WARNING: The video does contain the audio from the last Screen Gems television logo. Feel free to read if you do not want to play the video, or just mute the audio.
One of the first things I had to do for one of my computer animation classes was a logo animation using Autodesk Maya 2013. As a fan of television and movie logos, this seemed like a hard decision as there were many, many choices. Eventually I settled on the Screen Gems logo that is currently in use in movies and one of the last television logos the company used.
There were several resources that I could use. One of the better ones that I found was the Screen Gems page featured on the Closing Logo Group Wiki. I applaud their effort in documenting not only this but nearly every single logo ever. By looking at the history, I was able to study the animation and placement of the logo when it was used.
Of course, I can’t talk about this logo without bringing up the other side of it’s history. With the style of the logo I animated, along with the accompanying sound, this has gained notoriety in some corners of the Internet. This is known and nicknamed “The S From Hell.” The combination of the animation and the synthesized music has been known to terrify viewers from when it was shown. This logophobia has been explored in the Sundance documentary (not mockumentary), “The S From Hell” by Rodney Ascher.
Are there other logos that are nightmare-inducing? Oh yes. Some are the Viacom “V of Doom”, THX, WGBH, and the Lynch/Frost logo found at the end of Twin Peaks, just to name a few. I guess if you want to look at these, maybe watch them at your own risk. After all, you know your limits.
Video As Life 