3BM Television
Camenati
Editions by
Michael Kenchington
Background
3BM Television was an independent television company. On 27 February 2004, Zinc Media acquired the company.
1st Logo (22 October 1996-2004)
Visuals: Set on a white background, a "3" is drawn with its shadow also visible. Two copies of the character, coloured blue and green respectively, slide out from the left and right, forming the company's name while a red slash draws through the "3"'s left side. Then, in-credit information fades in below, containing the company and its co-producer's names as well as the copyright notice.
Bylines:
- 22 October 1996-2004: None.
- 2004: A Ten Alps Company.
Variants:
- The bottom text may address the company name alternatively; the most notable example being Three BM Television.
- Sometimes, the logo is still.
- On a few programmes, the logo is squished.
- A shadow-less version exists.
- Sometimes, the logo is set on a black background.
- On What Makes Mozart Tic, the logo is inside a white rectangular box.
- The logo may appear as an in-credit notice.
Technique: 2D animation.
Audio: The ending theme of the programme.
Availability:
- It was seen on many documentaries from the late 1990s to early 2000s.
- Some such as early episodes of Zero Hour and Secrets of The Dead are accessible through home media and on-demand releases while others such as some Secret Lives documentaries, Auntie: The Inside Story of the BBC, among others are either only traceable through original video recordings or appointment viewings at a BFI venue.
2nd Logo (2004-2008)
Visuals: Same as the previous logo, but on a black background. Also, the saturation of the main logo has increased where the characters are coloured pure red, medium sea green, and dodger blue respectively.
Bylines:
- 2004-2006: A division of Ten Alps Communications plc
- 2005: A division of Ten Alps plc
Technique: None.
Audio: The ending theme of the programme.
Availability: Seen on their later productions, which includes later episodes of Zero Hour, Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand, the Extraordinary People documentary "The Boy With A Tumour For A Face", among several others.