rectangle then flips around once and rotates up, as a black "V" spins in as well and the background fades to black. It then plasters itself onto the red rectangle as the rest of the white text "the ideo" fade in and white lines drop down from the rectangle. A grey background fades in, with a tall black rectangle remaining with a shadow effect, and the white lines contort into the white text "COLLECTION". The end result resembles the 1st logo.

Variant: On PAL tapes in Spain, the logo reads "Video COLECCION''. Its unknown if there are other language variations.

FX/SFX: All early CGI, which also isn't bad for the time.

Music/Sounds: A quiet beeping sound, followed by the synthesized swoosh and some metallic clunks when parts forming the television, then a little synthesized organ-like ditty. It ends with three timpani beats.

Music/Sounds Variant: On some Spanish PAL tapes, an announcer can be heard. Translated from Spanish, he says: "Don't hesitate to join the millions in the world who "video-collect", and thanks to us learn, play, laugh, cry and know now what to do with their free time. Video Collection: a new concept on video is born to you. Thank you for your confidence."

Availability: Common. Can be seen on several different tapes of ITV programming and children's shows, most famously the later Thomas the Tank Engine releases in the UK, taking over from Screen Legends, and it could also be seen on Brum tapes. The Spanish variant can be seen on a Spain PAL VHS copy of Yogi's First Christmas. This logo stopped being regularly used in 1995, but it appears on a 1998 print of Sesame Street - Big Bird's Favorite Party Games. This logo debuted in 1986, on She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and didn't appear again until 1988.

Editor's Note: None.

(1995-2005)
Nickname: "Stacked VCI"

Logo: In front of a black background, there is a grey wire frame globe, a bright light emitting godrays in the top left of the screen and some gray mist below, and in front of those, a metal object flips in, along with a red sphere. This is later revealed to be the "C" in "VCI", which flips around as it zooms out (with the sphere in the center). The letters "V" and "I" would later spin in and arrange themselves vertically.

Variants:
 * There are 2 DVD variants.
 * The DVD logo, which is also metallic, forms in the top right of the screen. This variant appears in a 16:9 ratio and mainly appears on widescreen DVDs. However, the VCI logo itself is cheaply made, as the logo starts in stretched 4:3, then stretches out into 16:9 as the logo finishes.
 * The VCI text fades out, the light glows and the DVD logo fades in. This variant appears in a 4:3 ratio and appears mainly on fullscreen DVDs (some widescreen DVDs though, use this variant despite the logo remaining in fullscreen).
 * On Sindy the Fairy Princess, after the logo ends, everything except the VCI text fades to black and the text moves to the left on the screen. The Optical Image logo fades into the right side and the word 'Presents' appears.

FX/SFX: Very good computer animation that still holds up very well today.

Music/Sounds: A synth chime theme is heard alongside some whooshing sounds, with mechanical sounds for the VCI text arranging. Near the end, there are two deep synth notes, ending with a clang and a final chime, which has a similar melody to the Strand VCI Entertainment logo.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on the start and end of many releases from this time, including Phoenix Nights and later Thomas The Tank Engine releases, among others.

Editor's Note: None.