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'''Bylines:'''
* Starting with ''The Juror'', released on February 2, 1996, the byline "{{color|#FFA500|'''a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company'''}}" fades in on the bottom, being slightly off-center. In its original appearance, the byline is cheaply chyroned in and is a lot bigger and wider than the proportion of the "COLUMBIA" name and the pedestal. Starting with ''The Craft'', released on May 3, 1996, the byline is darker in color, fades in, and is positioned under the Torch Lady instead of in front of her. However, some post-1996 films, such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'', ''Wild Things'', ''Dance with Me'', and ''Vampires'', may have this logo without the byline, while trailers and TV spots continued to use the bylineless version of the logo until 1999. The last film to use this byline was ''Captain Phillips'', released on October 11, 2013, but it later appeared at the end of ''Pixels'', released on July 24, 2015, and also makes a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" cameo on ''Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse''. Starting with the 2006 version, the font of the byline is in Arial.
* In late 2013, the byline was shortened to "{{color|#FFA500|'''a Sony Company'''}}" (in Arial Bold font), with the {{color|orange}}-{{color|gold}} color of the previous byline changed to a {{color|saddlebrown|bronze}}, and is properly centered. This byline debuted on US prints of ''American Hustle'' (it only appears at the end; the film itself uses the 1976 logo), ''The Monuments Men'', and trailers for ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' and ''22 Jump Street''.
'''Evolution Variants:'''
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* In 1999, a special variant was produced to commemorate the company's 75th anniversary. It starts off with the 1936 logo in black and white, leaving the 1993 cloud background intact. The Torch Lady then slowly morphs into her current counterpart as the black and white elements later transition to color. As the camera zooms back, there is a red arched banner dropping from above reading "SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY LIGHTING UP SCREENS AROUND THE WORLD", and on the pedestal is a red box with the gold, giant chiseled name "COLUMBIA" inside on top, and the small word "PICTURES" below in spaced-out letters. There is also the gold giant number "75" unfolding in between the Torch Lady. This variant's only known onscreen use was on the 75th anniversary home video collection promo attached to most Sony VHS tapes released in 1998 and 1999; all Columbia movies released in 1999 simply used the normal logo.
** On the <u>75th anniversary home video collection promo</u>, a copyright stamp for [[Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment|Columbia TriStar Home Video]] appears on the bottom and disappears when the logo is nearly finished.
* There is a scope version each for the 1993 and 2006-present iterations intended where parts of the cloud background are stretched out more and the Torch Lady and the "COLUMBIA" text, along with the byline, are
* On a [[Warner Home Video]] VHS of ''The Shawshank Redemption'', the logo starts a second in.
* On films produced in 2.39:1 from 2007 to 2014, the pedestal is thinner and the byline is smaller.
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* [[Sony Pictures Imageworks]] animated the later versions. Greenhaus GFX designed the 2014 transition to the logo from Sony.
'''Audio:''' A majestic tune which ends with a brass sounder, composed by Jonathan Elias.
* The 1993 main version
* The 1993 alternate version (rough mix) is
* The 1998 main version
* The 1998 alternate version is
* Starting with ''Sex Tape'', released on July 18, 2014, an extra build-up is added at the beginning of the 1998
* Sometimes, it is silent, has the opening theme of the film, or music from any given soundtrack.
* The volume and mixing of the respective fanfares may vary depending on the film.
'''Audio Variants:'''
* On the ''Open Season'' short "Boog & Elliot's Midnight Bun Run" and ''The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas'', the first half of the [[Sony Pictures Animation]] logo music can be heard during the logo, before the Columbia logo cuts into the mentioned logo as the music finishes.
* The
* There is also a double-pitched (very high tone) version of the 1998 theme.
* On <u>''Palmetto''</u>, yet another arrangement of the theme is heard without cymbal hits, ending smoothly with synthesized flutes (presumably a version of the 1993 rough mix). This variant was only seen on original Columbia TriStar releases, as current releases remove this logo (prior to Time Warner owning the [[Castle Rock Entertainment|Castle Rock]] library, as ''Palmetto'' is a Castle Rock film, however a recent TCM France airing retained the Columbia logo, which was also in widescreen).
* On the 2000 Region 2/4 PAL DVD release of ''Erin Brockovich'' (and its 2012 reprint), for some strange reason, the 1998 theme is NTSC-pitched (as with the 1997 Universal logo's theme). This is also the case on the film's UK VHS release.
* Some newer prints of 1993-1998 films may have their original 1993-98 fanfares (whether
* On the UHD release of ''The Remains of the Day'' (1993), it starts off with the original 1993
* On <u>''Life'' (2017)</u>, the 1998
'''Availability:''' It has been placed in front of most Columbia films for an impressive 30 years.
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'''Technique:''' CGI. Like the later variations of the previous logo, this was done by Sony Pictures Imageworks.
'''Audio:''' The 2014 version of the
'''Availability:''' Made its first appearance on [https://twitter.com/SonyPictures/status/1745083073614447000 Sony Pictures' social media accounts] on January 10, 2024, which is the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures. It made its theatrical debut in front of the re-release of ''Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' on January 19, 2024 (plastering the previous logo's variant), and has also appeared on TV spots of ''Madame Web'' and the trailer of ''Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire''.
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Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (commonly known as Columbia Pictures) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and one of the major American film studios. Since 1993, it has been headquartered at Sony Pictures Studios (formerly MGM Studios and the former Lorimar's studios) in Culver City, California.
Columbia Pictures was originally founded as "Cohn-Brandt-Cohn Film Sales" in 1918 by Harry Cohn, his brother Jack Cohn, and Jack's friend Joe Brandt. Brandt was president of CBC Film Sales, handling sales, marketing and distribution from New York along with Jack Cohn, while Harry Cohn ran production in Hollywood. Many of the studio's early productions were low-budget affairs; the start-up CBC leased space in a poverty row studio on Hollywood's Gower Street. Among Hollywood's elite, CBC's reputation led some to joke that "CBC" stood for "Corned Beef and Cabbage".
Following a reorganization, the Cohn brothers renamed the predecessor company as "Columbia Pictures Corporation" on January 10, 1924. Columbia's product line consisted mostly of moderately budgeted features and a short-subject program of comedies, serials, cartoons, and sports films. Columbia gradually moved into the production of higher-budget fare, building a reputation as one of Hollywood's more important studios. On December 23, 1968, it was reorganized as Columbia Pictures Industries after Columbia Pictures Corporation merged with its television division Screen Gems. On June 22, 1982, Columbia Pictures was sold to The Coca-Cola Company for $750 million. In December 1987, it became part of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, with Coke owning 49%. Finally, on November 8, 1989, it was sold to Sony Corporation of Japan. Since 1998, Columbia Pictures has been part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group (Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group since 2013), which is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony.
Columbia Pictures titles were distributed through a partnership with Warner Bros. under the name Columbia-Warner internationally (with some partnerships in the United Kingdom) until 1987, when Columbia reorganized its international distribution division into Columbia Tri-Star Films. The UK partnership would last until 1988.
Visuals: On a dark gray background with arch clouds below, there is a woman dressed in a Roman soldier's outfit (similar to the Greco-Roman goddess Athena/Minerva), crowned with a wreath and covered in a toga, holding a shield in her left hand and holding an olive branch in her right hand. There is the text "COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION Presents", with "COLUMBIA PICTURES" arched above, "CORPORATION" underneath it in a straight line, and "Presents" below.
Trivia:
Variant: A textless variant exists.
Technique: This logo is a matte painting.
Audio: None.
Availability: Seen on silent-era Columbia Pictures films, most of which are now lost or survive only in an incomplete form.
Visuals:
Trivia: The Torch Lady shown here is actress Claudia Dell, who appeared as Spanky's mother in the Our Gang shorts "Mama's Little Pirate" and "Anniversary Trouble".
Variants:
Closing Variants:
Technique: A mix of a matte painting, moiré effects and editing.
Audio: A majestic horn sounder (a la 20th Century Fox), or the opening/closing theme of the short/feature.
Availability: Seen on Columbia-owned films from this time period right up until the introduction of the next logo.
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Visuals: There is the lady, this time standing on top of a pedestal with a backdrop of clouds over her, while she is holding her light torch. Much more refined, ethereal and goddess-like, her facial features are less pronounced and she looks away (up and to the right) instead of straight ahead. Her headdress is absent and her hair sweeps back instead of hanging by the sides of her face. The drape over her shoulder is less obviously an American flag, with the stars on the left shoulder being toned down in a shadow, and the stripes are visible only on the portion of the drape hanging down her right side. "A COLUMBIA PRODUCTION" is replaced with the tall chiseled letters of "COLUMBIA" (which fades in a second afterward) running straight across the top section of the screen, with the lady's torch glowing in front of the "U". A new form of animation is used on the logo as well, with a torch that radiates light instead of flickers. Until the mid-1960s, this logo would also appear at the end of films, sometimes with the words "The End" in a script font.
Trivia: The model in this and the next two logos is Pittsburgh native Jane Chester Bartholomew, who was discovered by Columbia co-founder and head Harry Cohn. After she left acting in the 1960s, Bartholomew became a nursing inspector with the Chicago Board of Health. She died in 2012.
Byline: Starting in 1974, the byline "A DIVISION OF COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC." appears at the bottom of the screen. This variant was introduced around the time its television production division Screen Gems Television changed its name to Columbia Pictures Television.
Evolution Variants:
Variants:
Technique: Traditional animation for the torch rays, and a matte painting for the Torch Lady, text and backdrop.
Audio: Usually, the beginning/end of the movie plays over the logo. On some films, the logo appears completely silent. However, on several mid to late '30s Three Stooges shorts, it has a majestic theme before playing the Three Stooges theme. On several other films, it would have a different theme.
Availability: Can still be seen on Columbia Pictures films of this period on home video formats and on TV airings.
Legacy: Considered the most well-known version of the logo, being used for an amazing 40 years.
Visuals: It begins with the familiar Columbia Torch Lady (a less-detailed yellow-toned 1942/1955 Torch Lady), standing on the pedestal holding her light torch against the backdrop of clouds. Then, the picture moves upward and towards the torch as the rays pull in, which shines even more as the picture blurs around it. It then emits a flash that fills the screen. When the flash dissolves, the light torch itself appears, as if in a sunburst, against a black screen and as it shrinks, it changes into a more "abstract" torch: a blue half circle, or a semicircle, with thirteen white light rays in the center and the words "Columbia Pictures" in a Souvenir Bold font under it. The entire logo then slowly backs away as it fades out.
Trivia:
Variants:
Technique: Motion-controlled cel animation, with the Torch Lady and cloud backdrop being a matte painting.
Audio:
Audio Trivia: The main instruments appearing on the soundtrack were a small horn section, Suzanne Ciani's Buchla modular (for the "popping" effects) and an ARP string synth (the same model Gary Wright used for his song "Dream Weaver" around the same time).
Audio Variant: The USSR version has an announcer dubbed in.
Availability: Sony generally retains older logos for newer releases of Columbia's films much more often than their TV output. In the early days of Columbia Pictures' video division, however, this logo would be plastered by their home video logo (although the "Columbia Pictures" text alone would be seen for a split second, possibly due to poor editing). Otherwise, all later video releases, DVD and Blu-ray releases, and TV broadcasts retain this logo.
Legacy: Another favorite among the logo community.
Visuals:
Variants:
Closing Variants:
Technique: Cel animation for the torch rays and text, and a matte painting for the Torch Lady and backdrop.
Audio: None or the opening theme of the movie.
Audio Variants:
Availability: Seen on films of the era.
Visuals: First, there is a ray of light resembling a sunburst, with a different cloud background fading in a brief second later. The light is revealed to be coming from a torch, as the screen zooms out to reveal a redesigned Torch Lady; all of her fingers are now on the torch as she holds it. Once the camera is fully zoomed out, the word "COLUMBIA", in a bold, silver chiseled font, fades in, this time much smaller than the 3rd logo and positioned so that the "U" in "COLUMBIA" is behind the torch. A ring of light then shimmers around the lady before the logo fades to black.
Trivia:
Bylines:
Evolution Variants:
Variants:
Closing Variants:
Technique: CGI.
Audio: A majestic tune which ends with a brass sounder, composed by Jonathan Elias. The fanfare was created in 1993 and re-mixed in 1998, giving four versions of the fanfare (two mains and two alternates), all with the same ending, with only the 1998 final mix still being used regularly today:
Audio Variants:
Availability: It has been placed in front of most Columbia films for an impressive 30 years.
Legacy: A well-received homage to the 1936 logo thanks to its CGI and fanfare, used for over 30 years as of 2024.
Visual: It starts the same way as the 2022 variation of the previous logo, but the Torch Lady then turns black and white after a second. Afterward, the Torch Lady designs of various eras (1924, 1928, 1942, 1955, 1968, 1976, 1981, and 1993; the 1981 design is shown in both the finished and original sunburst versions) iris in similar one-second shots, zooming out on a black background revealing an encased, stylized "100". Then, there is stacked text in the same font as the print logo at the bottom reading:
The various Torch Lady designs slide in more and more rapidly, until they land on the updated 2014 version of the 1992 painting. When this happens, the torch glows brightly as the rest of her right hand is shown, as the border around the "100" and text shine, and the Sony byline appears below, then the logo fades out.
Trivia: The use of variants is based on the Spider-Verse films that showcased various new/existing variants of the logo.
Variant: For the logo's reveal, it was cut to the Sony logo already revealed. However, on Sony Pictures Home Entertainment's French social media accounts, it cuts to the multicolored background gradually fading in when the Sony logo is being revealed.
Technique: CGI. Like the later variations of the previous logo, this was done by Sony Pictures Imageworks.
Audio: The 2014 version of the current fanfare.
Availability: Made its first appearance on Sony Pictures' social media accounts on January 10, 2024, which is the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures. It made its theatrical debut in front of the re-release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on January 19, 2024 (plastering the previous logo's variant), and has also appeared on TV spots of Madame Web and the trailer of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
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