Renaissance Pictures

Credits

Descriptions by
Eric S. and others

Captures by
Atlanta0315, Tobias Benson01

Editions by
CuriousGeorge60, Blue2000 and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
retro VHS trailers, The North Platte Space Monkey B, The AVTB Archives, Broken Saw, Mr. Gann

Background

Renaissance Pictures was a production company originally formed and financed by lawyers in Detroit, Michigan, founded by filmmaker Sam Raimi, producer Robert Tapert (who along with Raimi would later co-found Ghost House Pictures) and actor Bruce Campbell. Although the company started up in 1979 during the start of production on The Evil Dead, the company didn't use an animated logo until 1994. The company's offices have been housed on the Universal Studios backlot since 1987, and most of their productions beginning with Darkman, have been released by Universal. In 2019, the company changed its name to Raimi Productions.

1st Logo (August 26, 1994)

Visuals: In space, the words "RENAISSANCE PICTURES" (stacked on top of each other with "PICTURES" in spaced-out letters, in blue) are suspended above the Earth. The sun rises behind the name, as it rotates upwards to face the viewers (like the 1968 MGM film 2001: A Space Odyssey).

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A high whoosh.

Availability: It was originally seen on the pilot episode of M.A.N.T.I.S.

2nd Logo (September 2, 1994-April 29, 2018, May 13, 2022)

• 
  Original version
• 
  Enhanced version
• 
  Evil Dead: The Game variant

Visuals: The camera zooms out on an engraving-like portrait (on what appears to be a piece of aging parchment at first glance) of someone in 16th century dress (though the head is about all that's seen, and it bears a striking resemblance to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa). A crack appears on the bottom right, and then the portrait zooms in toward the camera, ripping into two pieces in the process. As the ripped portrait's two pieces pull away, some lightning flashes are seen with crashing thunder. When the portrait's sections clear the screen, one more lightning flash occurs, this time revealing the words "Renaissance" in a strange script typeface known as Pepita, and "PICTURES" below it in spaced-out letters, in the Friz Quadrata typeface.

Trivia: The portrait is Raphael's "Head of a Youth" drawing.

Variants:

• An early version of the logo exists, where the zoom out is slower so the crack appears over it while it zooms out. This variant is only seen on the first two TV movies of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
• A short version exists, which starts with the company name appearing, glowing, and then dimming. This version is only known to exist on one show, American Gothic. Only the sound of thunder is heard.
• Another short version also exists, which begins with the portrait already still before the crack appears.
• An abridged warp-speed version of the logo also exists, which can be seen on Legend of the Seeker and Ash vs. the Evil Dead, respectively. Also, it's enhanced and "Renaissance" text is slightly spaced out.
• A still version of this logo also exists. The text only appears in this variation.
• An open matte version of this logo also exists.
• A variant where the brightness darkens during the flash on the logo also exists, which was seen on a July 2019 UK rerun of an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess on 4Music. This was most likely done to prevent people from getting seizures.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A sound bite of a Tibetan chant, a loud ripping noise, and the thunder. Tibetan monks are known for singing in a very low vocal register.

Audio Variants:

• On M.A.N.T.I.S. and season 2 episodes of Cleopatra 2525, the logo has the finishing of the closing theme.
• On Ash vs. the Evil Dead, only a loud whoosh is heard; it is silent on the portrait zooming out.
• CBS airings of American Gothic used the Late Show with David Letterman voice-over promos over the logo.

Availability: This was used mainly on television shows.

• The long version is preserved on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (including the TV movies) and Xena: Warrior Princess (the former is seen on H&I), while the latter was last seen when the show reran on Oxygen) and was also seen on Darkman II: The Return of Durant, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die, Hercules and Xena: The Battle for Mount Olympus, some episodes of Young Hercules, and at least one episode of Legend of the Seeker, respectively.
• The short version with only the text was only seen on American Gothic, which was last seen on Chiller.
• The still version is preserved on episodes of M.A.N.T.I.S. excluding the pilot episode, which has the previous logo.
• The short version with the portrait intact was also seen on Jack of All Trades, Cleopatra 2525, Young Hercules (which was last seen when Encore WAM, now Starz Encore Family, reran it), and the short-lived ABC series Spy Game.
• It was also last seen on Ash vs Evil Dead on Starz.
• It also makes an appearance on Evil Dead: The Game.

Legacy: Quoted as one of the scariest television logos for its ominous atmosphere, this logo is considered a favorite among fans of Sam Raimi.

Renaissance Pictures

Raimi Productions ►