Mann Theatres
Background
Mann Theatres was a movie theater chain based in Southern California and Colorado. It was founded in 1973 by Ted Mann following his purchase of National General Corporation's theatres. Over the years the chain has had several owners including Gulf & Western, Warner Communications and WestStar. During the 2000s most of Mann's theaters were gradually closed or sold off, until the chain officially folded in 2011.
1st Logo (Late 1970s-Early 1980s)
Visuals: The sequence opens on a starfield as three pairs of blue dots zoom out in a triangle pattern. A series of zigzagged lights flash until they form a lowercase "m" which shines until a series of lights fill it in as a solid blue. The "m" slides to the left, as two more lights draw a line which serves as the logo border. When the line is finished, the text "Mann Theatres" shines into place, then flashes and turns a solid yellow. The words "Our Feature Presentation" slide in underneath the logo and flash, then several stars shine across the logo until it fades out.
Technique: Motion-controlled animation.
Audio: A triumphant brass/string fanfare with zapping sounds.
2nd Logo (Mid-Late 1980s-1992)
Visuals: The sequence opens on a space background. A red star flashes its light onto the center of the screen, from which the "Mann Theatres" text emerges enshrouded in white light. As it zooms in toward the center, the logo border appears as zooms out to meet with it. As they center themselves, the "Mann Theatres" text is revealed to now be the same blue as the border. The logo holds momentarily until the text "Feature Presentation" (in yellow) fades in underneath. This is followed by the logo shining once and the words "In Stereo" (red and in script font) writing itself in at the bottom. Several stars then shine across the logo until it fades out.
Technique: 2D computer animation.
Audio: A percussion heavy space-synth fanfare.
3rd Logo (1992-Late 1990s)
Visuals: There is a series of purple stars zoom out as a film camera appears in the center of the screen. The camera slides out as a projector takes its place. A white star flies in alongside the projector and flies up and out as the projector screen centers itself and zooms in to reveal a balcony overlooking the Hollywood hills, with a water fountain in the center. The screen pans past the balcony, through the palm trees and up toward the night sky. The letters "m", "a", "n" and "n" write themselves in as a blue rectangle flies into place behind the letters. Spotlights appears as the text "theatres" flashes into place one letter at a time underneath "mann". The byline "A Division of Cineamerica Theatres L.P." with two white lines fades in underneath "theaters" followed by "Feature Presentation" in an orange script font and then a white star wiping in the text "In Stereo" at the bottom. The spotlights slide themselves apart as the logo fades out.
Variant: A later version ends with the night sky now dotted with stars. A yellow star flies onto the screen alongside the letters in the new Mann text font (now blue and in capitals). The letters meet and center themselves as the star flies into position filling in the "A". Yellow spotlights then appear, and the text "Theatres" slowly flashes in underneath. The spotlights then merge with the star's light and produce a beam which writes out the words "Feature Presentation". The star dims until it disappears, and the spotlights continue moving against a completed logo until it fades out.
Technique: CGI produced by Cinema Concepts and animated by Flying Foto Factory.
Audio: Starts as dreamy cinema tune, then changes to a rock guitar theme, and ends as a synth-xylophone sounder.
4th Logo (Late 1990s-Early 2000s)
Visuals: The screen fades into the entrance to a Mann theatre, with spotlights on either side. The camera zooms in to enter the lobby, where we meet two CGI employees against a wall of theatre policies ("Assistive Listening Devices are Available at the Box Office", "No Smoking in Theatre" and "Gift Certificates Available at the Box Office") One worker waves a hand to greet us, then the screen cuts to inside the concession stand. There is a third employee lift his arm in the direction of the concessions, the cut to the counter where a popcorn tub and candy bar jump onto place before a soda cup pushes them both out of the way. The three treats fight for dominance before centering themselves as a group. The screen cuts to a trash can with the words "Pitch In" written on it, and see several trash items being thrown inside before we pan to the projection booth. There three film reels and burst the door open and jump out. The screen cuts again to an auditorium entrance where a purple series of musical notes fly in front of the door. A film reels flies through the notes after which appears the message "Please Report Sound and Projection Problems to Management." against a white square. The screen cuts to the concession attendant now serving as an usher who opens the door as the screen cuts to a moviegoer resting in his seat. The usher appears to have the patron put his legs down, then the screen cuts to the screen curtain. The curtain opens to reveal a light blue filmstrip flying across a space background illuminated by lights of various colors. The screen cuts to three more patrons, two of whom are talking and another who's on her cell phone. The usher appears again to make a quiet signal which gets their attention. The three then turn back to the screen, as the message "Thanks for not Talking During the Show" appears against a purple filmstrip. The filmstrip slides up to reveal the additional message "Please turn off Pagers and Cell Phones". The screen cuts back to the space background and blue filmstrip as it spins upward and is joined by an orange filmstrip which slides from left to right in a roller coaster-like fashion. The "MANN" text from before writes itself in as an orange star flies in and places itself underneath the "A". A second star wipes in the text "Theaters" underneath "MANN" as the filmstrip slide of the screen and a pair of orange spotlights take their place behind the text. The "Theatre" text flashes, then the logo briefly holds before fading out.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: An upbeat jazz fanfare.
5th Logo (Early 2000s)
Visuals: The sequence opens on a closeup of a human eyeball, from which a light flashes revealing the words "Big Picture" which flies through the screen. A flimstrip and film reel fade in a fly across the screen past the eyeball, followed by more film reels and the word "BIG". A series of soundwaves accompanied by the word "Sound" then fly upward as the screen fades to a blue background with pink streaks. The words "Total Experience" move into place by a 'shaking' motion as popcorn kernels pop across the letters. The popcorn fills the screen then moves out to reveal the words "Quality Refreshments" against an orange and blue background. The words slide out as we cross to the backdrop of a movie set as the texts "Ultimate Adventure" and "Extreme Entertainment" slide in from the left. As they place themselves, Tthe word "Celebrate" slides across the screen cutting to a rock-like backdrop, followed by the word "Animate" as a gold ring follows behind the text. The logo zooms out to reveal all of this is happening on a filmstrip, against a blue background with text and a film clapperboard behind it. The filmstrip burns out, and the screen fades to more scrolling text. A film reel falls onto the background via a water effect, and the screen fades to another blue backdrop with the text "Always More" in the center. We crossfade to the word "At" with spotlights behind it, which begins a shadow trail as the spotlight wipe to reveal the Mann Theaters logo (same as the last two logos). The background disappears as the logo turns dark blue, the spotlights bright yellow and the byline "A Division of WestStar Cinemas" fades in underneath. The logo turns brighter as the spotlights center themselves, and the completed logo holds before fading out.
Technique: 2D and 3D computer-animated effects, plus live-action for the eyeball.
Audio: A triumphant orchestral fanfare, with softer passages in between.
6th Logo (Mid 2000s)
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Visuals: The screen zooms into the entrance of a Chinese-styled Mann Theatre, and briefly focus on a family admiring the decor. The sequence then fades to a close-up of the dragon sculpture, which comes alive as the screen fades back to the boy looking on in awe. A series of stars appear and form the words "Gift Certificates Available at the Box Office" as we cross to a ticket counter. The boy is in line as a girl runs across and the stars return to form the text "Listening Devices Available at the Box Office". The screen fades to a concession stand, where an employee is serving movie treats to a father and son. The family moves across to enter the auditorium, where another Chinese dragon flies across the screen curtain. The stars return, now forming the words "Report Sound and Projection Problems to Management". The family takes their seats, and the stars again return now forming "Thanks for not Talking During the Show." We fad back to the father as his cell phone begins ringing, he then finds his device and promptly turns it off. The stars reappear in front of the family and spell out "Please Turn off Cell Phones and Pagers" The curtain opens and zooms in to reveal the new Mann Theatres logo-"MANN" in black bold font, "Theatres" in yellow script font and the Chinese dragon in a red circle against a wood-brown square on the left, all surrounded by a thin yellow border-as the "MANN" text shines once. The entire logo fades out immediately.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: A jazz band fanfare.
