Sony Entertainment

Background

Sony Group Corporation was founded by Masaru Ibuka and his colleague Akio Morita in 1946 as an electronics shop known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. Hoping to make it in the international sector, they went through several rejected brand name suggestions before finally settling for "Sony", derived from the Latin "sonus" (the root word for "sonic" and "sound") and the English "sonny" (American slang back in the day). The name first appeared in 1955 on their TR-55 transistor radio, the first to be made in Japan with the company itself adopting the name in January 1958. In the midst of and following an early '80s global recession, Sony developed the compact disc and acquired The CBS Records Group as its music division and, on November 8, 1989, Columbia Pictures Entertainment, founded on December 21, 1987, as a spinoff from The Coca-Cola Company, which Columbia's entertainment businesses were acquired by TriStar Pictures (which Coca-Cola owned 39.6% of), as its film and television division, which would be renamed as Sony Pictures Entertainment on August 7, 1991. Sony also acquired the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company on November 9, 1989 after hiring Peter Guber and Jon Peters to run CPE. Sony Pictures Entertainment consists of various film and television studios. The company currently includes the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group: Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (Triumph Films, Destination Films, Stage 6 Films, and Affirm Films) for film production and distribution. The motion picture group also includes its home entertainment division, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for home media distribution. SPE also owns its television division Sony Pictures Television for television production and distribution and with other television companies under its umbrella such as: Embassy Row, Left Bank Pictures, Starling, Crackle Plus (jointly owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment), and Huaso, among others. Also included are: the Sony Pictures Studios, Sony Pictures Worldwide Fulfillment, Madison Gate Records, and more. Other divisions include the Sony Music Group (which includes Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Columbia Records, Epic Records, RCA Records, and Arista Records, among others), Sony Interactive Entertainment (which handles the PlayStation-related business activities), Sony Electronics, Sony Mobile Communications, (formerly Sony Ericsson), Sony Financial and a third-party division, The Orchard. The company did not use an on-screen logo for movies and television until 2014; instead, they had a byline on their divisions. However, its logo appeared on commercials by Sony. The current head of Sony, as of early 2018, is Kenichiro Yoshida.

(April 10, 2014-)

Nicknames: "Be Moved", "The Sony Flash"

Logo: On a black background, we see the Sony corporate logo, in white, appearing in the center of the screen. It fades in gradually from a white light appearing between the "O" and "N". As it lights up the rest of the logo, it then flashes, which fully lights up the logo. After a few seconds, we then zoom in on the "O", revealing that the Sony logo and the black background are actually a cut-out of a black metal plate with a metallic rim around the holes, transitioning to the logo of whatever Sony Pictures Entertainment unit is distributing the film (Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Affirm Films, Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films or Sony Pictures Animation), or the light disappears after transitioning. If the Columbia Pictures logo is to follow this logo, a group of yellow clouds appears, moving over a blue background with a bright light. The light flashes as we transition to the Columbia lady's torch, seguing into the Columbia logo.

Variants:

On 3D films, a larger flash is used.
On the official Sony website, the logo fades out instead of zooming in.
On movie trailers, an alternate version of this logo is seen where the logo is played in reverse. In this version, the end part of the logo is seen and the flash occurs, which transitions to the logo of whatever Sony Pictures unit is distributing the film.
Television series produced and/or distributed by Sony Pictures Television (Sony Pictures Television Studios)/TriStar Television use the same variant as the movie trailer version, except the logo transitions to either a shortened version of the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo, the 2020 Sony Pictures Television Studios logo, the 2019 Gemstone Studios logo or the 2015 TriStar Television logo.
On Concussion, the logo transitions to a shortened version of the Columbia Pictures logo.
On Aloha and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the logo transitions to the 1968 Columbia Pictures logo.
On The Night Before and The Front Runner, the logo transitions to the 1981-1989 Columbia Pictures logo.
On the 2019 remake of Little Women, the logo transitions to the 1993-2006 Columbia Pictures logo.
On The Star and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, the logo transitions to the 2011 Sony Pictures Animation logo.
On Sony Pictures Animation films starting with The Angry Birds Movie 2, the logo transitions to the 2018 Sony Pictures Animation logo.
On Peter Rabbit, the logo zooms between the "O" and "N", and then the Sony Pictures Animation logo fades in on a black background.
On A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the logo transitions to the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo.
On the English Dubbed and Subbed versions of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train, the light disappears after transitioning then the Funimation logo appears as it was normally would.

FX/SFX: The fade in, flash, and zoom in. A simple yet effective logo.

Music/Sounds: It depends on the version:

Movie Variant:
- The same "ding" sound in G major (high-pitched to A-flat on PAL prints) used at the end of advertisements promoting Sony products when the Sony logo is fully formed, followed by the beginning of the TriStar Pictures/Screen Gems/Affirm Films/Stage 6 Films themes, the opening theme of the film, a series of synths that beautifully segue into the Columbia Pictures theme, or silence. If the light disappears after transitioning, it's the "ding" sound only.
- Sometimes, the opening theme of the film plays over the animation in this logo, with or without the "ding" sound.
Television Variant:
- The 2002 and 2003 Sony Pictures Television or 1993 TriStar Television themes are heard over this logo, and continues to play when the following logo plays.
- Most shows, such as The Dr. Oz Show, have this logo silent (as it is on the film version), and the theme doesn't begin until that logo actually appears. This is a more common version.
- Some shows, like The Blacklist, will have the first two notes of the 2003 short theme playing first on this logo.

Availability: Common.

This logo debuted with the London premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on April 10, 2014, and is seen on most films and television series produced and/or distributed by a Sony Pictures Entertainment-owned studio ever since and as a standalone logo, in which a short version is used at the end of every Sony-related promos and commercials ever since, as well as Funimation-produced films as Funimation, distributed under its film division, Funimation Films. this logo doesn't appear on Moms' Night Out, When the Game Stands Tall, The Interview, or co-released films (such as those by MGM, Warner Bros., Paramount, or 20th Century Fox/Studios) like Spectre, or the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven (although it does appear on the trailer for When the Game Stands Tall, as well as the first trailer for The Interview). It also does not appear on any films distributed internationally by a Sony Pictures Entertainment division, such as the 2016 Russian film The Duelist (though it does appear on Blade Runner 2049, even on WB-distributed North American prints).
The television variant can be seen on current episodes of television series produced and/or distributed by Sony Pictures Television (now known as Sony Pictures Television Studios) or produced by TriStar Television.
This does not appear on movies from Sony Pictures Classics, Destination Films, or Stage 6 Films (though it does appear starting with Greyhound), because they still retain their respective logos without this logo preceding it.

Editor's Note: While not in the same level as its television compartment, it is generally hated by the community. Many people view this logo as Sony milking out their corporate name in the movie logos despite said logos already having a Sony byline.