Starz Feature Presentation
1st Open (1994-2002)
Nicknames: "Starz Tower"
Logo: Over a background of several blue spotlights, we see a bird's-eye-view of a bronze version of the 1994-2005 Starz logo, which consists of the bold text "STARZ!" with a star that has another star cut out of it on top of the text, standing on a golden structure made up of two semicircle-like shapes (it kind of looks like the Sydney Opera House). The camera then zooms down, and then back up again to see that the Starz logo is now on top of a hovering blue disc with copies of the text "encore 8" (a reference to the fact that Starz originally started as one of eight multiplex Encore channels) spinning around and around under it, as well as two crossing searchlights in the background. Another blue disc comes up under "encore", and as this happens, another blue disc with some filmstrip holes spinning under it and the giant text "FEATURE" above it, with "PRESENTATION" in a tiny font underneath spins in under it all.
FX/SFX: The camera zooming around, and the blue discs spinning. This is really good CGI done by Pittard Sullivan which still holds up very well today.
Music/Sounds: An ascending synthesized orchestral fanfare.
Availability: Extinct. Check your old tapes for this one.
Legacy: This is a good ID, and should be harmless to most people.
2nd Open (2002-2005)
Logo: We start on a sky background with the text "STARZ!" to the left. A water ripple effect then occurs and brings forth a transparent sequence of several black stairs and yellow filmstrips being zoomed through and spinning. It reveals itself as the star from the previous logo, which spins on the top of the "STARZ!" text from the previous logo and "FEATURE PRESENTATION" below it, which appear by sliding out ala the Thames Television logo.
FX/SFX: Absolutely amazing CGI from To the Post.
Music/Sounds: A triumphant orchestral piece.
Availability: Same as the last logo.
3rd Open (2005-2008)
Logo: We see a shot of a distant building at night. Then, all of a sudden, a blue shooting star comes out of nowhere and crashes into the screen, causing a flash that transitions to several zoom outs of the entire city the building is in, showing a wavy cloth pattern, resembling a sky aurora, along with several other blue stars. After we see a full skyline shot of the city, a star then shoots to the left side of the screen and forms a hand-drawn star. It also causes the skyline to disappear and the background to become entirely composed of the wavy cloth pattern. The star is enclosed in an out-of-place bar in the middle of the screen, and the text "starz", in a bold font unlike the previous logo, appears under it. The shiny chrome text "FEATURE PRESENTATION" is next to the formation of what is the 2005-2008 Starz logo, which, like described, composes of a blue crudely-drawn star with the text "starz" under it. The bar then "splits" and becomes horizontal, and the text "The following feature is rated (MPAA RATING)" fades in above. Below it, boxes containing information on tech specs, as well as "In high definition where available" fades in. Then, with the exception of G or, rarely, PG movies, it fades away as more boxes containing info on the film's content fades in.
FX/SFX: Almost everything in the logo, done by UVPH in New York. This is a wonderful, stunning piece of work.
Music/Sounds: A majestic string fanfare, ending with 5 notes, a signature that would be used in other opens for the other Starz networks at the time.
Availability: Extinct. Check your old tapes or DVD recordings.
Legacy: This is also a very good logo.
4th Open (2008-2011)
Nickname: "Shine"
Logo: We see several camera and time-lapse shots of several things, such as people walking down a street, two kids frolicking in flowers, clouds billowing, a couple looking at a sunset and two kids catching fireflies in crystal-shaped jars, each one having an orange tint or something orange-colored in it. After the final clip is shown, a burst of orange light occurs, making the clip disappear and several things to happen. The black text "starz" (now in a completely modified font with a star placed between the "a" and the "r") zooms out against the light, the light dies down and several lens flares appear. The text then disappears to reveal the zooming in text "FEATURE PRESENTATION", which has various sparkles bursting out as it zooms in. The picture then fades out and in again, revealing a new screen with the text "THE FOLLOWING IS RATED (rating)", with the rating placed against another light, and three tech spec boxes next to it. Stereo is represented by a pair of headphones, closed captioning is the CC symbol, and Spanish availability is the text "ESP". The screen then fades out to reveal boxes representing the film's content. On G-rated films and some PG-rated films, it stays on the tech spec/rating screen.
FX/SFX: A wonderful mix of live-action and CGI animation, done by Troika Design Group.
Music/Sounds: An anthemic rock theme with a gospel choir midway through singing "Whoaaaaaa....shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!". It then closes with 5 notes very similar to the signature 5 notes used in the previous logo and slowly draws out with a repeating guitar riff and 4 piano notes. The music in this logo was produced by PrimalScream Music (not to be confused with the Scottish band with the same name).
Availability: Extinct. Check your old tapes, DVDs or DVR recordings.
5th Open (2011-2013)
Logo: A similar concept to the previous bumper, except between the new clips some old ones appear, the color tint is now both orange and sky blue, and there are several rays of light and sparkles coming out from the clips. Clips include a man standing up on an ocean, and light shining through a tree. After the tree clip is played, the Starz logo from before zooms out on a sparkly orange-blue-white gradient background, revealing it was played in the "a"-"r" star in the word. The logo flashes, and it appears on top of the sliding text "FEATURE PRESENTATION". The bumper fades out and in again, revealing the same ratings/tech spec screen from before, but now against the new background. Like before, unless it is a G movie or a very occasional PG movie, it fades into another screen showing the film's content.
FX/SFX: Same as the last logo.
Music/Sounds: A rock theme with a repeating 8-note piano riff. When the Starz logo appears, it changes to an 8-note bass riff that is similar to the 5-note Starz fanfare and slowly draws out with a repeating piano.
Availability: Same as the last logo.
6th Open (2013-2016)
Logo: We zoom through several black/white/bright green/orange/yellow-colored "vines" to reveal a blank black space. The 2007-present Starz logo, with "NOW (show/movie title)" underneath it, fades in on the top right corner of the screen.
FX/SFX: The zooming, the fading.
Music/Sounds: A short electronic theme with a bored-sounding announcer saying "And now, your feature presentation."
Availability: Seen on all Starz channels from 2013-16.
Legacy: A rather boring and effortless ID.
7th Open (2016-2022)
Logo: On a background that looks like the 5th Starz Originals logo, we see the 2016 Starz logo appearing with presents under the logo on the top screen, and the movie title appears under it.
FX/SFX: The text appearing.
Music/Sounds: A short drumroll followed by 2 notes
Availability: No longer current. Seen on all Starz and Starz Encore channels.
Legacy: The animation is too simple. It also appears on all Starz channels.
8th Open (2022-)
Logo: On a background that looks like the 6th Starz Originals logo, we see the current Starz logo appearing with presents under the logo on the top screen, and the movie title appears under it.
FX/SFX: The text appearing.
Music/Sounds: A short drumroll followed by 2 notes
Availability: Brand New. Seen on all Starz and Starz Encore channels.
Legacy: The animation is too simple. It also appears on all Starz channels.
