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.

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

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Logo: Over a black background, we see pink and blue shapes sliding from side to side, with the overlapping shapes making a yellow color. After a few seconds, we zoom out to reveal the 1990 Viacom logo (in the "\/|/\CO/\/\" style), with "\/I/\" in pink and "CO/\/\" 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 Scanimation or 2D computer animation.

Audio: Four synthesized dramatic-yet-simple 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 famed 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, 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. These films have never been released on DVD, at least in the United States; Devlin and Paris Trout have been released to DVD in Canada.

2nd Logo (1991-1999)

Logo: On the closing credits of some Viacom television films, we see the following:

VI/\COM
PICTURES

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

Technique: None for the opening variant, and the scrolling of the credits for the closing variant.

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.