VIDgital (Russia)

Background: "Взгляд и Другие" (translation: Glance and Others) was founded in 1990 by co-founders of "Взгляд" TV program Vlad Listyev, Alexander Lyubimov, Andrey Razbash, and others. Listyev wanted to use a strange symbol as a logo of VID company and his wife offered to try the death mask of Taoist Philosopher Guo Xiang with a three-footed toad on its head being exposed in the Museum of Eastern Culture. But the museum forbade using it as a logo and it was changed using CGI. In 1995 Listyev became head of the first channel but on March 1, 1995, he was found dead in an apartment, when he was killed due to commercial problems.

1st Logo (1990-2002)

Nicknames: "The Scary Mask", "The Russian Mask", "The Mask of Doom", "The Stone Mask", "The Angry Mask", "VID Mask", "Soviet Scary Face", "SSM (Super Scary Mask)", "The SSF from Russia", "BИD Mask", "In Soviet Russia, Mask Wears You!"

Logo: On an off-white background, we see a thick black line wipe onto the screen from the left side, going right. It begins vibrating as it continues moving, and then a white ball comes from off-screen left and begins bouncing along it at a fast pace. It then falls off as the line stops moving. Then we cut to a large close-up of the ball as it zooms away from us and disappears. The black outline of a circle zooms in, immediately followed by a entirely black circle that fills the screen, creating a black background, and then a creepy-looking stone mask with a mean-looking expression on its face fades in. Then "ВИD" fades in and shines underneath in large bronze letters, which is Russian for "VID". It kind of looks like "BND".

Variants: There is a variant of the full logo with the mask disappearing and gray text saying "представляет" appearing afterwards. The sub-variant of this variant, found on the very first episode of Поле Чудес aired in October 25, 1990, exists, in which the logo quickly accelerates along with sounds at the point where the ball will about to fall into the background and quickly decelerates back to the normal speed when the logo fades out, possibly due to the editing/compression error. An abridged variant was also used at the end of some programs, in which the the ball-and-stick segment was cut and the logo started with at the zooming circles. Only the five-note fanfare is used here. There is another abridged variant that was used on Темы in 1992 where the ending theme plays and the last note of the fanfare then plays when the mask appears. A "presentation" variant was used sometimes before the beginning of a special program. The variant consisted only of the mask and the company name fading in and the company name shining. Instead of the standard music, Andrey Razbash says "телекомпания ВИD представляет..." ("VID Production presents..."). In 1999, this replaced the standard version due to concerns of epilepsy. There's an extended version before Wait for Me! in July 17, 1998, where it has only the mask for 8 seconds, and the animation continues normally. A silent version of the presentation variant has white text saying "представляет" under the mask, with or without the "ВИD" above it. Another version of the presentation variant has the 5-note fanfare, which soon gets cut off by Razbash saying "представляет" when the "ВИD" appears. There is another variant in which the mask is formed from the smoke of a lit match. This variant was supposedly only seen on Угадай и Компания, the Russian version of Name That Tune, and is possibly a myth. In 1999-2001, a special Christmas variant was used that featured the mask fading in and slowly zooming in. As it zooms, it slowly grows a beard and Santa hat complete with a happy grin. Below the mask, it reads "C новым годом!" in the slab-serif font, and "год" in the word "годом" changes to "ВИD" in the corporate font. The music is a menacing chord fading from the closing theme. From 1998 to 2000, another Christmas-themed variant of the presentation variant was also used, with snow falling around the mask and company name. In 1993-1997 before L-club, the VID mask would morph into the face of Leonid Yarmolnik and open its eyes, jiggling his eyebrows in the process. At the end of a 1994 L-club episode on April Fools Day (this was reportedly done as a joke); the face on the VID mask faded into a different face with eerie eyes and a tongue sticking out (as if to mock the viewer). This variant sometimes appeared at the end of other L-club episodes as well. A spoof of the logo was seen on Оба-на! beginning with a man from the show superimposed over the ball/line animation, panicking and freaking out over it, and then sliding down as the ball falls off the line. It then proceeds normally, until a few seconds after the mask is seen, it then fades into a gray-scale version of the face of Russian writer/comedian Igor Ugolnikov, whom says in an electronically-distorted voice in Russian, "VID, VID. Nothing is viewed from your view!" and then smiles as we hear an opening theme. Before Otdyhay! in 1992-1994, the standard variant plays out as normal, but the "ВИD" wordmark fades in with the mask (which is in the posterized monochrome tone used for the 4th logo, but colored gold) and the mask says in a high-pitched voice "Hey! Relax, though!" before smiling. Everything, except for ball-and-stick segment, is animated with computer graphics.

FX/SFX: The line forming, the ball bouncing, the circle zooming and background color change, and the mask and "ВИD" fading in and shining.

Cheesy Factor: The animation of the ball bouncing and the line isn't very detailed, looking like it was made in the 1950s.

Music/Sounds: Starts out with an industrial whirring/jackhammer/film projector-like stock sound effect during the ball and line animation, and then when the black circle zooms in, a loud, dramatic 5-note fanfare, composed by Vladimir Ratskevich, is heard, ending with some ominous synth whirring as the text appears and shines.

Availability: Rare. It's seen before VID-produced programs in Russia such as Поле Чудес (Field of Wonders) and Ищу тебя!/Жди Меня (Looking for You!/Wait for Me).

Scare Factor: Depends on the variant: Nightmare for the original variant and the abridged variant. The loud scary music, zooming circles, and evil-looking mask have scared many people, mostly those in Russia, but it's become some sort of an Internet meme for its scariness. Unarguably one of the most frightening logos ever made. Medium for the Christmas variant. The menacing chord along with the sudden appearance of the mask may scare some, but it is far less intimidating than the normal one. Low to medium for the presentation variants. The mask is still quite creepy, and the male announcer may startle those who weren't expecting it, but these is much less frightening than the original variant. High to nightmare for the standard L-club variant, since the mask morphing into Yarmolnik's face and the opening of its eyes can scare quite a few, and we still have that dramatic fanfare, but it's (somewhat) less intimidating than the normal one. Nightmare for the April Fools Day L-club variant due to the mask suddenly changing into an eerie, mocking face; as well as the dramatic fanfare and and "zooming circles" animation retained from the abridged variant. This variant is infamous for scaring many unsuspecting viewers when it first aired as an April Fools joke, as well as the fact that the variant sometimes appeared on other L-club episodes afterwards, catching (and scaring) viewers by surprise as a result. Medium to nightmare for the Оба-на! variant. With the mask fading into Ugolnikov's face, it will definitely scare some. But others might find it funny. High to nightmare for the Otdyhay! variant. The fact that the mask is talking (not to mention what it is saying completely contradicts the scary mask) and smiles in a creepy way is bound to scare many. High for the Поле Чудес Episode 1 variant. The sudden fast speed of this logo can get to some, but it's funny.

2nd Logo (1992-1993)

Nickname: "The Shawl"

Logo: We see a black room with projectors and an off-white shawl with Jin Chan part exposed. A man comes to the shawl, greets everyone, saying "Я снимаю!" ("I'll take it off!"), and starts to take the shawl off. The VID mask is under it. When the shawl is removed, the man goes off screen and the removed shawl turns into the word "ВИD". The projectors disappear and the name zooms in further.

Variant: There's an extended variant, where it starts with the white background fading in, then it crossfades to the off-white fabric background, and we zoom out to reveal that the background is actually a part of the shawl and the animation continues normally.

FX/SFX: Only the background turning black and "ВИD" zooming. Almost everything was live-action and flashing spotlights are done with computer graphics.

Cheesy Factor: Looks like the mask was added using chroma key technology and it is seen because the plate is swinging, and the finished product is too big and off-center.

Music/Sounds: Crowd noises throughout, the man talking, ripping noises when the man takes the shawl off, and a 3-note fanfare near the end.

Availability: Probably extinct, unless there's retro networks in Russia. The only known date the logo was shown is January 25, 1993.

Scare Factor: Medium, because of the appearance of the mask. However, the music is much tamer, and there are no zooming effects.

3rd Logo (1993)

Nicknames: "Claymation Mask", "The Mask of Plasticine"

Logo: On a black background, with the video of the moving, tinfoil-like plasticine background surrounded by the shining orange outline, the words "Вы смотрите" (meaning "You Are Watching") in orange writes on the top inside the rectangle, while the gray claymated mask and "ВИD" below, forming from the background. Then the background stops moving and we zoom on the mask and the text, and everything flashes with colorful lights, making the picture more brighter and colorful, making the mask beige, then the plasticine background and the wordmark irises out until it reaches the mask, revealing the black background with the same wordmark as the 1st logo, and the claymated mask becomes gray and posterized, and we finally zoom on the rectangle, while the mask becomes normal. The finished product is the last frame of the 1st logo, but with "Вы смотрите" above the mask.

FX/SFX: The background, the formation of the words, the formation of the mask.

Cheesy Factor: The stop-motion animation is fine, but the clay mask becoming the normal mask is really bad.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced techno beat accompanied by scribbling sounds when the mask forms from the plasticine background, ending with the reversed cymbal crash and the brass hit.

Availability: Ultra rare to extinct.

Scare Factor: Medium. The chaotic background, mask as usual, and sudden end to the music will get a few, but it's less scary that other ones at the time, especially the next logo...

4th Logo (1994-1995)

Nicknames: "The Countdown", "The Monochrome Mask", "Saint Petersburg's Mask", "The Other Russian Mask of Doom"

Logo: On the black background, the number in the Times font, counting down from 3 to 0, then the number "0" morphs into the posterized monochrome mask, and finally "ВИD СПб" ("VID Saint Petersburg") fades in below.

Trivia: The monochrome mask appears on the corner of VID's website.

FX/SFX: The numbers appearing, the zero forming into the mask, the text appearing.

Music/Sounds: The low sonic tone with the wind blowing in the background, quiet pings in timing the number counting down, followed by the rearranged version of the 1st logo fanfare.

Availability: Seen before two concerts: ВИD-АнтиСПИD (VID Anti-AIDS) in 1994, and Центр циклона (The Center of the Cyclone) in 1995.

Scare Factor: High to nightmare, the sounds, rearranged theme, darkness, and the monochrome mask is really scary, maybe even more scary than the original.

5th Logo (1996-2000)

Nickname: "The Wonder Screen"

Logo: On the dark cloudy sky with the Spasskaya Tower on the right, several small searchlights scanning the sky, three projectors project the sky with the spinning circles divided into six pieces, and some gray zeppelins passing by, we see a huge TV-set with a large screen and the stage lighting truss with 9 spotlights hanging from it, where frames from VID programs: Один на Один, МузОБОЗ, Час-Пик, Взгляд, Поле Чудес, Тема, and Угадай Мелодию, are flashing, and the camera is moving. When the screen displays the VID mask, the screen "wipes" to the gray gradient background with the silver wordmark. Everything fades to black, and the word "ПРЕДСТАВЛЯЕТ" appears.

FX/SFX: The background details moving, the screen of TV-set switching. Decent CGI.

Music/Sounds: 30s style patriotic music, similar to "The Sing Helps Us to Build and to Live" from the Soviet film Vesyolye Rebyata.

Availability: Ultra rare.

Scare Factor: None to minimal. The VID mask showing up briefly can be jarring to first time viewers, but it's better than the previous logos.

6th Logo (2002- )

Nicknames: "Modern Mask Of Doom", "The Tame Mask"

Logo: Against the black background, a gold line stretches outwards horizontally in the center of the screen, resembling a CRT television powering up. The line opens up and glows, containing the word "телекомпания" in a black font (this word is also seen scrolling in faint large letters within the bar); this then shrinks into a dot, from which arises a thin black ring, containing within it the infamous stone mask. The mask stops in the center of the screen, much smaller than before, and the ring fades to the glowing ring. The word "ВИD" appears in gold Times New Roman font, some lines close in around the mask, and a faint gold line appears at the bottom-right; the word "представляет" is laid there upon in black Courier New font. All of this happens in a span of about five seconds.

FX/SFX: Modern graphics & effects.

Cheesy Factor: It looks like the mask from the previous logos was just plastered on a yellow line.

Music/Sounds: Same as the presentation variant of the first logo, except an echo effect can be heard on the announcer's voice.

Availability: Currently in use in Russia.

Scare Factor: Low to medium. The stone mask is still an unsettling sight, and the announcer's echo may spook some other ones, but this is mercifully toned down from the first and fourth logos.

7th Logo (March 7, 2013- )

Nicknames: "3D Mask Of Doom", "The New Mask"

Logo: Same concept as before, but modified a bit. Against the cerulean gradient background, a gold line stretches outwards horizontally in the center of the screen, resembling a CRT television powering up. The line opens up and glows, the word "телекомпания" is scrolling in faint large letters within the bar; on the center of the screen, the new brown 3D version of the mask appears out of thin air instantly and zooms in and a thin black ring pulsates like a ripple. The mask stops in the center of the screen, as in the previous logo, and the circle reaches an optical gold circle. The word "ВИD" appears in the same typeface used in the first logo, some lines close in around the mask, words "телекомпания" and "представляет" appear over and under the mask respectively. Some light illuminates the mask from the right.

FX/SFX: Modern 3D graphics and effects, the 3D mask.

Cheesy Factor: The mask, while looking more like the original mask, looks uglier than the last logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the last logo, though both words are "spaced out further" while being said.

Availability: First appeared on March 7, 2013, now used in tandem along with the previous logo.

Scare Factor: Medium. Still, the mask is very unsettling and the announcer is still pretty startling, but is still tamer than the 1st and 4th logo.