Sub

Credits

Descriptions by
Pyscowicz, Logent

Captures by
Pyscowicz, Logent

Video captures courtesy of
Nostalgia-TV, Seppo Välimäki, BARidentities, Pyscowicz/Nauhoitevideot, Wonder Creative, games528, Joonas Pajuniva, NikkeFin, Harjis

Background

Sub is a Finnish commercial channel launched on August 15, 2001. The channel is operated by MTV Oy, the commercial television company that also operates the most popular commercial station in Finland, MTV3. MTV Oy already had a short-lived free cable channel called TVTV!, that was in operation between 1999 and 2001, featuring re-airings of popular exported American programs which had already aired on MTV3. Subtv was launched as the result of combing TVTV! and another local digital channel, CityTV, into one. The commercial channel quickly became popular among youth viewers during that decade. After the acquisition of MTV Oy in 2005, Swedish media company Bonnier had the ownership of the commercial channel partly, that would later become fully owned by them since 2007. In early years, Subtv adapted water as the channel's primary theme. Between 2005 and 2008, the channel's theme focused around a lonely tree. When the channel was renamed simply as Sub from January 16, 2008, the channel theme was then centered around different colored cubes. The channel would then be drastically changed on November 3, 2013, while abandoning the cube theme completely.

Note: The majority of these logos can be seen in the following video. Another video also contains a wide collection of ad-break bumpers that the channel used between 2001 and 2007.

1st Logo (August 15, 2001-September 1, 2003)

Logo: A round space pod with the channel logo placed on it is rotating at the center of a yellow background until it starts spinning around rapidly with multiple long attachments emerging from it. One attachment covers the screen, as we then move on to a showcase of different objects rotating on a white background with minor details and quick transitions between them. First one shows a jiggling round object with a stylized "SUB. SELKEITÄ KUPLIA" ("SUB. CLEAR BUBBLES") in front of it, the second one is showcasing a sleek chair-like object on a yellow and grayish-blue background, the third one features a banana-like inflatable seat on a white and purple background with a stylized "SUB. SYVÄLTÄ JA VIILEÄ" ("SUB. DEEP AND COOL") and the fourth one features a blue object with the text "SUB. EI NARISE" ("SUB. DOESN'T SQUABBLE") in front of it. During a fifth, rapid transition, we briefly see the next object rotating around with spikes attached to its top part before we then get to another shot of the same object on the right side of the screen with a stylized SUB. KARKEA JA JUHLAA" ("SUB. ROUGH AND PARTYING") briefly seen on the left side. The space pod then collides with the screen, changing the background back to yellow, as it starts to rotate at the center with "SUB. ON TELLUKSELTA" ("SUB. IS ON ORDER") rotating to the opposite direction at a rapid speed. We can quickly see another smooth seat rotating in front of a six-pointed star base with the text "SUB. VIIHTEEN JAKORASIA" ("SUB. ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION BOX") seen briefly. The next one shows a futuristic seat with the text SUB. LUPA TUIJOTTAA" ("SUB. PERMISSION TO LOOK"). We then have even faster transitions with a blue flower seen for half a second, as we then move to the second-to-last object being a purple, spiky rubber ring with the text "SUB. ASIATONTA VIIHDETTÄ" ("SUB. UNSUITABLE ENTERTAINMENT") in front of it and the last object being a simple red rubber seat. After that, we transition to the stylized channel logo "subtv", with the letter "b" being slightly taller than the others, on a blue background with multiple bubbles rising from the bottom.

Variant: An abridged variant exists that starts at the showcasing of the last few objects before the transition.

Technique: The CGI objects, the rapid transition effects, the bubbles.

Music/Sounds: A bouncy and funky theme. The abridged variant plays the last part of the theme.

Availability: The long variant was available on the channel's website. The short variant played after the regular program had ended.

2nd Logo (September 1, 2003-August 29, 2005)

Logo: On a dark, underwater background, we have a blurry animation of bubbles raising from the bottom of the screen. The channel logo appears, emerging from the flow, as we keep getting a cleaner view of it on a bright, light blue center with raising bubbles seen on further and dark sidelines. The "b" on the logo flashes briefly, before the screen quickly becomes blurry again and fades to black.

Technique: The bubbles, the lighting and the logo itself.

Music/Sounds: A short synth tune with a small jingle heard at the end.

Availability: Extinct. Generally played after the regular program was concluded.

3rd Logo (August 29, 2005-2006)

Logo: On an orange background, we see a line of simple dots hopping to the audio on the top of the screen with the channel logo set on the center of the line. The top part of the screen then opens up (and the logo disappears along with it) in the form of dots, to reveal a cloudy sky. In the far distance, we then see the silhouette of a lonely orange tree with the bright shadow of a tree being slowly formed below it, and the screen starts cutting closer to the tree, as the sky background changes and the tree becomes a stylized, three dimensional tree with multiple bright orange dots taking the place of the leaves, while we keep rotating around it. We then see the camera moving through the branches to a view of the tree pointing upwards and a dark mirror image of it pointing down. The camera keeps moving further between the real and mirror image, as we then cut to a white background with orange branches with green leaves growing out of them. We then have another shot of the black tree on an orange background with white flowers forming on its branches and another shot of green leaves being blown away from the tree, where yellow leaves start growing. We then have a series of different, scrolling shots of the tree with yellow flowers growing on it and a yellow silhouette of a person swinging on the branch. As the camera moves up to the top of the tree, the flowers change to a brighter yellow. The screen brightens and we cut to the lonely tree on the orange field, as the channel logo appears to the right side, while orange dots are covering the top part of the screen.

Variant: The short variant features a close-up shot of the orange tree's branches full of leaves on a white background. These leaves then fly away and new bright yellow leaves grow on them, as we scroll to right. We can also see the channel logo on an orange rounded rectangle base, zooming in to the right side of the screen.

Technique: The CGI background, the dots, the leaves.

Music/Sounds: A calm and relaxing theme that features a guitar.

Availability: Extinct. Again, the short variant is featured right after the program's ending.

4th Logo (2006-January 16, 2008)

Logo: Same premise as the 3rd logo's short variant, except the tree is now colored dark blue on a dark orange background. The leaves now have the sky background's pattern, while the growing flowers have noticeable orange heads between the petals. The channel logo lacks the base around it and is already floating on the background as the camera scrolls further right.

Technique: The leaves.

Music/Sounds: A calm, relaxing theme.

Availability: Once again, could be spotted at the end of the program.

5th Logo (January 16, 2008-April 2010)

Logo: We see a different abstract setting going on, before it's revealed to be reflected on a shiny cube with round edges and a different color scheme depending on the variant. The rotating cube moves further back to the right side of the screen, as we get a better view of the cube's side displaying a stylized, white "b" on it. The "su" part of the logo appears to the left side of the cube, forming the channel logo of that time, as we can see other, differently colored cubes flying or rotating at one place on a light blue background.

Trivia: The bumper was created and designed by Wonder Inc. (Wonder Creative).

Variants: Six variants are known to exist. The amount of colored cubes seen on the background at the end varies between variants.

• Hammock: A woman is sleeping on a hammock, that is attached to two drinking straws on a bright forest, while umbrellas are hopping at one place along the ambient music and large cherries are set all around the forest. The cube in this variant is colored orange.
• Bridge: We see a couple slowly walking on a bridge on a ocean, as the bridge keeps forming new logs towards the lonely island seen on far distance. We can also see random boat on the left side and pieces of palm tree branches on both sides of the screen. In this variant, the cube is colored yellow.
• Sandcastle: The couple is seen slowly walking right past a large sandcastle with small lights seen on it in a night-time beach. In this variant, the cube is colored pink.
• Pool: We see someone jumping in a pool in slow motion with surreal palm trees, two pairs of beach chairs and a woman wearing a bikini looking towards an ocean background. This variant features light blue cube.
• Sunglasses: We have a close-up shot of a pair of sunglasses with the image of a sprouting tulip reflected on them. The cube is colored light blue in this variant.
• Forest: We see kids running around on a forest with fishes swimming in midair. The cube is featured here with a green color scheme.

Technique: A mix of live-action and CGI background details, the cubes.

Music/Sounds: A quiet ambient music that differs in each variant, and a three-note tune with a futuristic jingle often heard afterwards.

Availability: It was possible to be spotted every time before the program is about to begin.

6th Logo (April 2010-September 2011)

Logo: It's the same logo and the same premise featured in the previous 5th logo, except with a different type of variants. The cubes seen at the end of the ident come in different numbers as well including more color variants.

Variants:

• Street: We have a first person view of a town street full of people sitting at a cafe and two women walking. The camera is slowly zooming in over a table, while an unknown person (probably a waiter) puts a water jug in the middle of the view. Despite this, the camera keeps zooming through the water jug, as this transitions to an ancient temple hall with people seen in the same positions as those on the previous scene.
• Rain: During a rainy day on a open field, we see two children running. The time freezes and the camera moves through a frozen raindrop, as this transitions to the same setting with the kids wearing different clothing and running on a bright field with butterflies flying around during a sunset. In this variant, the cube is colored light green.
• Boat: On a noisy town, we see a man taking his dried laundry from a clothesline on a terrace. As the window moves past the screen, this transitions to a scene with the same person now pulling up the rope on a boat. The cube in this one is colored pink.
• Pool: The camera is moving on right, as we see two men working on a hole on the road during a rainy day. As a woman walks right past them and opens her umbrella, this makes a transition to a different shot of the workers now hanging on a lake-sized pool, while looking at the woman, who keeps walking right past them with a brief glimpse of a person reading a newspaper on a beach chair on the right. The cube in this variant is colored light blue.
• Cottage: We have a distant view of a summer cottage on an island with a dragonfly flying on the screen. The camera keeps moving down to the sea, where we transition to a bright view of a large city with a helicopter flying on the background and the same cottage located on the top of a skyscraper. In this variant, the cube is colored orange.
• A 10th anniversary variant plays out like the other variants, except we transition from the mirror image of the cube into a dark void full of numerous, floating items such as sweets, lollipops, a tea bowl etc. When the channel logo is formed, the text "10 vuotta" appears below it and fades out for the text "tarinan voimaa" to fade in.
• There are winter variants similar to the regular variants, except the purple cube now looks like an ice cube and is on a dark, winter-themed sky background with the Northern Lights. "su" is also more detailed and there are only a few cubes floating around with each one of them having a flame inside of them.

Technique: Relatively same as the previous logo.

Music/Sounds: Varying types of a quiet and repetitive bass-like sound that resembles a clock's ticking with occasional background noises. We then hear a quiet, futuristic rendition of the three-note tune heard in previous logo with low tone sounds at the end.

Availability: Extinct. See the previous logo.

7th Logo (September 2011-November 3, 2013)

Logo: Same as the previous logo, except the ending segment of the ident is completely re-animated. The cubes are clearer and more detailed, as the main one becomes a completely solid, round cube object once it floats into its position in the center of the screen. The background also consists of a gray void with other detailed cubes floating around with their color types now decreased to three.

Variants: All five variants are closely the same except the re-animated end segment. The following colors sets for cubes in each variant are:

• Street: Pink, orange, gray.
• Rain: Green, yellow, gray.
• Boat: Blue, green, gray.
• Pool: Yellow, blue, gray.
• Cottage: orange, black, gray.

Technique: Cleaner CGI for the floating cubes and the channel logo itself.

Music/Sounds: The beginning part for each variant is the same, except the three-note tune at the end segment is re-composed.

Availability: Extinct. See the 5th logo.

8th Logo (November 3, 2013-May 14, 2018)

Logo: On a grayish background, the text "sub." is placed on the right side of the screen with a couple of floating,purple paper clips raising and then falling down in a constant pattern. We then cut to the extreme close-up shot, featuring the left corner part of the logo with some paper clips repeating the pattern.

Technique: The paper clips, the logo's lighting effects on the background.

Music/Sounds: A subdued humming sound heard in the background.

Availability: ince the brand new channel look debuted on May 15, 2018. There are most likely more variants to be found.

9th Logo (May 15, 2018-)

Logo: On a simple background, we see the channel logo zooming-out further into a light blue box with the background quickly pushed aside in the form of sidelines, revealing a bright background. The box is then cut into four lines with the channel logo multiplying on each line in different sizes (leaving the second lowest line transparent). These lines then rapidly slide to the right, where they are being cut in layers, while slowly moving off from the screen.

Technique: The blocks sliding and forming.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced bass boost-type beat.

Availability: Could be spotted after the ending of the program.