Analog Sound

Background: This was a surround sound format only available on Laserdiscs, debuted in 1981. It dissapeared because of the final Laserdisc releases, along with HAL (a VHS sound system) and ABC (Analog/HAL for kids). However, their brand Optical Surround was still running and in the early days of 2002, the succesor Digital Sound replaced it.

1st Logo

(1981-2000)

Nicknames: "Surround Is Amazing", "The Ride", "The Analog Sound Logo I"

Logo: We see a sunny sky. Then the camera rotates to see the POV from a car. It goes up to a hill, and when it reaches the top, we see the "ANALOG SOUND" logo, which is colored blue and red. A copyright notice fades in below.

Variants:

There may be the words "STEREO", "STEREO SURROUND" or just "SURROUND" on the bottom-left corner of the screen at the end. A similar variant was later used for the next logo.

In later releases, the logo is cut short to the middle.

On the 1995 release of Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, the words "HOME THEATER OPTIMZED" appear when the camera reaches the top.

FX/SFX: All real-action, but the logo is mostly a CGI model, which looks pretty advanced for the time.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic fanfare named "Surround Is Amazing". It was composed by Ludwig Vinecilli.

Music/Sounds Variant: A few prints of Never Say Never Again and Smiths and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures had the logo silent. This was mostly due to an editing error; the audio of these Laserdisc releases were also affected, causing glitches to occur on it. The customer service of the company had to change the glitched discs with better ones after listening about it.

Availability: Seen a lot on the first laserdiscs with the Analog Sound format, mostly appearing after the LaserVision logo. It was later used in tandem with the next logos, and last used on 1999 in America. However, it was still seen on a few Japanese Laserdiscs until late 2000. The Stereo variant can be seen on the 1989 Ruin My Fire Laserdisc and the Stereo Surround variant on the Laserdisc of Titanic. Strangely appears on Soos2 airings of The Abyss.

Scare Factor: None. The design and animation are pretty advanced for the time frame.

2nd Logo

(1983-1989, 1992)

Nicknames: "The Analog Sound Logo II", "The Neon Logo"

Logo: We see the words: "Presented in" fading in. Then we crossfade to a space background with a green grid surface. The "A" from the Analog Sound logo, outlined in cyan, appears and zooms out. A neon factory building zooms in on the surface, and the doors of it open, causing the A to enter and the camera follows it. We see neon gears inside the building, and later the neon Analog Sound logo without the A. The A then places itself, forming the finished logo. It flashes, and then the background crossfades into a black one, while the logo transforms from neon to normal colors. The logo shines, and the copyright stamp fades in.

Variant: There may be either the words "STEREO", "STEREO SURROUND" or just "SURROUND" at the bottom-left corner of the screen at the end.

FX/SFX: Very good attempt at a hand-drawn 3D logo, with lots of neon effects.

Music/Sounds: A semi-ominous synth note, followed by a synth arpreggio with whooshes. When we get to the building, a zooming noise is heard, then a news-esque theme is heard. During the flash, a deep bang is heard, and finally the same synth note from the beggining with shining sounds.

Availability: Scarce. It is seen after the movie closing credits on early Laserdiscs. First spotted in the 1983 Laserdisc print of Omle. Later spotted on Laserdiscs releases of mid-budget and indie 80's films. Surprisingly, this logo is seen at the beggining of the 1992 Laserdisc release of Verme: The Omle Prequel. The variant with "STEREO" can be seen on the 1988 laserdisc of the art-house film Never Going Away (the VHS has the early HAL "Vertigo" logo), and the "SURROUND" version of the 1986 Laserdisc of the Hong Kong film Inside The Empire. The Stereo Surround variant is extremely rare and can be found on the original laserdisc release of the mid-budget film See.

Scare Factor: Low. The sounds may get to some but like the previous logo, it's very advanced.

3rd Logo

(1990)

Nicknames: "UHF", "Surround Is Amazing II", "The Analog Sound Logo III"

Logo: We see a TV static, then we see some clips of UHF, including Gandhi II and Spatula City. Then it changes the channel into the Analog Sound logo in green, yellow and purple. The words "The following feature is presented in" above the logo. Copyright information is shown below. The Analog Sound logo shines

FX/SFX: The TV effects, the clips, the logo shining.

Music/Sounds: A guitar sampler from "UHF" by "Weird Al" Yankovic with the beating chorus, then a static sound, and then the last few notes of "Surround is Amazing".

Availability: Only seen on the 1990 UHF laserdisc with the Analog Sound format, after the Image Entertainment and Orion Home Video logos.

Scare Factor: Minimal to low. It's a good idea to add clips from the music video UHF in the Analog Sound logo.

4th Logo

(1991)

Nicknames: "The Film Clips", "Surround Is Amazing III", "The Analog Sound Logo IV"

Logo: On a blue background, we see the clips from Analog Sound library. Some of these clips include The Gears From The Station, The Terminator, Rocky, North by Northwest, The King and I, Mickey Mouse Cartoons (Volume 1, Steamboat Willie) and Christine. Then, the Analog Sound logo rolls up into the clips as the background turns black. Copyright info is shown below, and the logo flashes into "10 YEARS OF MAKING MOVIES (AND CARTOONS) ON LASERDISCS".

FX/SFX: The clips, the Analog Sound logo appearing, the flash. Still good-looking.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1st logo.

Availability: Only on the 1991 laserdisc of Rocky V, after the MGM/UA Home Video logo.

Scare Factor: Minimal to low. It's a great addition to the clips in the Analog library of logos.

5th Logo

(1991-1992)

Nicknames: "Can You Hear It?", "The New Analog Sound's Sound"

Logo: On a black background, we see the orange text phrases fading in order:

Can you hear it?

If you hear closely, it's in...

We crossfade into a night sky with the Analog Sound logo fading in, along with "MAKING LASERDISCS MORE ALIVE" and the copyright info below.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: Surprisingly, it's just fading. Nothing creative unlike the previous logos.

Music/Sounds: Various sounds that change from release to release, followed by a "panning" bell tune (similar to Dolby's jingle).

Music/Sounds Trivia: The panning effect represents the sound format. Also, due to the bell jingle used in this logo, the "Surround Is Amazing" fanfare now only appeared in the 1st logo.

Availability: Very rare. It appeared on a few Laserdiscs of the time, but all of these were of popular movies. Examples include Back From The Future II, Aliens, RoboCop, Alien (not Aliens), and Midnight Express.

Scare Factor: Minimal to medium; depends about your feel on the darkness and the unexpected sounds.

6th Logo

(1992)

Nicknames: "The Tiny Toon Adventures Logo"

Logo: On a gray background, we see the Analog Sound logo. Superimposed behind the text are clips from the Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation movie. The logo then fades to pink and the text "LASERDISCS WITH THE BEST SURROUND SOUND" fades in below the logo. Copyright info also fades in below.

FX/SFX: The clips in motion behind the text, the fading to pink, and normal fading-in.

Music/Sounds: Comical sound effects, then a KaBONG sound when the logo fades to pink, followed by the bell jingle from the previous logo.

Availability: It can only be seen on the laserdisc of the DTV movie Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation after the Warner Home Video "Cheesy Shield" logo and before the 1990-1997 ABC Kid-Friendly Sound logo.

Scare Factor: Low to medium. Since the logo doesn't fade in, it can surprise some people.

7th Logo

(1992-1994, 1996)

Nicknames: "Head", "The First CGI Analog Logo"

Logo: On the jungle, we see a model of a person's head. A part of the head opens to reveal the brain. As the camera turns around and faces to it, the brain turns into a blue/red Analog Sound logo, which later turns into 2D. The text "MAKING LASERDISCS MORE ALIVE", along with the copyright info, fades in below.

Variant: On the 1992 Laserdisc release of La Femme Nikita (not the TV show, but the movie), Nikita replaces the head model.

FX/SFX: Great CGI! Although the animation used is kinda simple, the textures look very advanced for the time.

Music/Sounds: Jungle sounds, along with a slow cello tune, a crack sound when the head opens and a swoosh sound when the Analog Sound logo turns into 2D.

Availability: Scarce. Most Laserdisc releases containing this logo are not from famous films, but they're somewhat easy to find. The Nikita variant is only seen on the 1992 DualMountain Entertainment laserdisc of La Femme Nikita right after the DualMountain Entertainment logo and also seen on the 1994 laserdisc of Point of No Return right after the Warner Home Video "Cheesy Shield" logo. This makes an apperance on the 1996 remastered release of The Last Emperor.

Scare Factor: Medium bordering on high. The somewhat creepy mood of the logo can scare some people.

8th Logo

(1992-1999)

Nickname: "Optimizer"

Logo: On a black background, a chrome version of the Analog Sound logo fades in. It then crossfades to a oscilloscope visualizer surrounded by an outlined rectangle. On the top of it are the words "Optimizing this laserdisc for perfect sound playback". The visualizer displays the waves of the sounds used on the logo. When the sounds fade out, the copyright info fades in below.

Variant: Depending of the primary language of your Laserdisc player, the language of "Optimizing this laserdisc for perfect sound playback" changes to the primary language of the player. For example, it says "Optimizando este disco para reproduccion de sonido perfecto" on Spanish.

FX/SFX: The visualizer and fading. Decent logo idea.

Music/Sounds: Various sounds that vary from release to release (which doesn't sound a lot like the 5th logo), along with the Analog bell tune.

Availability: Common on Analog-optimized Laserdisc players since 1992. It appears no matter what Laserdisc release you play for first time on one of these players, this logo will appear right before the LaserVision logo. It doesn't appear when you play an Analog Sound Laserdisc on a non-Analog optimized player (mainly on Dolby or DTS-optimized players).

Scare Factor: None to low. It's a good logo idea, but it can get annoying for some people, especially those who expected something different.

9th Logo

(1993-1996)

Nicknames: "Illusion", "Analog's 2nd CGI Logo"

Logo: Inside a castle's room, we see a 2D Analog Sound logo. The camera goes up to reveal that the logo is made in 3D (pretty much looking like an illusion). All of it then crossfades to the copyright info.

Variant: On the 1995 Laserdisc of Interview With A Vampire, Claudia's face replaces the Analog Sound logo. When everything crossfades, we see the Analog Sound logo above the copyright.

FX/SFX: The movement of the camera, the crossfade. Simple, but creative CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: An Egyptian theme with medieval influences.

Availability: Rare. Mostly seen on mid 90's Laserdisc releases like the 1995 Laserdisc release of Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Scare Factor: None to minimal; the illusion may surprise very few people. However, magicians and people who do magic would like it.

10th Logo

(1994-1999)

Nicknames: "Analog Sound's Home Theater", "Analog In The House"

Logo: The camera enters to a house and moves around until it sees a door. The door opens, revealing a home cinema room with a screen showing the previous logo, but played in reverse. After the logogoes into 2D position, a flash occurs and the video changes to the Analog Sound logo surrounded by 6 cubes, which are forming a semi-circle. The camera zooms to the screen, and the letters of "ANALOG SOUND'S HOME THEATER" zoom out and rotate until they face to us.

FX/SFX: Again, great CGI! Every detail was done professionally.

Music/Sounds: A drumbeat, followed by a loud synth note along with some whooshes when the letters zoom out.

Availability: Rare. Seen on some Laserdisc releases optimized for Analog Sound home theater systems, which were designed during 1994-2001. An example is the 1996 remastered release of The Last Emperor, after the "Head" logo. The only release that don't use the logo is Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, because a special variant of the "Ride" logo was going to be used.

Scare Factor: Low, as someone can be thrown away by the music.

11th Logo

(1995)

Nicknames: "Dumb And Dumber Logo", "The Blue Bar"

Logo: On a black background, we see cartoon versions of the Dumb and Dumber characters forming a blue bar, which suddenly transforms into the Analog Sound logo. The characters start looking at it and talk, while the copyright info fades in below.

FX/SFX: All cartoon animation.

Music/Sounds: A rock theme with the sounds that go with the logo.

Availability: Only seen on the 1995 Laserdisc release of Dumb and Dumber after the Image Entertainment and New Line Home Video logos.

Scare Factor: Minimal to low, but people who like the movie should like this.

12th Logo

(1995-2001)

Nickname: "Splashes"

Logo: On a black background we see various water splashes in slow motion. The words "The following feature is presented in" fade in. An oscilloscope visualizer (not like the 8th logo) appears behind the text and displays the waveforms of the sound. Suddenly, copies of the visualizer zoom in and the camera rotates to the back to see that they're making the Analog Sound logo. Another splash comes and finishes the logo, making it in it's usual blue/red color. The copyright info fades in below. After a few seconds another splash appears and takes the full logo.

Variants:

To promote Analog EX, the water splashes are now blue/red, the text and Analog Sound logo is white, and "EX" in a futuristic font is seen below the logo.

Later releases from 1997-2000 feature the company's URL "www.analogsound.org" (now dead) fading in after the logo animation.

FX/SFX: Fusion of live-action and CGI. The color of the water splashes on the EX variant was recolored with computers.

Music/Sounds: Lots of water sounds and whooshes, along with the Analog bell tune.

Availability: Uncommon. This is by far one of the most common Analog logos to find, and it's seen on various 1995-2000 releases, but 1995 Laserdiscs din't used the logo a lot. While the logo was last used on January of 2000 in America, it was still seen on Asian Laserdiscs until 2001.

Scare Factor: Minimal. It's a remarkable addition to the Analog library of logos. Low for the EX variant.

13th Logo

(1996)

Nicknames: "The Headquarters", "Happy 15th, Analog!"

Logo: We see a shot of Analog Sound's headquarters. Then, clips from various movies play on the windows, including Chariots Of Fire, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park and Seven. Then, the camera goes to the roof of the headquarters, where we see the Analog Sound logo, then the words "15th Anniversary" fades in below along with the copyright info.

FX/SFX: The headquarters, the clips, the camera, and the "15th Anniversary" text fading in. Amazing use of CGI and live-action which still holds up well for today.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic fanfare, ending with the Analog bell tune.

Availability: Only found on the laserdisc of It Takes Two, right after the Warner Home Video "Cheesy Shield" logo.

Scare Factor: Minimal. Another remarkable adition.

14th Logo

(1997)

Nicknames: "The Scream Logo", "Ghostface Of Doom"

Logo: On a black background, Ghostface's mask appears and zooms to the camera. After that, an explosion appears and brings up the Analog Sound logo made with gas. Copyright info fades in.

FX/SFX: CGI used for the mask, explosion and logo.

Music/Sounds: A very fast and dramatic fanfare that ends up with an explosion.

Availability: Only seen on the laserdisc of Scream after the Dimension Home Video logo.

Scare Factor: Medium to nightmare; Ghostface's mask, the black background, explosion and dramatic soundtrack doesn't make a friendly combination, but this would be a favorite for people who like Scream or Ghostface.

15th Logo

(1997-2001)

Nicknames: "Cube Zone", "The Blue Cubes"

Logo: The camera travels throughout a large zone formed of big blue cubes. When the camera turns to the left, we see a cyan light with spinning cubes surrounding it. The camera goes to the light, which then transforms into a cyan background. Suddenly, the parts of the white Analog Sound logo appear out of nowhere and form the logo. Blue abstract shapes appear and move on the low part of the background. The text "LASERDISC SURROUND" fades in below the logo along with the copyright notice.

FX/SFX: Still great CGI. This was done on Femaro Studios on Osaka, Japan.

Music/Sounds: A deep whoosh, followed by a muffled techno tune. Then random machine sounds are heard.

Availability: Rare. Used in tandem with the 12th logo. While the logo was last used on 1999 in America, it was still seen on Asian Laserdiscs until 2001.

Scare Factor: Low, as someone can be caught off-guard by the darkness and rapid motion. However, it's a great logo.

16th Logo

(1997)

Nicknames: "The Ride 1997", "CGI Ride"

Logo: An updated CGI version of the 1st logo.

FX/SFX: CGI animation that was done by Charlex.

Music/Sounds: Car sounds, then a Native American-type tune, followed by the Analog bell tune.

Availability: Scarce. It's only found on the Laserdiscs of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (the 15th Anniversary one) and Harriet the Spy. It only appeared on TVs when Nickelodeon aired Harriet the Spy in 2000, mostly due to an editing error.

Scare Factor: None. It's a nice sequel to the original "Ride" logo, and has become a favorite of many.

17th Logo

(1998)

Nicknames: "The Abandoned Bar"

Logo: The camera travels throughout an abandoned bar until it sees the Analog Sound logo in the concert stage. Copyright info fades in below. Everything's in black & white.

FX/SFX: Again, nice CGI.

Music/Sounds: A piano-type 1940's sounder, then a calmer version of the Analog bell tune when the copyright fades in.

Availability: Only appears on the 1998 Laserdisc of Jackie Brown.

Scare Factor: Low. The idea of putting the logo in an abandoned bar is quite a bit creepy for younger viewers, especially second to fourth grade students.

18th Logo

(1998-1999)

Nicknames: "Laser-Carving", "The Analog Box", "More Sound Magic", "Filmpac Rip-Off"

Logo: On a black background, we see a stone box. A blue/red colored laser starts carving the Analog Sound logo. Then the words "MORE SOUND MAGIC" zoom out in a yellow trailing effect, and later the copyright notice fades in below.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The laser and light trails. Well, it kinda rip-offs the 1988 Filmpac logo.

Music/Sounds: A majestic horn fanfare with laser sounds.

Availability: First appeared on the 1998 Laserdisc of Because Of Maxie (the VHS contains the HAL "Before The Rain" logo). Also appears on the 1999 Laserdisc of Scream 2, and other releases from the time. Used in tandem with other active logos.

Scare Factor: Low because of the dramatics, but this logo is not extremely scary, including the laser carving.

19th Logo

(1998-2000)

Nicknames: "Out Of The Glow", "Analog Star"

Logo: On a space background, a blue glow appears. Then the parts of the Analog Sound logo come out, spin and form the logo. Once the logo is already formed, a flash occurs, making the logo crystal. The copyright notice fades in below.

FX/SFX: High-quality CGI made by Synthespian Studios (the company that also made the 1999 TiVo logo).

Music/Sounds: A ping, then a majestic fanfare, followed by the Analog bell tune.

Availability: Seen on some of the last North American Laserdiscs. Some of these include Money For Everything, The Rugrats Movie, Good Burger, The Faculty and Bringing Out The Dead. It was the last North American Laserdisc logo, and the rest of the Laserdisc world (Asia) used either the "Splashes" or "Cube Zone" logos.

Scare Factor: Minimal. It's a nice last entry to the Analog library of logos.