Scott Free Productions

Main Trailer Variations

Credits

Captures by
Eric S. and others

Editions by
Michael Bass, Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, Tobias Benson01‎, Prodigy012‎

Background

Scott Free Productions (formerly Scott Free Enterprises and Percy Main Productions) is a film/television production company founded in 1970 by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. The company did not use a logo until 1996.

1st Logo (February 2, 1996-March 5, 2000)

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Visuals: Over a black background is the text "SCOTT FREE", with the lower part of the letter "R" stretched a little longer and the whole text underlined.

Technique: A still image.

Audio: None or the ending theme of the TV show.

Availability: The only film to use this logo was White Squall. It also appeared on the Showtime series The Hunger.

2nd Logo (September 25, 1998-)

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  Normal
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  Scope
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  Textless
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  Matchstick Men variant
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  Textless scope
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  Black and white textless
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  Open-matte
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  In-credit
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  In-credit #2
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  In-credit #3
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  In-credit #4
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  RSA Films

Visuals: On a black background, there is a man clad in monk-style clothing walking as a white light illuminates him. He lights up a cigarette, and a burst of light appears next to him. The screen then cuts to a close-up shot of the man as he runs away against a yellow spotlight. His arms turn into wings and he transforms into a bird that flies across a multicolored background. The text "SCOTT FREE", in the same font as before, slides in underneath the bird before changing into a more stylized font. The bird becomes a blue silhouette as the action freezes.

Trivia: The animation of the man running is reused from the short Le Criminel, which Toccafondo made.

Variants:

• On TV shows, the logo is cut to the last few seconds.
• A black and white version exists.
• On some films starting with A Good Year in 2006, the "SCOTT FREE" text is absent.
• At the end of Matchstick Men, the logo is still and colored white with bluish splotches around the bird and text.
• An in-credit version exists on The Pillars of the Earth and Jungleland.
• The logo sometimes shares the screen with other logos.
• On Life in a Day 2020, the logo is still, on a white background, and the text instead reads "RSA FILMS", Scott Free's parent company.
• On The Last Duel (2021), the logo is dimmed down like the 20th Century Studios and Pearl Street Films logos.
  • On Boston Strangler, the logo is darker again, only desaturated.
• On the trailer for Alien: Romulus, the logo is static shocked.

Technique: Oil paint/pastel animation by Italian animator Gianluigi Toccafondo, who also animated the Fandango logo, as well as the end credits sequence for the Scott Free film Robin Hood. Produced by Acme Filmworks.

Audio: First, dark whooshing sounds, accompanied by the man's footsteps and a match-striking sound. As the man transforms, there is an ominous flute piece. This was composed by Claude Letessier and Jeff Rona. Otherwise, it's the opening theme of the movie, or in the case of Black Hawk Down, none.

Audio Variants:

• On Stoker, the whoosh sounds are removed.
• On Acme Filmworks' upload of the logo on Vimeo, an alternate version of the audio is heard with different sound effects and a woman humming the theme, making it sound calmer.
• On Man on Fire (2004), a bang is heard at the start of the logo.
• The short version features the last few notes of the theme.

Availability: It made its debut on Clay Pigeons and has appeared on the majority of the company's films since. However, it does not appear on Gladiator, Hannibal, The A-Team, or A Haunting in Venice. The short version can be seen on TV shows such as The Good Wife, Numb3rs, and The Man in the High Castle. The print logo for the company is a regular bird with "SCOTT FREE" in the same font as the last logo, except with the "R" being normal instead of having its bottom part stretched slightly longer.