Shaftesbury Films

Background

Shaftesbury Films is a Canadian film and television company founded by Christine Jennings in 1987. In 2021, AMC Networks purchased a minority stake in the company, giving them distribution rights to all of Shaftesbury's titles outside of Canada.

1st Logo (April 16, 2000-July 30, 2010)

• 

Logo: Against a black background, we see a large yellow bell swaying inside an invisible box. The bell then suddenly stops moving as the text "SHAFTESBURY" appears fading in below and in yellow.

Variants:

• Sometimes, "SHAFTESBURY" is already present at the bottom of the screen, which is also larger.
• The size of the logo would slightly vary.
• A slightly shorter version also exists.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A calm piano/string fanfare with a bell ringing, composed by Gary Koftinoff. Otherwise, the closing theme of the show or movie plays over it or none.

Availability: Seen on Shaftesbury movies and TV series from the era, such as Life with Derek and seasons 1 and part of 2 of Murdoch Mysteries.

2nd Logo (2009-2017)

• 
• 

Logo: We see the dark blue word "Shaftesbury" moving very close to the camera and placing itself in the blue space, above the moving planet.

Variant: On kid-oriented series from the company from 2009 up to until at least 2017, four multicolored cards with the letters of the word "KIDS" in them fly underneath "Shaftesbury".

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A peaceful string fanfare composed by Robert Carli, the ending theme of the show, or silence. The Shaftesbury Kids variation has a whimsical arrangement of the fanfare.

Availability: Common. Seen on series from the company from the era, such as The Listener and seasons 3 to 8 of Murdoch Mysteries.

3rd Logo (2017- )

• 

Logo: On a white background, it starts with a red line draws from the right before it forms a shape, then we see the bolded text "SHAFTESBURY" appear letter by letter, in white outlined in black, as a red line draws itself underneath the text. The line curves twice and overlaps itself behind the company name, which colors itself black. A line with three dots at the top (resembling a rollercoaster car with people in it) slides up on the curve and stops midway on the left side.

Variant: A shortened version exists.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the TV series, a fantasy-oriented four-note theme composed by Kristjan Bergey and Robert Carli, or none.

Availability: Seen on episodes of Murdoch Mysteries starting sometime in the ninth season, and on other programs from the company, such as Hudson and Rex, Slasher, The Sounds, Dead Still, and Frankie Drake Mysteries.