Dolby Digital Surround EX

1st Trailer (June 1, 1997-)

Nickname: "Aurora"

Trailer: We see a starfield in space. Suddenly lights appear from the left of the screen (which resemble the Northern Lights). The lights then move around into the Double D symbol of Dolby. We slowly zoom out the see the Dolby Digital logo which shines during the zoom out. In the background we pan through the stars which turns up into nebula. When the logo finishes the website URL "www.dolby.com" fades in below.

FX/SFX: The lights morphing into the Dolby logo, the zoom out followed by the shining of the logo and the movement of the stars.

Music/Sounds: A brass piece which rises in sound and intensity. When the logo is zooming out a choir is heard. At the end a five beat sounder is heard. The score was performed by the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra. Sound design by Macro D'Ambrosio at MarcoCo; Mixed by David Parker at The Saul Zaentz Film Center and in Surround EX by Gary A. Rizzo at Skywalker Sound.

Availability: Common. Seen in cinemas as well as on some later Laserdiscs, and a few early DVDs, including Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition. It also appears on the Japanese DVD of Cardcaptor Sakura the Movie: Enchanted Cards. It appears on demo discs like Explore our World. A filmed version (in poor quality) has been found on the 1997 DVD releases of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Also seen on some Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Roadshow Entertainment DVD's as well such as the region 2 and 4 DVD releases of Open Season, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, 50 First Dates, Big Fish, 13 Going on 30, St Trinians and Spider-Man 2: The Ultimate Version. The DVD release of Terminator 2 has a 2.21:1 version of this logo, but it is letterboxed for full-screen, and is off-center in terms of letterboxing. Although it first appeared on DVDs in 1997, it first appeared in cinemas with the 1999 release of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. It appeared on international Sony releases from 2003 until at least 2009, with Lakeview Terrace being one of the last releases to use it. It also strangely appears on a international TV print of Totò Sapore and the Magical Story of Pizza.

Editor's Note: The sheer beauty of this logo signifies how well it has aged. The gorgeous fanfare is probably one of the best and most beautiful musical pieces featured in a logo.

2nd Trailer (December 18, 1998-)

Nickname: "Rain", "Organic"

Trailer: We start with bronze-ish colored water which appear to reflect the Dolby logo; then we flash and see a splash of water with it drops hitting each other. It fades to rain falling toward us. We then see it hit water reflecting the Dolby Digital logo, then fade to the Dolby Digital logo, a 3D object, in water. We fade to a smoky bronze background with "www.dolby.com".

Variant: A short version exists starting with the appearance of the Dolby logo.

FX/SFX: Very nice animation all around, done by yU+co. Only 10% of this logo used CGI; much of the water effects are live-action, surprisingly.

Music/Sounds: Water gurgling and an ominous sounder cutting to a flash sound, some quite tings and ominous harp strokes, and an intense orchestra which becomes more whimsical and ends with a 5-note sounder (the same as in the "Aurora" trailer) along with some strange flourishing sounds. Mixed by Gary A. Rizzo at Skywalker Sound; sound design and mix by Marco D'Ambrosio at MarcoCo; music by San Francisco Ballet, Opera and Symphony.

Music/Sounds Variant: A shortened version of the orchestral tune at the end of the trailer is used for the short variant.

Availability: It has appeared in many theaters with Dolby Sound starting with the theatrical release of Star Trek: Insurrection. The original length version has been spotted on the "Explore Our World: We've Got The Whole World Listening" Demo Disc, as well as the French DVD of The Crimson Rivers (Les Rivières pourpres). The short version is seen on some rare Australian DVDs such as the Roadshow Entertainment DVDs of Two Weeks Notice, The Notebook (long version) and Elf as well as some TV airings of movies, a few TV shows, and the final batch of some LaserDiscs in Japan in 2000-01.

Editor's Note: Yet another Dolby logo with gorgeous visuals and a breathtaking atmosphere, made even better with the addition of practical effects. Actually most of Dolby's theatrical trailers are good in almost everything.

3rd Trailer (July 12, 2000-)

Nickname: "Waterfall"

Trailer: On a black background, the words "This following film is presented in" fades in and fades out to black. A large amount of water is pouring over the screen in very little slow-motion as the Dolby Digital Surround EX logo fades in. Under that the words "The latest Development in surround sound technology" appear. The water pouring then fades to black with the Dolby sign still appearing over the black background as a small trademark byline appears under.

Variants:

One variant just has the Dolby Digital logo.
Another variant contains a different intro text card, this time stating: "Introducing the newest development in sound technology...". The final logo also has no text at the bottom.
This variant also is presented in a 2.35:1 ratio.

FX/SFX: The water pouring over the screen.

Music/Sounds: The sounds of puddles splashing, and chimes, similar to the "Raindrops" logo. Sound Design by Marco D'Ambrosio at MarcoCo; Mixed by David Parker at The Saul Zaentz Film Center.

Music/Sounds Variant: The "Introducing the newest development in sound technology..." variant has the music from the short version of the Dolby Digital "Rain" trailer.

Availability: Rare. It was mostly likely in theaters; it was first used on the theatrical release of X-Men. May have been seen on VHS's in the 2000's. Otherwise, it's extinct.

Editor's Note: A strange, but nonetheless, cool logo. The cropped matte variant makes this logo seem outdated, however.