'''Bylines:'''
* December 12, 1986-August 30, 1989: "{{Font|Helvetica Neue|'''A Gulf + Western Company'''}}" (in Helvetica Neue) fades in with the Paramount script (However, in the prototype version, the byline is set in Helvetica Bold Condensed instead).
* September 22, 1989-December 23, 1994: "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">A Paramount Communications Company</span>" (in Times, with a line above it) fades in. For its first year, the byline faded in with the Paramount script like the Gulf+Western version, and was colored gold. On video releases from the era, the color scheme of the logo is more washed out than normal.
* February 17, 1995-February 15, 2002: "A VIACOM COMPANY" (in the 1990 "Wigga-Wigga" font, with a line above it) fades in.
* One variant, used on the trailer for ''Mission: Impossible II'' and international releases, has no byline whatsoever (see below).
'''Variants:''' While there have been numerous variations of the logo depending on the movie (and of course, the three byline variants), there are two main variants:
* <u>December 12, 1986-December 18, 1987:</u> For the logo's debut and its first official year (1987, even though the logo actually debuted in 1986), the words "{{font|Times New Roman|'''''{{color|silver|75<small><sup>th</sup></small>}} {{color|#EDD602|Anniversary}}'''''}}" appear over the mountain, between the Paramount script logo and the Gulf + Western byline. "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''{{color|silver|75<small><sup>th</sup></small>}}'''''</span>" was in silver with "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''{{color|silver|75}}'''''</span>" bigger and "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''{{color|silver|<small><sup>th</sup></small>}}'''''</span>" smaller and "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''{{color|#EDD602|Anniversary}}'''''</span>" in gold. Also, a trademark ("™") symbol was used instead of a registered trademark ("®") symbol. On films such as ''The Golden Child'' and ''Hot Pursuit'' (the former being one of the first films to use this logo, while the latter has the normal music), a different 75th Anniversary disclaimer appears, the Paramount script is slightly smaller, and the Gulf+Western byline is also in a bolder font. It is unknown whether the first two DEG films to use this logo in their Canadian release, ''Crimes of the Heart'' and ''King Kong Lives'', used this variant as well.
** A <u>second prototype variant</u> also exists, where the Paramount script is still slightly small, but contains elements of the official variant, including the refined 75th Anniversary disclaimer. This appears on the original home video releases of ''Critical Condition''; later releases use the official variant instead. It was also spotted on a March 1987 promotional reel as well.
* <u>February 5, 1988-August 30, 1989:</u> The "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">'''''{{color|silver|75<small><sup>th</sup></small>}} {{color|#EDD602|Anniversary}}'''''</span>" disclaimer is removed, and the Gulf+Western byline is shifted up slightly.
* <u>March 2, 1990-June 18, 1999:</u> The logo has been slightly enhanced, and the stars have a lighter color.
* <u>March 31, 1995-1999:</u> The cloud background is different.
** An <u>early version of the Viacom byline variant</u> exists, which has it slightly bigger and off-center. The clouds also stop moving once it fades in, likely because it reuses footage from the Paramount Communications variant. This appearscan be found on the first two films that use this byline (''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''Losing Isaiah''). It is also the last time the original cloud background is used.
* <u>May 21, 1993-December 23, 1994:</u> The clouds and stars are slightly darker, and the Paramount Communications byline now has a drop shadow.
* <u>June 30, 1999-February 15, 2002:</u> The same basic concept is here, but the logo has been slightly enhanced. The stars are thicker (with golden sides), shinier, and have a motion blur effect. Their reflection can now be seen in the lake in front of the mountain, and the Paramount script and Viacom byline now shine. The mountain now also turns dark, and the cloud background is slightly enhanced. Also, the "®" symbol now fades in at the same time as the byline. These additions are subtle, but add a lot to the logo nevertheless.
** On some films shot in <u>2.39:1 aspect ratio</u>, such as ''Bringing Out the Dead'', ''Mission: Impossible II'', ''Shaft'' (2000), and ''Rat Race'', the logo starts with a still picture of the mountain before animating normally, much like its home video counterpart. It also has a bit of a brownish or bluish color scheme.
** On some films shot in <u>2.39:1 aspect ratio</u> as well as some 2000-2002 films shot in <u>1.85:1 aspect ratio</u>, the stars, text and byline are somewhat smaller than the normal 16:9 variant in order to match the aspect ratio.
** A <u>videotaped version</u> of the 1999 variant exists, in which the mountain does not turn dark. This appearscan be found on some Paramount VHS trailers from 2000 to 2002, and on Paramount's "Now in Theaters" bumper from 2000 to 2002, although the variant in its entirety hasn't been seen yet.
** A <u>prototype variant</u> with a more 2D look also exists, which appearsis seen on the teaser trailer of ''South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut''.
** On <u>''Double Jeopardy''</u>, the "®" symbol fades in with the Paramount script.
** On <u>''Runaway Bride''</u> and <u>''Wonder Boys''</u>, the "®" symbol and Viacom byline fade in with the Paramount script. Also, the logo starts with a still picture of the mountain before animating normally.
* On <u>[[CIC Video]]'s ''The Paramount Movie Show'' segments</u>, <u>VHS trailers for ''Chinatown''</u> and <u>''A Place in the Sun''</u>, <u>theatrical trailers for ''I.Q.''</u>, <u>''The Brady Bunch Movie''</u>, <u>''Star Trek: Generations''</u>, and <u>''Braveheart''</u>, a TV spot for <u>''Milk Money''</u>, <u>the teaser trailer for ''The Indian in the Cupboard''</u>, and <u>the second trailer for ''Forrest Gump''</u>, the logo is bylineless.
* On athe <u>1991 trailer tape from CIC Video</u>, the CIC Video logo morphs into the mountain as seen in the start of the logo, and it animates as usual, but with a smaller Paramount Communications byline. The logo then morphs into the 1971 version of the 1963 Universal logo. This wascan only seenbe found on some Latin American videosVHS releases as the beginning of a short promo to commemorative 1,000,000 copies of CIC videotapes sold.
* On a <u>Brazillian TV Spot for ''Clear and Present Danger''</u>, "Distribuido por United International Pictures" appears below the logo.
* On <u>bumpers for the Brazillian channel Telecine</u>, the Viacom byline is replaced with a cheaper one in the font "Eagle".
'''Closing Variants:'''
* At the <u>end of movies</u>, mostly earlier ones, the logo appears as a still image. This version is also appearsseen on syndicated airings of ''Death Wish 4: The Crackdown'' before the Cannon logo.
* At the <u>end of most later movies</u>, the finished product is seen, with the clouds gliding.
* Despite replacing the 1995 variant as an opening logo, the <u>1999 variant</u> is seldom used as a closing logo, with most films released from 1999 to 2002 instead using the 1995 logo at the end, with some exceptions, including the domestic release of ''South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut'' (which was distributed by [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] internationally) and the 2022 Blu-ray and digital release of ''Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius''.
* On <u>''Mission: Impossible II''</u>, the logo fades in without the Viacom byline, which fades in after about a second.
* A zoomed-in still variant of the 1988 version of the 1986 logo also exists, which appearedwas seen at the <u>end of a BBC1 UK airing of ''The Presidio'' (1988) on February 14, 1995</u>.
'''Technique:''' A mixture of CGI animation and live-action, designed and composited by Jay Jacoby of Studio Productions (now Flip Your Lid Animation), who went on to produce the logos for [[Universal Pictures]] and [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]], among others. The CGI stars were created by David Sieg at Omnibus/Abel on a III Foonly F1 computer, and the mountain scenery was a physical model created and filmed by Apogee, Inc. The 1999 enhanced version was animated at Pittard Sullivan.
'''Audio Variants:'''
* Sometimes, <u> the logo is silent or the opening theme of the movie.</u>
* On <u>''Event Horizon''</u>, a rearranged, slower and more "powerful" version of the 1976 fanfare, composed by Michael Kamen, is heard, with the final note held out.
* Earlier films with the 1976 fanfare have the synth chimes fade out when the music begins.
* On <u>''Campus Man''</u>, a different fanfare composed by James Newton Howard plays.
* On <u>''Stepping Out''</u>, a different fanfare composed by Peter Matz plays.
* On <u>''The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult''</u>, a different fanfare composed by Ira Newborn plays.
* On <u>''Harriet the Spy''</u>, some soft-sounded chimes sampled from Mrs. W's garden can be heard faintly.
* On <u>''Snow Day''</u>, wind from a snowstorm is heard throughout the logo.
* On a <u>Spanish TV airing of ''Titanic''</u>, the 1994 20th Century Fox fanfare is heard due to the airing using an international Spanish audio track.
* On the <u>1998 reissue of ''Grease''</u>, the 1987 fanfare is given a more "powerful" remix with louder cymbals.
* On the <u>Australian DVD release and a French print of ''The Next Best Thing''</u>, the [[Lakeshore Entertainment]] theme is heard over the logo due to an editing error where the order of the logos are reversed but the audio isn't.
* On the <u>UK Second Sight Blu-ray release of ''Creepshow'' (1982)</u>, the NTSC-pitched 1994 [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|Warner Bros. Television]] fanfare plays over the ending version of this logo.
* On <u>European TV airings of ''Braddock: Missing in Action II'' (1985)</u>, the 1995 [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios|MGM]] lion roar is heard over the Viacom byline version of the 1986 logo in one of the sloppiest plastering jobs of all time - likely due to those airings using a Paramount-owned TV print with audio from an MGM-owned master.
* On the Icon UK DVD release of ''What Women Want'' (2000), the thunderclap from the 1994 [[Icon Productions]] logo is heard due to an audio swapping error (the DVD release uses the pitched-up U.S. audio master, as Paramount held the U.S. rights to the movie while Icon held internationally).
'''Availability:''' AppearsSeen on most Paramount movies from ''The Golden Child'' to ''Crossroads''. While it's been plastered on some TV airings and video releases of Paramount films (as well as some remastered or restored prints), most of these films still retain their original logos.
* The Paramount Communications byline variant appearsis preserved on films such as ''Ghost'', ''The Hunt for Red October'', ''Wayne's World'', and ''Forrest Gump'', among others.
** In general, it debuted on ''Black Rain'', and last appeared on ''Nobody's Fool''.
* The 1995 Viacom byline variant appearsis preserved on films such as ''Clueless'', ''Star Trek: First Contact'', U.S. prints of ''Titanic'', ''Saving Private Ryan'', and ''The Truman Show'', among many others. It debuted on ''The Brady Bunch Movie''.
* The 1999 enhanced version appearsis preserved on their 1999-2002 films starting with ''South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut'' (as a variant), and ending with ''Crossroads'' (the entire logo's final appearance).
* The 1988 version of the 1986 logo is also appearsseen at the end of ''Big Top Pee-Wee'', which has the 5th logo at the beginning.
* The first films to use this logo were ''The Golden Child'' and ''Crimes of the Heart'' (the latter a [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] production distributed in Canada by Paramount), both released on December 12, 1986, and the last film was ''Crossroads'', released on February 15, 2002 (possibly plastered in later prints).
* Paramount has used the 1995 Viacom variation in all logo plasters and TV movies, such as those made for Showtime.
* The 75th Anniversary logo appearscan be found on 1987 videoVHS releases of ''Top Gun'', ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'', ''The Whoopee Boys'', ''Crocodile Dundee'', ''Children of a Lesser God'', and ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'', and was plastered with its later variations for many years.
** However, Paramount nicely preserved this variant later on, as it appearsis preserved on the DVD releases of ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' and ''The Untouchables'' and the 2022 Blu-ray release of ''Back to the Beach'' under the Paramount Presents (#34) line.
** It is also left intact on VH1's print of ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987).
*The* prototypeThe 75th Anniversary variationlogo appearsis onalso ''Theseen Goldenat Child'',the ''Hotstart Pursuit'',and andend of the trailer1987 forU.S. ''BeverlyVHS Hillsrelease Copof II''G'Day (whichAustralia: isLike alsoNothing preservedElse on iTunes)Earth''.
* The prototype 75th Anniversary variation can be found on ''The Golden Child'', ''Hot Pursuit'', and the trailer for ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (which is also preserved on iTunes).
* The Viacom variation of this logo plasters the Paramount Communications variant on post-1995 VHS releases and some DVD and Blu-ray releases of films released in late 1994.
** For example, on the 1999 DVD and 2004 Special Edition releases of ''Star Trek: Generations'', the Viacom variant appearsis seen at both ends instead.
*** However, on the 2009 Blu-ray and DVD re-releases (as well as the 2023 UHD and Blu-ray releases), the Paramount Communications variation is restored.
* The Paramount Communications variant of this logo also plasters the 1982 [[Orion Pictures]] logo on Spike TV airings of ''First Blood'' (as Paramount Communications had already folded into Viacom by the time Viacom purchased [[Worldvision Enterprises]], [[Carolco Pictures]]' television distributor, in full, it's possible that the logo first appeared on that film around the time Viacom, which had by then already acquired Paramount Communications, merged with Blockbuster, which owned Worldvision's parent company [[Spelling Television]]).
** It can also appearsbe found on videoVHS releases from 1989 to 1995, and also makes a surprise appearance at the end of older AmericanU.S. prints of ''Sleepy Hollow'' (however, current prints have the Viacom byline of this logo), with the standard 1999 logo at the beginning of said film.
** The Paramount Communications variant also makes surprise appearances on the Mexican DVD release of ''Demonic Toys'' (''Juguetes Demoniacos'') and the [[Echo Bridge Acquisition Corp.|Echo Bridge Home Entertainment]] DVD releases of ''Puppet Master 5'', likely due to being sourced from older VHS masters.
** The tail end of it also makes a surprise appearance on the rough cut of the final ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' episode "Diabolik", while the actual episode itself cuts it out.
** It was also appearsseen at the start of an April 8, 2023 UK airing of the 1978 TV movie ''True Grit: A Further Adventure'' on LEGEND.
*The standard Gulf+Western variant of this logo appears on VHS releases from 1988 to 1989, and also makes a surprise appearance on the Razor Digital DVD release of the original ''Puppet Master''.
* The Viacomstandard Gulf+Western variant of this logo is also appearspreserved on videoVHS releases from 19951988 to 20031989, (asand detailedalso above),makes anda atsurprise appearance on the endRazor ofDigital AMCDVD airingsrelease of ''Rambo:the Firstoriginal Blood Part II''Puppet and ''PrancerMaster''.
* The Viacom variant of this logo is also preserved on VHS releases from 1995 to 2003 (as detailed above), and at the end of AMC airings of ''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' and ''Prancer''.
* Strangely, the 1995-2002 version with the Viacom byline was also spotted after the split-screen credits of Nickelodeon airings of ''Barnyard''. This was the result of a credits error that resulted in Nickelodeon instead using the ones for ''Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'', which was also an O Entertainment/Paramount movie.
* On the other hand, this logo appearscan be found on DVD, digital, and Blu-ray prints of ''Jimmy Neutron'', as well as TV airings, but is plastered with the 90th Anniversary version of the next logo on its original VHS release.
* The silent version of the Viacom variant is also appearspreserved on Hulu prints of ''The Lorax'' (1972) and ''The Cat in the Hat''.
* This appearslogo is also seen on ThisTV's prints of ''Wild Geese II'' plastering the Cannon logo, and ''That Championship Season'' (1982) on the same station, as they used a Paramount master.
* It is also appearsseen on Screenpix Action airings of ''Avenging Force'' as well.
* It is also appearsseen at the end of Anchor Bay's print of ''Bad Boys'' (the 1983 film), an EMI film for which Viacom had the television rights.
'''Legacy:''' Much like some of its predecessors, this logo is a favorite within the logo community thanks to its blend of models and CGI, as well as its fanfare.
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