ABC Studios

Background

ABC Studios was originally formed as the original Touchstone Television, which was then renamed as "ABC Television Studios" in February 2007 before it was renamed again to its current name in May 2007. On August 10, 2020, ABC Studios was folded into ABC Signature.

1st Logo (May-September 23, 2007)

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Logo: On a white background, a black ABC circle iris in on the left with the text "studios" in the same font as the ABC logo, with a shadow effect rises up from the middle of the screen on the right side of the logo.

FX/SFX: The circle and text appearing.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. Appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, season 2 of Kyle XY, and some ABC summer programs in 2007.

Editor's Note: Rather simple, but it's likely just a placeholder for the next logo.

2nd Logo (September 24, 2007-September 2013)

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Nicknames: "The Silhouettes", "Silhouettes Working on Set", "ABC Camera"

Logo: On a white/silver background, we see silhouettes of people working in a studio, carrying ladders, cameras, etc. As one of them strikes a clapperboard, we rapidly zoom past the workers into the lens of a camera, which overtakes the screen. There we see the ABC logo, in 3D with a "glossy" texture, with "studios" next to it, in a dark background with a small blue streak passing by, similar to the "Start Here" graphics from the 2007 fall season.

Trivia: The whole logo appears to be a throwback to the classic 1962 "An ABC Presentation" camera logo. At the beginning of the logo, the numbers 4, 8, 15, and 16 appear on the clapper, then 15 and 16 change to 23 and 42. These are the recurring numbers from Lost. Design-wise, this logo was probably the work of Troika Design Group, who were behind the "Start Here" look.

Variants: Both widescreen and full screen versions exist.

FX/SFX: The people moving around and the 3-D ABC logo shining.

Music/Sounds: A bass drum "boom" heard simultaneously with the clapperboard, then an uplifting, 5-note orchestration, mixed with chimes. The first four notes are from the ABC jingle that been used since 1998. Original network airings along with CBS airings use their generic themes.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• There is a longer version of the theme that also lacks the chimes.
• On season 1 episodes of Castle (excluding the pilot), only the clap sound of the clapper is heard. This is due to an audio mixing error; the music in the left/right channels of the 5.1 soundtrack is missing, and only the clap in the center channel remains.

Availability: Somewhat uncommon. This logo is no longer used as of September 2013.

• It's on just about any show produced by ABC before 2013 (i.e. Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs etc.), excluding the ABC broadcasts which have it cut out in favor of an in-credit mention for the studio (since 2009); VOD and home media releases have the logo though.
• It can also be seen on Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer on CBS, and other ex-Touchstone shows (except for post-2007 episodes of Monk).
• A shorter widescreen version was seen on S2 of Dirt on FX.
• The version with the music was last seen on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC and the short-lived Legend of the Seeker in syndication. It is still available on repeats of According to Jim on Laff and Castle in broadcast syndication.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (September 2013-October 2020)

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Logo: On a dark, murky background, a pale yellow spotlight fades in, moving towards the top-right of the screen. It flashes brightly for a moment, and some of its light morphs into the 2013 ABC logo and the word "studios", now in a different font, written next to it. The word and logo shine and zoom in. The spotlight continues to move towards the corner, gradually fading out, leaving just the ABC logo and "studios" written on the once again murky background.

Variants:

• Early Variant: The spotlight and tint on the ABC logo are red.
• There is a variant in which the light and ABC Studios logo simply fade and zoom in. This version looks much cheaper.
• For ABC Studios International, it's the still ABC Studios logo on a black background, with the word "international" below "studios".

FX/SFX: The spotlight shining and moving, the logo and word fading, shining and zooming in. Awesome CGI from Loyalkaspar.

Music/Sounds: A light 6-note synthesized glockenspiel tune, followed by a deep string note. For the prototype, it's silent.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• Sometimes, the music from the previous logo is heard.
• On some shows like Inhumans, only the glockenspiel is heard.
• Starting with Agent Carter, the theme is slightly slowed-down.
• Network airings have its generic theme.
• An extended version of the theme exists, this can be found at the beginning of all current DVD/Blu-ray box sets of ABC Studios shows released by Disney.

Availability: Very common.

• The standard pale yellow version appears on current episodes of ABC shows, such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Betrayal.
• The red version appeared on early episodes of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Again, not on the actual ABC broadcasts of said shows, which have the in-credit mention.
• The ABC Studios International variant appears on Reef Break and may also appears on international prints of some Hallmark Channel TV movies as well, especially those produced by Johnson Production Group and some Brad Krevoy Television productions as well.
• Last known new usage was on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in October 2020. As of October 7, Kimmel is now credited to ABC Signature.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (2016-2020)

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Logo: We see the ABC logo (in gray tones) zooming out to the left part of the screen, showing the word "studios" with a flash below (which gradually disappear) on a gray background with a glow.

Variant: A red-colored version exists.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming out and the flash.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: No longer current. So far seen at the beginning of international prints of ABC shows such as Once Upon a Time, as well as international airings of Disney theatrical films such as Ed Wood and Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Editor's Note: None.