Emperor Motion Pictures

Background

Emperor Motion Pictures is a film company originated from Fitto Movie, which was the film division of the karaoke video distributor Fitto Entertainment, which later was acquired by the Emperor Group in the late 1990s. Subsequently undergoing several name changes (from Emperor Movie Group, Emperor Multimedia Group to Emperor Motion Pictures), EMP is no doubt one of the most influential and productive movie studios in Hong Kong during the 2000's. EMP also owns Rex Film (領先電影).

Fitto Movie Co. Ltd.

1st Logo (1998)

Logo: On a beige background, we see a dark blue square with an abstract "F" on it. Below are the Chinese characters and the words "Fitto Movie Co. Ltd. Presents" below it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Can be seen on Fitto Movie releases.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1998-1999)

Logo: The camera pans over and rotates to reveal a building with the "F" from before in front of it, on a city at night. A spark appears on the yellow part of the "F", moves and disappears, making it glow like a neon sign. When it settles down, the Chinese characters wipein and the English text fades in as the searchlights appear over the city.

FX/SFX: CGI animation. Well made.

Music/Sounds: A horn fanfare with drums, accompanied by a zap-like sound when the spark making the yellow part of the "F" glow.

Availability: Again, can be seen on a very few Fitto Movie Co. releases before it's quick retirement 1999, when it was acquired by Emperor and renamed it to Emperor Media Group.

Editor's Note: None.

Emperor Movie Group

(1999-2001?)

Nicknames: "The Universal from Hong Kong", "Cloudy Earth", "Twin Earths"

Logo: On a blue starfield, a cloudy version of the Earth gets revealed and zooms out, while a spark appears and moves to the Earth, creating a flash. The words "EMG" (with a crown above the M), "Emperor Movie Group" and the Chinese text fade in, along with a transparent Earth (from top view). The words shine.

FX/SFX: The Earth, the spark moving, the flash, shining and transparent Earth fading in.

Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare with whooshes.

Availability: Can be seen on pre-Emperor Multimedia Group films from the company.

Editor's Note: None.

Emperor Multimedia Group

1st Logo (2001)

Nicknames: "King Ant I", "Still King Ant"

Logo: On a red background, we see an ant-like head, in gold, with a crown above it. The words (also gold) "EMPEROR MULTIMEDIA GROUP" are seen below.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: May be seen on early 2001 films made by the company at the time.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2001?-2004)

Nicknames: "King Ant II", "King Ant Of Doom", "Dark King Head"

Logo: On a black background, the ant-like head and text from before are seen. The crown of the head is spinning and the words emit white light rays from above, and the point light brightens the head. Suddenly the "MPEROR", "UlTIMEDIA" and "ROUP" words go away, leaving the initials "EMG", which then move to the center. The camera starts to zoom in on the center of the head and rotates.

Variants:

On Hyn huet ching nin (New Blood in English), a blinking eye appears for a split-second before the logo finishes.
On 4:3 full-screen prints of films, including the Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment UK VHS release of The Medallion, the logo is choppier.

FX/SFX: The crown spinning, light rays, point light, parts of the word going out, the initials moving, and the camera zooming in/rotating. Pretty cool animation, but the camera movement looks quite choppy when it reaches the center of the head.

Music/Sounds: A dark sound, with a whoosh sound at the end. For the New Blood variant, a quiet tune is heard until the eye appears, in which a weird scream (sounds like a rat yelp) is heard.

Availability: Uncommon. Mostly seen on early 2000's films, like The Medallion.

Editor's Note: None.

Emperor Motion Pictures

1st Logo (2004)

Nicknames: "The Sparkling Crown I", "Still Sparkling Crown", "King Ant's Son", "Placeholder Crown"

Logo: Just a gold, sparkling crown with the filmstrip as the rim below, the text "EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES" and the Chinese characters are below the crown.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Used as a placeholder on Emperor's first films with their current name.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2004-2006)

Nicknames: "The Sparkling Crown II", "Spinning Sparkling Crown"

Logo: On a black background, several sparks appear, who reveal a spinning crown. They move around it, making the crown illuminate. It zooms out while spinning and the words "EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES" and the Chinese translation fade in below.

FX/SFX: The sparks, the crown, the fading in.

Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare with drums and choirs.

Availability: Seen on EMP's films from the period.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (2006)

Nicknames: "The Non-Sparkling Crown I", "Another Placeholder Crown"

Logo: We see a 2D version of the crown seen on the previous logos, without sparks. The Chinese text, and the translation "EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES" is seen below it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie (or possibly none).

Availability: Extremely rare. This placeholder logo was short-lived and was used for a very few films by the company.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (2006-2012)

Nicknames: "The Non-Sparkling Crown II", "Drawing Crown"

Logo: The same crown from before, in yellow, draws in while glowing and emitting light rays. It rotates to faces us and zooms out, and the Chinese text appears below it, also fading out. Meanwhile, the English translation fades in below. The crown glows again.

FX/SFX: The crown drawing and glowing, the zoom out and the fading in.

Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare with choirs (not like the previous logo).

Music/Sounds Variant: On GMA Philippines and PBO TV print of The Twins Effect II: Blade of The Rose, it uses the 2nd logo theme due to plaster error.

Availability: Common on late 00's-early 10's movies made by Emperor, like Rob-B-Hood.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (2012-2016)

Nicknames: "Emperor City", "The Non-Sparkling Crown III"

Logo: First we see the space with the Earth on the center. The light of the sun is illuminating the right side. Then we flash and the camera zooms into the Earth, where we see the Hong Kong city made with yellow dots. The camera moves around it and then some fireworks appear in the sky, one of them makes a 3D crown. It fills with gold, spins and zooms out to the center, and Chinese text with the English translation below fade in.

Early Variant: For the logo's first year, the 70th Anniversary logo wipes in vertically below the result. It consists of the "70", which is big and "Anniversary", in a script font. Below there's "EMPEROR GROUP" and "SINCE 1942". After the logo is formed, a light appears from behind, making the crown turn 2D.

FX/SFX: Nice CGI. Looks impressive.

Music/Sounds: Same fanfare as before.

Availability: Common on mid-2010s movies from Emperor.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (2016- )

Logo: We see a river of liquid gold. Then, we cut to a shot of the gold pouring into a mold, complete with embers. We then cut to a shot of the gold churning in another river. Another cut occurs, and we see the crown from before rising out of the gold. After one last cut, the crown emerges, and spins and zooms out like before to the center. Finally, Chinese text (complete with English translation) fades in, and the logo turns 2D.

Variant: A still variant exists.

FX/SFX: Nice CGI.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral fanfare with four chimes at the end.

Availability: Current.

Editor's Note: None.