Vestron Video

Background

Vestron Video was formed from the assets of the original Time-Life Video in 1981 to release special interest videos as well as independent films, B-movies, and TV movies. In 1991, Vestron, Inc. was acquired by LIVE Entertainment (later known as "Artisan Entertainment"), and later in 1992, it was completely folded into the said company. In 2016, Vestron Video was revived by Lionsgate Entertainment as its genre label for catalog titles.

1st Logo (February 1982-October 1982)

Nickname: "Big V"

Logo: On a blue screen we see an angular "V" filled with horizontal lines. Above in white is "VESTRON VIDEO".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the Laserdisc release of Tribute, the 1980 Time-Life Video music is heard, due to sloppy plastering.

Availability: Extremely rare. It was a placeholder logo and was seen on Vestron VHS, Betamax, and some Laserdisc releases of the era, like The Changeling, Rodan, Good Guys Wear Black, The Last Chase, The Silent Partner, The Greatest Adventure, The Cannonball Run, Nothing Personal, Go Tell the Spartans, and Godzilla, King of the Monsters. The 1982 release of Benji doesn't use a logo. Also appears on some late '80s reissues of their releases, including Fort Apache: The Bronx. This also appears on the laser videodisc editions of some of their earliest releases, including The Private Eyes, even after the next logo was introduced.

2nd Logo (December 1982-June 25, 1986) (1983-1987, international)

Nicknames: "Big V II", "V of Cheesiness", "Cheesy V"

Logo: The screen fills with white stripes which are cut on the sides (downwards) and in the middle (upwards) by blue laser-like lights. The stripes now form a "V" shape against a red background. The "V" flashes blue, then backs up where it is "shadowed" by a lighter "V" appearing next to it. Four red lights shine in all but the lower right corner of the original "V," and the lower right of the "shadow." Above the letter, the blue light spells out "VESTRON" in white letters, and that shrinks to fit the word "VIDEO" which appears next to it.

Variants:

One variant has the logo staying onscreen for seven or eight seconds after the music stops, with the logo continuing to shine. This instance happened on the 1983 VHS of They Call Me Bruce?.
On some early Vestron releases, the words are not spelled out by the light and the logo fades out earlier than usual. This was spotted on the 1984 Canadian VHS of Mr. Mom.
Closing: Same as the regular variant, except, when finished, one of these copyright dates "© (year) Vestron, Inc." or "© (Year) VESTRON INCORPORATED" zoom in below. In some cases, this variant is put at the beginning of tapes.

FX/SFX: Very '80s computer animations of the stripes appearing and forming the "V", the forming of "VESTRON VIDEO", and the lights on the "V".

Music/Sounds:

Synthesized tones heard on many '80s TV news programs, accompanied by laser zaps and more synthesized notes.
For the closing variant with the first copyright stamp, it's only the synthesized theme. This version of the theme has also been used with the regular variant of the logo on at least one occasion.

Music/Sounds Trivia: This is also heard on How to Beat Home Video Games, which Vestron also distributed. It's likely an Easter egg for home media.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On some tapes in Australia, a different synthesized theme, "Videospots 4" by Harry Forbes, from the Parry Music Library, with added synth sound effects which are quieter than the original ones. This fanfare was the same one that was used on the United Film Distribution Company logo.
Some hi-fi stereo releases from toward the end of the logo's life use a heavily reverberated version of the fanfare which is also rechanneled.
There is also a silent version.

Availability: Rare.

Seen on Vestron video releases of the time. This includes Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Lord of the Rings, Harry and Son, Trancers, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Ghoulies, Mad Max, The Devil's Gift, Interface, Lifeforce, Burial Ground, Curtains, Amityville 3-D, The House by the Cemetery, Endless Love, Re-Animator, The House on Sorority Row, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, Mutant, Class of 1984, Spaceship, Yellowbeard, How to Beat Home Video Games, Mr. Mom, The Care Bears Movie, An American Werewolf in London, For the Love of Benji, and Class.
Outside of the U.S., this appeared on all Vestron Video International tapes that were made prior to 1987.
Also seen on a Showtime Networks airing of The Company of Wolves back in 2010.
The first VHS release of Mr. Mom has this logo, but was missing when Vestron later reprinted it.
On some early releases with the Vestron "Red V-Ball" on the box and label, like early National Geographic releases (including the laser videodisc of Man: The Incredible Machine), this may appear.
Ultra rare for the closing variant; it appears on all 3 volumes of How to Beat Home Video Games (the first volume has the first copyright stamp, while the second and third had the second copyright stamp) and on the original VHS of Young Doctors in Love, both at the beginning and the end of the VHS.
The silent version is also ultra rare.
This makes very strange appearances on the Lionsgate DVD of Irreconcilable Differences, the Full Moon/Echo Bridge releases and a Movies4Men (now GREAT! Movies Action) airing of Trancers, a Hulu print of the animated Animal Farm, the Artisan DVD of Shadows Run Black, and HBO's broadcasts of Ghoulies (from May 1986) and Re-Animator (from January 1987), which probably used transfers from Vestron's laserdisc/video masters.
In the UK, this is seen on tapes such as Return of the Living Dead and My Little Pony: The Movie (1986), despite the 3rd print logo on the box of both.

Editor's Note: While the logo is a product of its time with its early '80s computer animation and subpar sound quality, this logo remains a classic home video logo among many, not to mention a source of nostalgia.

3rd Logo (July 1986-August 1993, April 27, 2021-)

(Left) Original version, (right) 2021 version.

Nicknames: "The Red Circle-V", "Red V-Ball"

Logo: Same as the Vestron Pictures logo, except "PICTURES" is replaced by "VIDEO".

Variants:

On the VUDU print of the 1986 film Sex Appeal, the logo is stretched to fit the 16:9 aspect ratio. Tubi's print is in the correct 4:3 ratio.
There is a re-animated/enhanced version of this logo first seen on the Ultra HD Blu-ray release of Dirty Dancing, which opens with some VHS static and distorted music. It's unknown if this is a one-off variant or a new logo for the Vestron imprint.

FX/SFX: Same as the Vestron Pictures logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the Vestron Pictures logo. Sometimes, it is silent, or on some later releases (verification needed) it had the Vestron Television music.

Availability: Uncommon.

Can be seen on tapes from this era, such as SpaceCamp, From Beyond, Class of 1999, Waxwork, 976-EVIL 2: The Astral Factor, Dolls, Over Her Dead Body, Age Isn't Everything, Ghost Warrior, Fear (1990), To Live and Die in L.A. (early prints have the previous logo), Valet Girls, Parents, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud, Ghoulies II-III, Nova Video Library, Naked Obsession, Dead Aim, Dirty Dancing, Earth Girls Are Easy and later National Geographic VHS releases.
On the 2003 Artisan DVD of Bride of Re-Animator, this makes a surprise appearance, and the same goes for the Lionsgate DVDs of Personal Services, Ironweed, Slaughter High, a TCM airing as well as a Amazon Prime print (the latter even appearing after Live Home Video's warning screen!) of Dead Sleep, VUDU, Amazon Prime and Tubi's prints of Sex Appeal and Warrior Queen, at the end of a FEARnet airing of The Gate, and an Encore Suspense airing of The Bedroom Window.
This also makes a strange appearance on the MGM DVD of Basic Training, before the 1995 MGM logo; the MGM logo, however, probably plasters over the Movie Store logo.
On the 2002 Artisan Special Edition DVD of Dirty Dancing, this strangely plasters the Vestron Pictures logo.

Editor's Note: An excellent logo from Vestron to send off before its revival, which has beautiful CGI that has aged very well over the decades.

4th Logo (July 26, 2016-)

Nicknames: "Big V III", "The Return of the V", "The Revenge of the V", "Hi-Tech Cheesy V" , "V for Vengeance/Victory", "No-Longer-Cheesy V"

Logo: The logo starts off with the same effects as the second logo and the aspect ratio is 4:3. However, the screen then zooms out and the aspect ratio turns to 16:9, revealing the lines on a circular table in the teal-lit factory. Machines then carve out a "V". They then place the text "VESTRON", which shrinks to make way for the word "VIDEO". The logo flashes. Once the fanfare is over, the logo quickly fades out and cuts back to the logo, gets static-shocked and cuts to black.

Trivia: This was designed by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures and graphic designer Jess Bryden. Upon creating this logo, Felsher commented: "Several years ago I discussed what it would be like to update the Vestron logo with a good friend of mine, Jess Bryden, a gifted graphic designer and filmmaker. When Vestron Video was greenlit, I approached Jess officially about updating the logo. The results were everything I could've hope for and more. References the past, but brings it into the future".

FX/SFX: Amazing CGI effects!

Music/Sounds: A futuristic rearrangement of the 2nd logo's music, ending with what it sounds like a mixture of the light switch flick sound and a loud slam, when the logo gets static-shocked.

Availability: Current. Debuted online and appears on releases from Lionsgate's Vestron Video Collector's Series, beginning with Blood Diner and Chopping Mall.

Editor's Note: This is an awesome successor and a re-imagining of a classic home video logo.