American Zoetrope

Background

American Zoetrope (formerly known as Omni Zoetrope from 1977 to 1980 and Zoetrope Studios from 1980 until 1990) is a privately run American film production company, centered in San Francisco, California and founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

Opened on December 12, 1969, the studio has produced not only the films of Coppola (including Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Tetro), but also George Lucas's pre-Star Wars film (THX 1138), as well as many others by avant-garde directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Wim Wenders and Godfrey Reggio. American Zoetrope was an early adopter of digital filmmaking, including some of the earliest uses of HDTV.

Four films produced by American Zoetrope are included in the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. American Zoetrope-produced films have received 15 Academy Awards and 68 nominations.

American Zoetrope (first era)

1st Logo (March 11, 1971, June 28, 2002, February 8, 2013, September 12, 2016, 2021)

Logo: Against a black background, we see the text "AN" in a Futura font. and "american zoetrope" in a thin abstract font. Below that is a lowercase "A" colored red, white, and blue. To the right of it is a zoetrope (a cylinder with images displayed inside that, when the outside is spun, gives the pictures the appearance that they are being animated when viewed through the slits at the top) colored in the same way. "PRODUCTION" is below that in the same font as "AN".

Variant: On a few films, the "a" and zoetrope slide away from each other, while copies of them sliding across at different sizes can be seen off the sides. After the logo finishes, the words appear one by one.

FX/SFX: None, aside from the variant.

Music/Sounds: None, or the opening of the movie.

Availability: Rare. Seen on THX 1138. The variant makes surprise appearances on Pumpkin, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, and Paris Can Wait. This also plasters the Paramount Pictures logo on current prints of Tucker: The Man and His Dream. A version that says "PRESENTATION" instead of "PRODUCTION" is used on the 2021 director's cut of Dementia 13.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1974)

TBA.

Zoetrope Studios

(February 12, 1982-July 22, 1990)

Logo: On a red background, we see a red spotlight. Then the words "ZOETROPE STUDIOS", with the second "S" as a backwards "Z" and the "Z" and "S" connected by a line, fades in. There is a rainbow line underneath the text.

Trivia: The logo was designed by legendary graphic designer Saul Bass.

Variants:

Most often, this logo just uses the text. This is occasionally seen as part of the end credits.
A version with a plain white line, as well as a "IAW" mention, can be seen on The Outsides TV series.

FX/SFX: The fade in.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1st logo.

Availability: Seen on some American Zoetrope films from the time, such as One from the Heart, The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, Peggy Sue Got Married and Tucker: The Man and His Dream.

Editor's Note: None.

American Zoetrope (second era)

1st Logo (November 13, 1992- )

Logo: We can see a print image of a radio tower which emits four lightning sparks. The name (aligned left) says "AMERICAN ZOETROPE" in two lines, with "FROM" above and "SAN FRANCISCO" below the text.

Variants:

A later version has text on the right side, separated with three lines. A website appears over the tower.
A red-colored version appears at the end of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
There is a greenish borderless version seen on The Odyssey.

Trivia:

The building depicted here is Columbus Tower/Sentinel Building in San Francisco, where the headquarters of American Zoetrope are located.
- This logo was repurposed from the print logo of Commercial Pictures, a production company owned by Francis Ford Coppola's children, Roman and Sofia.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Jeepers Creepers 2 and several other films, like Moby Dick and Bram Stoker's Dracula. The closing version was used on The 4400 and The Odyssey episodes. Many films like Lost in Translation, Kinsey, Marie Antoinette, The Good Shepherd, Youth Without Youth and Tetro have no logo.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1999-2002)

Logo: We see a performer with a hat and cane dancing in the middle. After a while, copies of the performer wipe in on either side of it. Suddenly, we zoom out and the footage appears to be on a spinning zoetrope. The words "AMERICAN ZOETROPE" with "PICTURES" below spins in an angle (ala the 1990 and 1997 Universal Pictures logos).

Variant: A sepia variant exists.

FX/SFX: The zoom out, and the words spinning. Marvelous animation.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie, or none. Occasionally, a jazz tune plays, which culminates into a more triumphant fanfare (repurposed from the Commercial Pictures fanfare).

Availability: Rare. Seen on several movies, one of them is Jeepers Creepers. Appears on the trailer for Assassination Tango. Some other films have the 3rd logo, but most of them miss it.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (February 6, 2014-February 16, 2018)

Logo: Basically the same radio-tower concept as in the 3rd logo, moved into a vertical box. The name is written in two lines inside the lower white part of the box.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Mozart in the Jungle.

Editor's Note: None.