History Main / VanityPlate

** The third version had the [=ITC=] logo (in white) zoom in from the center of a spinning object composed of the logo's diamond shapes, one each in red, green, and blue, on a space background. The first version's theme was used.

* '''Creator/{{Paramount}} Pictures''': A mountain surrounded by stars (usually 24, in reference to the number of big movie actors they had signed in the SilentAgeOfHollywood), also known as "Majestic Mountain" or "Paramountain". During the Gulf & Western era, the mountain faded into a simplified dark-blue-and-white icon on a light blue background; this version of the logo was retired in 1987 with the establishment of Paramount Communications, Inc., and continued to be used following Viacom's acquisition of Paramount. The modern version usually features animated stars as they fly into the scene and take their place in formation around the mountain.

** By 1987, the Gulf & Western version of the logo was retired in favor of an updated full-color logo, much as with the film division, with a new theme. After Viacom sold Paramount Television to CBS, it was retired in favour of CBS Television Studios/CBS Productions (just as Touchstone Television is now ABC Studios).

* '''Creator/{{Paramount}} Pictures''': A mountain surrounded by stars (usually 24, in reference to the number of big movie actors they had signed in the SilentAgeOfHollywood), also known as "Majestic Mountain" or "Paramountain".

** Now defunct, retired in favour of CBS Television Studios/CBS Productions (just as Touchstone Television is now ABC Studios).

** The Creator/DreamWorksAnimation variant begins with the boy floating up to the moon on colorful balloons, then letting go of the balloons, which fly up and pop to create the letters of the logo. It is also notable because the music that plays is the unofficial theme of Creator/DreamWorksAnimation, [[{{Shrek}} "Fiona's Theme".]]
** At the opening for ''BeeMovie'' Barry B. Benson comes along and pops the guy's balloons and sends him plummenting. ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' eschews the fishing boy for a leopard or tiger in traditional Chinese dress who runs some distance and leaps up to the moon to fish. In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}} 2,'' the boy is mugged on the moon by the penguins who want his pole. In ''MonstersVsAliens'', a UFO from EarthVsTheFlyingSaucers abducts the boy with a tractor beam, flies away as the film begins to melt.
** Those last few were for the Creator/DreamWorks Animation variant (unlike the regular Creator/DreamWorks logo, it's set in the daytime).
** For a non-animated variant, the moon becomes ''TheRing'' for a split-second in said movie. And for another non-animated, before ''[[TransformersFilmSeries Transformers]]'', the video is normal but the audio has a "robotic" filter put over it for the splashing sound effect when the boy's fishing lure hits water (in the very beginning).
** ''Film/MouseHunt'' actually has a ''musical'' variant - the film opens with the logo music (not heard on all Creator/DreamWorks movies) but at the end the guitar figure that opens the music is replaced by a French horn. Incidentally, the Creator/DreamWorks music was composed by none other than JohnWilliams.
** There were also some variations when they made games during the PS1 era. ''SmallSoldiers'' had the soldiers pushing the kid off the moon and ''MedalOfHonor'' had him parachuting off or something similar.
** In one of the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' games, the boy felt a tug on his line, and then was suddenly pulled off the moon, screaming. Then there was a faint swallowing sound.
** ''TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' game for the PS1 had the boy say, "Got something!" during the tug' then forcibly pulled off the moon. Velociraptor screeches and the game's dramatic chord plays.
** ''{{Shrek}}'' had the "s" at the end of "Dreamworks" grow Shrek ears/horns.
** As of ''Film/HowToTrainYourDragon'', DreamWorks Animation got themselves a more elaborate fishline-swinging (to exploit the 3D), the moon set against a celestial sky with this specific variant containing a fairly subtle Night Fury silhouetted flying in the background.
** ''RiseOfTheGuardians'' had the boy to be revealed as Jack Frost, with his staff as the fishing pole.

* Creator/{{Sega}} had a different version in ''nearly every'' SegaGenesis game, typically featuring that particular game's characters or some such component. A complete listing can be accessed [[http://www.whipassgaming.com/genesisreviews/specialprojects.htm here]].
** Of particular note are the Sega vanity plates from the main SegaGenesis ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games. Originally, ''Sonic 1'' was to have a sound test screen featuring an anthropomorphic band and detailed animations; when this was scrapped, the developers decided to fill up the remaining space in the ROM by digitizing the two-note "Se-ga!" jingle from the contemporary Japanese commercials and adding it to the vanity plate. They managed to get the sound to a reasonable quality and threw it in there, and every other main-series Genesis Sonic game had the same jingle in it. It was also present in an earlier version of ''Sonic 3D Blast/Flickies' Island'', but was replaced by the US commercials' "SEGA!" scream in the final product.
* ''[[CompilationRerelease Sonic Mega Collection]]'' uses the old plate again as a reference. Likewise, so do trailers for the [[MilestoneCelebration 20th anniversary]] crossover game ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' in regards to its history-spanning nature... but the game itself uses the "*whoosh* Sega." plate that is standard for nearly all Sega games as of the late 2000's. ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'', a love letter to Sega as a whole, uses ''both'' the new and old Sega plates together on start-up (to make things less awkward, they are separated by the Sumo Digital plate and the copyright disclaimer screen).
* ''VideoGame/HellYeahWrathOfTheDeadRabbit'', a gore-filled {{Metroidvania}} game, also uses the old Sega jingle (and in its original 16-bit quality too!).
* ''VideoGame/HatsuneMikuProjectDIVA'' uses the old plate... except that [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Miku]] is the voice here. (Of course, it's a game based on singing synthethizer computer software. You expected Sega to blow off the chance?)
* The ''Manga/KOn'' game ''K-On! Houkago Live'' (developped by the same staff as the Vocaloid games) has Creator/AkiToyosaki doing the old plate as her ''K-On!'' character Yui.

*** The technology to do this by computer didn't exist in 1976; the Torch Burst logo is all backlit cel animation and rostrum camera tricks (specifically the slit-scanned "light ray sparkles" and the zoom up on the torch). The 1982 logo recycles the sparkles and part of the animation.
*** The abstract logo was resurrected in ''{{Superbad}}'', but additional text has been added reading "A Sony Pictures Entertainment Company", and the background becomes yellow instead of black when the Torch Burst appears.

*** A couple other gags were having the chimp say [[GratuitousSpanish "¡Hola! ¡Yo soy Pablo!"]] and having two chimps ("Hi! We're Paul!").

*** And in one of the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' games, the boy felt a tug on his line, and then was suddenly pulled off the moon, screaming. Then there was a faint swallowing sound.
*** ''TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' game for the PS1 had the boy say, "Got something!" during the tug' then forcibly pulled off the moon. Velociraptor screeches and the game's dramatic chord plays.

*** When he died, ''Series/{{Castle}}'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W64Ulmc0cqs paid him tribute]].

*** ''[[CompilationRerelease Sonic Mega Collection]]'' uses the old plate again as a reference. Likewise, so do trailers for the [[MilestoneCelebration 20th anniversary]] crossover game ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' in regards to its history-spanning nature... but the game itself uses the "*whoosh* Sega." plate that is standard for nearly all Sega games as of the late 2000's. ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'', a love letter to Sega as a whole, uses ''both'' the new and old Sega plates together on start-up (to make things less awkward, they are separated by the Sumo Digital plate and the copyright disclaimer screen).
*** ''VideoGame/HellYeahWrathOfTheDeadRabbit'', a gore-filled {{Metroidvania}} game, also uses the old Sega jingle (and in its original 16-bit quality too!).
*** ''VideoGame/HatsuneMikuProjectDIVA'' uses the old plate... except that [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Miku]] is the voice here. (Of course, it's a game based on singing synthethizer computer software. You expected Sega to blow off the chance?)
*** The ''Manga/KOn'' game ''K-On! Houkago Live'' (developped by the same staff as the Vocaloid games) has Creator/AkiToyosaki doing the old plate as her ''K-On!'' character Yui.

*** The ''Manga/KOn'' game ''K-On! Houkago Live'' (developped by the same staff as the Vocaloid games) has AkiToyosaki doing the old plate as her ''K-On!'' character Yui.

* '''TVS:''' Using a rainbow-coloured version of the station logo, the "flower" or "shell" depending on which person from the region you talk to[[hottip:*:it's actually a fleur-de-lys]], which either zoomed sedatedly (on weekdays) or span with more vigour (at weekends) to settle beside the letters "TVS". Changed in 1987 to station logos in chrome-effect CGI.

* '''Creator/WarnerBros''': While it consists of a basic reveal of the logo, the colour of said logo and the style of music used is genre appropriate. ''HarryPotter'' movies have it in brown for example, flying past the camera. If it's not tied in to the movie it's with, it'll usually be accompanied by [[Film/{{Casablanca}} "As Time Goes By"]].

* '''The Bedford Falls Company''': Production company responsible for the late 1980s ABC show ''{{thirtysomething}}'' and mid-'90s TeenDrama ''MySoCalledLife''. Snow falls on a Victorian house as the line "...and dance by the light of the moon..." from the song "Buffalo Gals" is sung. ShoutOut to the movie ''ItsAWonderfulLife''. The film was set in the town of Bedford Falls, NY, and there is a scene where JimmyStewart and Donna Reed sing "Buffalo Girls" before stopping to throw stones through the windows of the abandoned house they would later renovate and live in.

* '''[[MarkSevenLimited Mark VII Limited]]:''' JackWebb's company, made his PoliceProcedural shows such as ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'', ''Series/AdamTwelve'' and ''{{Emergency}}'' (which was actually a Fire Department Procedural). The logo consisted of a pair of hands holding a hammer and chisel; the hammer strikes the chisel producing roman numeral VII, with logo showing '''Mark VII Limited'''. The hands were actually those of Jack Webb himself.

* '''Chuck Lorre Productions''': At the end of ''[[DharmaAndGreg Dharma & Greg]]'', ''TwoAndAHalfMen'', and ''TheBigBangTheory'', Chuck Lorre would put a plate up for two seconds which consisted of a blank background, a heading which read "Chuck Lorre Productions #(no. of vanity plate)" and a big chunk of text, accompanied by a burst of angelic choir. Viewers had to tape the show and pause the plate to read Lorre's latest humorous discussion of his beliefs and observations. At first the plate was white text on black, but it was changed to black text on white because it was easier to read. Eventually Lorre came up with a standard placeholder message (which pretty much described itself as a placeholder message) for the times when he was running low on material. Read some of Lorre's plates [[ChuckLorreVanityPlates here]].

* '''VIZMedia''' has two: One, used throughout the '80's and '90's when it was just a distributor for other companies' shows and anime (see any opening for a ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' VHS), that had a gold, CGI brick swirling against a a starry backdrop with ominous music playing in the background until the brick stopped spinning and broke apart with an almighty crash as the individual plates that made the brick flew across the screen and formed the gold "V". Its modern logo is the words "Viz" colliding with a red block, which causes the red block to spin around, while traditional Japanese woodwinds play in the background until the logo freezes and the word "Media" fades right underneath "VIZ".

* '''[[MarkSevenLimited Mark VII Limited]]:''' JackWebb's company, made his PoliceProcedural shows such as ''Radio/{{Dragnet}}'', ''Series/AdamTwelve'' and ''{{Emergency}}'' (which was actually a Fire Department Procedural). The logo consisted of a pair of hands holding a hammer and chisel; the hammer strikes the chisel producing roman numeral VII, with logo showing '''Mark VII Limited'''. The hands were actually those of Jack Webb himself.

* The 3DO logo with voice at the start of most of they're games were memorable, especially to those playing the earlier ''ArmyMen'' titles.

* '''The Curiosity Company''': The production company, owned by Matt Groening himself, behind ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' as well as the ChristmasSpecial ''Film/OliveTheOtherReindeer''. Its logo displays the name together with the first image (and accompanying sound) of the short film ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3mAFjp9z8g A Study in Wet]]'', made by Groening's late father.

* '''Creator/{{Filmways}}''': Several different signoffs were used. The best-known of these, used between 1961 and 1978, features a horizontally-stretched globe against a starfield, with "A Filmways Television Presentation" paralleling the top and bottom of the globe. A voiceover stating "This has been a Filmways presentation" usually accompanied the logo, spoken by one of the stars of the show that preceded it. The most famous examples came from ''Hillbillies'', spoken by Donna Douglas as Elly May, and ''GreenAcres'' with Eva Gabor saying: "This has been a Filmways presentation, dahling."
** Filmways switched to a haunting bell toll around 1978, with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E03mfXfA6sM Filmways logo]] and several shadow copies appearing from the bottom of the screen. This was most common on early Ruby-Spears cartoons, particularly ''PlasticMan'' and ''ThundarrTheBarbarian''. Another, more obscure vanity plate showed an intense burst of light forming an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AYOVxbs2cU&NR=1 attractive blue logo]].

* '''Filmways Inc.''': Most famous for producing ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'', ''Series/PetticoatJunction'', ''GreenAcres'', ''MrEd'', and ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'', Filmways (now a part of Orion Pictures Corporation) used several different signoffs. The best-known of these was used between 1961 and 1978, and features a horizontally-stretched globe against a starfield, with "A Filmways Television Presentation" paralleling the top and bottom of the globe. A voiceover stating "This has been a Filmways presentation" usually accompanied the logo, spoken by one of the stars of the show that preceded it. The most famous examples came from ''Hillbillies'', spoken by Donna Douglas as Elly May, and ''GreenAcres'' with Eva Gabor saying: "This has been a Filmways presentation, dahling."

Here are some of the better known or more unusual "vanity plates":

* '''Creator/TheBBC''': Old videos from the BBC used to have one of these on them at the start and finish of a program. It featured a 3D blue and gold flat map that turned into a spinning globe and back again. All the while, really creepy music played. Not that BBC Scotland ident was much better. That used to be three bars that roughly produced a shape that looked like Scotland, and each bar would appear to an upward, minor scale, which was also a bit creepy.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dWpc7eoaOo The older BBC Video ident]] [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks was better]].

* '''Creator/CartoonNetwork Studios''': For most shows, a "pencil test" of characters from the preceeding show perform a simple action, in a rectangular box. The top and bottom of the box are the two text lines of the Cartoon Network logo. The sides collapse, sometimes as a result of the characters' actions, and the box closes. For ''TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'' (as well as the PilotMovie for the aborted ''Party Wagon''), the "Studios" portion of the logo is added to the CN logo via a "scanning" effect.

* '''[[Creator/DiCEntertainment DiC]]:''' Producers of children's programming, including the North American dub of ''Manga/SailorMoon''. (DIC is an abbreviation of '''D'''iffusion, '''I'''nformation et '''C'''ommunication.) Their most famous signoff is popularly known as "The Kid in Bed." Used from 1987-2001, this animated logo starts with a kid and his dog sleeping in a bed and then transitions to a starry sky in which a silver three-D [="DiC"=] appears. In some versions, a child's voice then says the name of the company; in others, an ethereal chorus says it. Its earliest versions were reputed to be among the scariest signoffs used on television due to the darkness of the sequence, the sudden appearance of the company logo, and the creepy music; a revision in 1990 reportedly minimized the spookiness.
** The first [=DiC=] logo featured the original logo (as "D.I.C.") without the 'i' dotted; some of the cast would then get this fixed; each version had its custom music. ''The Littles'' would put a button there (with the tail end of the show's theme -- "[[EarWorm You can't stop a little 'cause the Littles don't stop!]]"); ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' would skate by, then have his mallet malfunction and smash a dot in (with appropriate property damage around the impact; customized music similar to the theme was heard with a "boing" effect when the hammer hit).
** This was followed by the "vortex" logo (with "dic" coming out towards the audience) and was used from 1984-1986.
** The acronym of the company was pronounced as in French; i.e., "deek". Sure to get a "hunh?" from monolingual English-speakers, it also would add to the spookiness. It was also a shout out to [=DiC=] co-founder Andy Heyward's father, Louis "Deke" Heyward, who himself worked in the television business as vice president in charge of development for [[JackBarry Barry & Enright]] Productions.
** And don't EVER bring up "The Incredible World of [=DiC=]" around a closing logo fan.

** ''Film/HowToTrainYourDragon'' had a more elaborate fishline-swinging (to exploit the 3D), the moon set against a celestial sky, and a Night Fury flying around in the background. This variant, with the Night Fury axed, became the standard logo for Dreamworks Animation henceforth.

* '''Creator/{{Klasky-Csupo}}:''' Animation studio best known for ''{{Rugrats}}'', actually had three plates. One in use from 1991-1998, which had various objects forming the letters in "KLASKY" and scribbles writing in "CSUPO". It was retired as of ''[[TheMovie The Rugrats Movie]]'' in favor of one considered scarier: it starts with purple static being overtaken by black ink, followed by a hand dropping magazine-clipping-looking facial features onto it. The mouth says (in a robotic voice) "Class-key-chew-poe" (the company name's proper pronunciation) while pieces of the company's logo come out of it. They arrange themselves to form the logo, and the logo is all that remains after the face disappears. Another one made its only appearance on ''Rugrats Go Wild'': a city skyline with a green sky has a rooster who wakes up, screaming "WAKE... UP!!!", before the Sun gets brighter and brings forth the Klasky-Csupo logo (it looks different than it does in the other logos; it's an off-kilter print version which dates to at least 1999).

Special versions were seen several times on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', listed on LogoJoke (again), and most of which are on Website/YouTube.

* '''Creator/{{Paramount}} Television:''' This company started out from the shadows of Desilu Productions, which had a reasonably pleasant vanity plate featuring several colored circles coming together to combine the studio logo. However, that all changed when Gulf & Western purchased Desilu in 1967 and turned it into a television branch of its film studio Paramount. The old Desilu logo was abandoned shortly thereafter and replaced with a simplified blue and white version of the classic Paramount "Majestic Mountain" signature. That placeholder lasted a good 9 months before being replaced with a segmented blue and white rectangle wrapped inside a yellow border. The camera then zooms toward the right side of the rectangle, which contains the simplified Paramount logo. In 1969, there was a slight tweak in the logo. The border became scarlet red and the logo frame blue over white. This variation was accompanied by a brief Dominic Frontiere theme known to some fans as "Closet Killer" (because of it sounding as if someone is leaping out of a closet to [[WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens do something violent]]). Although not as publicized as the Screen Gems or Viacom logos, some individuals consider the Paramount logo to be among the most frightening of vanity plates due to its fast movement, stark colors, and a chilling orchestral accompaniment. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrvQ0FN0pZY here]]. The version of the logo used in the 1970s and 1980s was only slightly less scary.

* '''Creator/{{PBS}}''': The network had several memorable plates for the end of their programs from way back when it was known as NET. The bumpers started out with what some viewers considered "S from Hell" scary, and have progressively gotten less scary over time (again, YMMV). Judge for yourself [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBdDUHelvqE with this montage]] of bumpers.

* '''[[RankinBassProductions Rankin/Bass Productions]]''': Creators of numerous well-remembered animated [[ChristmasSpecial Christmas specials]] in the '60s and '70s (''RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'' being the first and arguably most popular of these.) Their classic '60s-'70s logo has an upright rectangle and two circles popping up to form a stylized overlapping "R" and "B" over a white background, accompanied by the words "A Rankin Bass Production", as a brief musical theme with bongos, piano and flute swells to a crescendo and {{sting}}.
* '''Renaissance Pictures''': Creator/SamRaimi's company, and masters of the NinetiesAdventureShow. It's short lived first logo, appearing only on ''M.A.N.T.I.S.'', consisted of the company's name hovering over Earth, as the sun rises behind it and makes a "whoosh" sound. It was dispensed of by the end of 1994 for a more infamous one. At the end of ''HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', ''XenaWarriorPrincess'', ''Cleopatra 2525'', ''Series/JackOfAllTrades'' and ''LegendOfTheSeeker'', viewers are treated to a sequence of a Mona Lisa-like portrait being ripped in half by an unseen force and thrusted toward the viewer, accompanied by lightning bolts and [[OminousLatinChanting eerie chanting]]. After that, a lightning bolt causes the company's name (fashioned differently from before) to appear. Oddly, despite the logo's scary/bizarre subject matter, it was retained on {{Fox}}'s kiddie version of Herc's show, ''Young Hercules''. A shortened version exists on the short-lived ''AmericanGothic'', which excises the Mona Lisa sequence.

[[quoteright:65:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt/screengems.jpg]]
* '''Screen Gems''': Had several plates, the best known being "The S From Hell". Also known as the "Filmstrip S", this logo was first used in 1965 and lasted 9 seasons on television. Two lengths of film, one in the foreground moving back and one in the background moving forward, meet in the middle of the screen and wrap around a circular area in which a dot appears, forming a stylized "S" as the text "SCREEN GEMS" appears and expands. A short musical motif consisting of six ascending notes followed by two upward arpeggios (changed in 1970 to three notes and two arpeggios) accompanied it. For some reason the combination of the simple animation and the strange music were considered frightening by many viewers, particularly children, some of whom have reported nightmares inspired by it. Some websites accord it the scariest production logo ever made; you can see it in its arguably scary glory [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6j8EhsJrIA on YouTube]]. In later years, the logo used the byline "A Division of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc." The "S from Hell" was retired in 1974 when Screen Gems was renamed "Columbia Pictures Television", although CPT continued to use the same music behind a new logo for several years. The "S" logo was revived in 1999 as the "S from Heaven", which can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_aiRTtPSRg here]].
** The S from Hell is so infamous, it has spawned ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM2AxGYn8jU a mocumentary-horror style film entry for the Sundance Film Festival.]]'' Yeah, [[LampshadeHanging they went there.]]
* '''Sony Pictures Television''': Successor to Columbia-[=TriStar=] Television, which was infamous for its ubiquitous "Boxes of Boredom" logo. Sony Pictures Television's logo first appeared in 2002, and is nicknamed the "Bars of Boredom" (it has achieved the same ubiquity the Boxes had, mainly by replacing logos on older shows, which the Boxes did as well). The omnipresence of the Boxes and Bars of Boredom as well as Sony's plastering have made them TheScrappy of logo fans. The logo consists of "SONY PICTURES TELEVISION" zoomed up to the screen in front of a very bright light. The words zoom out as the light condenses itself into a symbol featuring twelve bars with the light in them. The more common short version doesn't start with the extreme close-up on the company's name, and the music is a majestic, triumphant five-note fanfare. The longer version prefaces it with a "fluttering" sound, played by a piano.

--> '''''Stephen J. Cannell. Colleague. Mentor. Friend. We'll miss you,pal.'''''

* '''Creator/{{Universal}}''': Has has several vanity plates, all of them a variation on a globe with the word "UNIVERSAL" or the phrase "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" in front of it. The most famous was the "Zooming Globe", used from 1963-1990, which headed many of Universal's blockbusters; it basically had the camera zooming up on Earth with spotlight "rings" forming around the globe, as the company name (spelled out in huge Futura letters) faded in. Universal inherited its television division from its longtime parent '''MCA''', which started '''Revue Studios''' in 1951 as a TV production arm; after MCA bought Universal in 1962, Revue became Universal Television and started using the Zooming Globe itself, something that didn't change until the TV version of the 75th Anniversary logo premiered in 1991. It later used the first few notes of the 1997 Universal fanfare over the newest version of the logo; this was later retired when NBC merged with Universal in favour of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVKuWcCHpQ NBC Universal Television Studio]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfZyPgbvMP8 Universal Media Studios]] and now [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2fOoeP4bkE Universal Television]].

** Its successor, nicknamed "The V of Doom", was used between 1976 to 1986. It can occasionally still be seen at the end of old prints of CBS programs, although for the most part it has been supplanted by the 1995 Paramount Television logo. It began with the phrase "A Viacom Presentation" zooming in from the center of the screen, followed by a large purple V which fills most of the screen. Accompanying this is a five-note motif played by synthesized horns with a building timpani crescendo. As with the Screen Gems "S from Hell" logo, some viewers actually found the whole sequence frightening. (As seen in dubious glory [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10LDTLjEPDM on YouTube]].) The fright might be related to the fact that for years, this was seen following shows like ''TheTwilightZone'' and ''Series/TalesFromTheDarkSide''.

** Parodied with [[http://www.youtube.com/user/AllieRX87 AllieRX87's]] closing logo (aka the "A of Doom")

* '''Vin Di Bona Productions''': Best known for ''America's Funniest Home Videos.'' The plate, which endured many updates over 21 years of use, consists of the "Vin Di Bona" script spinning around and unfolding. "PRODUCTIONS" will appear afterwards, though in recent years PRODUCTIONS has unfolded along with the rest of the name. This fall, the logo was dramatically revised, with the background turned red and the script redone. The music has always been a bizarre, creepy synth ditty attempting to sound cheerful, though the new revision saw it [[LighterAndSofter greatly toned down]].

* '''[[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney Pictures]]''': Disney didn't really have a consistent one until 1985, when an animated, 2D, segmented (like many other logos of the era) Disney/SleepingBeauty Castle made its debut in front of ''Disney/TheBlackCauldron''. It was revised in 1990, when the purple gradient inside the castle was removed. This may be the only example of a theatrical film company to use a stylized logo that stuck, in part because they had no iconic logo ''until'' then. This logo was finally retired in 2006, when an elaborate computer animated sequence that switched out the Sleeping Beauty Castle for the Disney/{{Cinderella}} Castle debuted in front of ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (this version was done by visual effects company [[{{WETA}} WETA Digital]]). Creator/{{Pixar}} movies prior to ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'' use a (different) CGI variation of the castle. (Coincidentally, all three of these films are darker than your usual Disney flick, albeit for completely different reasons.)

** Walt Disney Animation Studios now has its own logo, perhaps [[ViewersAreMorons to differentiate from Pixar films]], featuring the opening clip from ''SteamboatWillie'', with Mickey whistling the tune and steering the boat, going from initial sketch to finished animation as it plays out.

** In the '70s and early '80s the Warner Brothers logo [[DorkAge went from the "WB" shield]] to a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfuOw9QE2lY stylized "W"]]. It reverted back to the "WB" shield in 1984.

* '''WGBH''': WGBH is a PBS affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts. They are the most prolific producer of PBS shows seen nationwide. They are arguably best known for their two logos, the second of which has not been replaced since 1978. They both use the same "music," a terrifying synthfest. Watch at your own risk. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCPqY8bHX0 The 1972-78 logo]]. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjgmWrh1PjE The 1978-present logo]]. At least they're GenreSavvy enough to not play the synthfest when the logo is displayed on certain programming like those for young children. I.e. in WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}, when the closing theme runs into the VanityPlate.

* '''Williams Street''': Producer of much of Creator/AdultSwim's original lineup. Their plate is a blurry picture of the Williams Street studio, with a low tympani roll and a few ominous gongs. (The audio is actually ripped off of Mark VII Limited's plate from the 1960s above.) In recent years, the plate is followed by a split-second (sometimes longer) flash of a skull and crossbones image (with the Creator/CartoonNetwork logo for its teeth) on a white background, with a voice speaking or shouting, "Skull!"

** Originally, the plate was for "Ghost Planet Industries", way back when ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' and its spin-off, ''Cartoon Planet'', were their only shows in production.

Until 1 January 1988, the UK's various {{ITV}} companies put vanity plates in front of their shows. These are referred to as "front caps", representing the companies that also broadcast the ITV network, and usually doubled as station [=ID's=] locally.

* '''Border:''' For most of the "front cap" era, a still silent logo with two lines joining together as one inside the shape of a TV, an abstract representation of the broadcast region. Known in fan circles as "the chopsticks in a bowl".
* '''Central:''' Started off as in 1982 as a sphere which split open with a ray of light to resolve as a white ball with the left part shadowed in a crescent shape. Replaced with a different [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV1ooMptQWc "sphere"]] in 1983 with the crescent part of the sphere in the colours of the rainbow. The well-loved [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODtBOTkaEDs "Cake"]], with segments cut into the sphere, first appeared in promos and idents in the region in 1985, before replacing the sphere as an short-lived animated endcap, in proper VanityPlate fashion in 1988.
* '''Channel:''' Started off as six hexagons appearing one by one on screen, one of with the icon of a lion. Then began the letters "CTV" made up of stripes, zooming in from centre.
* '''Grampian:''' Began as a hilly scene reforming into the station's St Andrew's flag logo. Then became a sub-ATV morphing of components of the station logo when the station began colour broadcasts. Later became one of the first CGI frontcaps in the ITV network, with balls and diamonds tumbling around the screen before the station logo resolved.
* '''{{Granada}}:''' Famously silent throughout the "front cap" era, the first logo featured a sometimes-animated northwards pointing arrow with the slogan "From the North" above the station name. After a brief flirtation with using just the word "Granada" underlined in the late 1960s, the station introduced its classic logo on the cusp of switching to colour in 1969 - the yellow G with a north-pointing arrow.
* '''HTV:''' The first [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ndnGlJzlA infamous]] logo used monochrome cross-hatching effects to form the word "Harlech" which reportedly caused eyestrain among viewers. Thankfully, the station's decision to abbreviate the name to HTV to appease non-Welsh viewers led to a less seizure-ific "front cap", where two white diagonal lines wiped on screen and morphed to form the new station logo, dubbed "the aerial" by front cap fans. Became a CGI-fest of tumbling logo components falling into place forming the logo in 1987.
* '''LWT:''' Beginning as the words "From London Weekend" zooming into view with a late-'60s Moog jingle, it soon evolved into the "From London Weekend" encased in a spinning circle, dubbed "the pound coin" by later generations. 1971 saw the launch of "the river", where a line made up of blue, white and orange/red stripes formed the joined-up letters "LW" on a black background; [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3D26JrZOr8 amended]] in 1978 for the letters to read "LWT" with the station name extended to "London Weekend Television". The station front-cap gave into the CGI era in 1986, as the stripes making up the "LWT" letters did a "folding out" effect to form the station logo. A very impressive (for its time) CGI ident was introduced in 1996, which showed three squares (one red, one white, one blue) break into a flurry of cubes, which flew down to a white smoke and formed the LWT logo (which has been amended so that the "L" is red, the "W" is white and the "T" is blue). Their final ident was introduced in 2000 (as a backlash against network-mandated idents introduced the previous year), which zoomed over and up to a video wall with the "LWT" on it, along with ITV's "hearts" idents of the era surrounding it. Much of this wall was originally tinted red, and the music was a techno theme with conspicuous beeps. In 2001, the ident was revised so that the red tint gave way to blue, and the music was revised so that the beeps were less audible.

* '''Scottish:''' Early "frontcaps" featured the lion rampant - a tumbling effect was used for a while which was amended to a zooming effect due to complaints. Colour saw the logo become the stylised letters "STV". 1985 saw the station update its logo to a thistle (nicknamed "Bertie Bassett" due to its resemblance to the mascot of a confectionery company) made up of grey blocks, a blue ball and a purple "top".
* '''Thames:''' Nearly the same "front cap" used from the station's beginning in 1968 until the end of the "front cap" era - a shot of London landmarks appearing from the middle of the screen with the word "THAMES" appearing on the front, all on a blue sky with light clouds backdrop. For well-remembered humorous takes on the logo, see LogoJoke.
* '''TSW:''' One of the quirkiest "front caps" when first seen in 1982, the full sequence saw a TV with a fuzzy signal with sprouting shoot become encased in a blue smily ball, which mutated into a set of six slimy balls, which were actually green hills from another angle, which settled into place as a blue bar and the TSW letters folded out on screen. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6or_YWrh8bU Best to look at it for yourself to see what we're talking about]]. Replaced by a much more boring CGI "front cap" in 1985.
* '''TVS:''' Using a rainbow-coloured version of the station logo, the "flower" or "shell" depending on which person from the region you talk to, which either zoomed sedatedly (on weekdays) or span with more vigour (at weekends) to settle beside the letters "TVS". Changed in 1987 to station logos in chrome-effect CGI.

* '''Ulster:''' Started out as a TheTwilightZone style mix of dots and lines accompanied by a refrain from "The Mountains of Mourne", a piece of traditional music. Come TheTroubles, the modified logo with the oscilloscope pattern on the inside of a TV screen shape was usually transmitted still and in silence. Then in 1980, along came "the lollipop" or "the telly on a stick" - a statue with the station logo made from melted silver retrieved from volatile film stock which revolved to the sound of a plinky-plonk early 1980s synth tune.

On PBS shows until 1993, the logo of the production company (which was often a local PBS station) was also shown at the beginning instead of the end of the show.

* Creator/{{Konami}} had a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjFXiyB6Cgs pretty memorable one complete with iconic "jingle"]] featured in the attract loop of all their arcade and 16-bit releases before they [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks adopted the boring white-on-red banner logo]] they use today.
* Creator/{{Capcom}}'s SNES-era plate had its logo fade in with an odd synth fade-in, then at the end the logo would flash to a single guitar chord. (This was mimicked in ''VideoGame/MegaMan6'', Capcom's last NES game).

See also: NightmareFuel.VanityPlates

* '''Renaissance Pictures''': SamRaimi's company, and masters of the NinetiesAdventureShow. It's short lived first logo, appearing only on ''M.A.N.T.I.S.'', consisted of the company's name hovering over Earth, as the sun rises behind it and makes a "whoosh" sound. It was dispensed of by the end of 1994 for a more infamous one. At the end of ''HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', ''XenaWarriorPrincess'', ''Cleopatra 2525'', ''Series/JackOfAllTrades'' and ''LegendOfTheSeeker'', viewers are treated to a sequence of a Mona Lisa-like portrait being ripped in half by an unseen force and thrusted toward the viewer, accompanied by lightning bolts and [[OminousLatinChanting eerie chanting]]. After that, a lightning bolt causes the company's name (fashioned differently from before) to appear. Oddly, despite the logo's scary/bizarre subject matter, it was retained on {{Fox}}'s kiddie version of Herc's show, ''Young Hercules''. A shortened version exists on the short-lived ''AmericanGothic'', which excises the Mona Lisa sequence.

** The old version was animated for the show 3-2-1, with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVXanknoyLM with the chevron logo bringing an old dustbin to life(!)]]

*** As for post-SegaDreamcast variations, the {{Vocaloid}} LicensedGame ''Hatsune Miku: Project Diva'' uses the old plate... except that Miku is the voice here. (Of course, it's a game based on singing synthethizer computer software. You expected Sega to blow off the chance?) Likewise, the ''Manga/KOn'' game ''K-On! Houkago Live'' (developped by the same staff as the Vocaloid games) has AkiToyosaki doing the old plate as her ''K-On!'' character Yui.