Viacom Pictures

Credits

Descriptions by
Eric S., and Bob Fish

Captures by
Eric S., Mr.Logo, and BudTheChud1989

Editions by
indycar

Background

Viacom Pictures was the made-for-television film division of Viacom Productions (now "CBS Studios"), that produced television films for the Showtime Network and some theatrical releases. Viacom Pictures's film library is now owned by Paramount Pictures (acquired by Viacom in 1994) and are distributed on home video by Paramount Home Entertainment (under the label CBS Home Entertainment).

1st Logo (January 19, 1991-1995?)

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Visuals: Over a black background, pink and blue shapes are sliding from side to side, with the overlapping shapes making a yellow color. After a few seconds, the screen zooms out to reveal the 1990 Viacom logo, with "VIA" in pink and "COM" in blue. The word "PICTURES" zooms in below, in red.

Variants:

• There is an earlier variant in which "PRESENTS" fades in below that, in purplish-blue. This usually appears on trailers for films made by this company, particularly the trailer for Keeper of the City. A full-length version of this variant can be found on Fourth Story and the trailer for The Fear Inside.
• At the end credits, "DISTRIBUTED BY", in really small letters, is seen above the print logo of Viacom Pictures, in white.
• At the end of the trailer for The Fear Inside, there is a still version of this logo with the text "Distributed by" above.

Technique: Possibly motion-controlled animation.

Audio: Four synthesized dramatic ascending tones, and then a synth version of the 1990 Viacom theme music, also known as the "Wigga-Wigga" music. The actual "wigga-wigga" sounds and the voice-over are all absent. Kettledrums are heard as "PICTURES" zooms in. None for the closing variant.

Audio Variant: There is another later variant of the logo theme with drumbeats during the 4-note tune.

Availability: Still intact on television films of the time frame, such as Taking the Heat, Fourth Story, Scam, Keeper of the City, The Fear Inside, Nails, and Payoff. The best source is releases of the studio's output by Media Home Entertainment or C/FP Video. For the longest time, these films remained unavailable on DVD, at least in the United States; Devlin and Paris Trout have been released to DVD in Canada. However, Fourth Story was re-released on MOD DVD-R, with this logo intact.

2nd Logo (1991-1999)

Visuals: On the closing credits of some Viacom television films is the following:

VIACOM
PICTURES

"DISTRIBUTED BY" is sometimes shown above it, in the same style as before.

Technique: A printed image or scrolling effects.

Audio: The opening and closing themes of the film.

Availability: Seen on various television films and some theatrical releases of the era, such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch (film version), and White Mile, among others.