Scott Free Productions

Background : Scott Free Productions was founded in 1980 in the UK by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott as Percy Main Productions. They renamd to its current name in the 1990s.

1st Logo (1996-1999?)

Nickname : "Scott Text"

Logo : On a black background, we see the text "SCOTT FREE", with the lower part of the letter "R" stretched a little longer and the whole text underlined.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : None or the ending theme of the TV show.

Availability : Rare. It was seen on White Squall and The Hunger. Current prints of the former plaster it with the next logo.

Scare Factor : None.

2nd Logo (September 25, 1998-)

Nicknames : "The Bird", "Man Into Bird"

Logo : On a black background, we see a man clad in monk-style clothing walking as a white light illuminates him. He lights up a match, and a burst of light appears next to him. We then cut to another shot of the man, as he runs away against a yellow spotlight. His arms transform into wings, and he turns into a bird that flies across a multicolored background. The text "SCOTT FREE", in the same font as before, slide in underneath the bird before transforming into a weird font. The bird becomes a blue silhouette version, and the logo becomes still on a black background.

Trivia : This animation was made by Italian animator Gianluigi Toccafondo. He also did the logo for Italian film distributor Fandango and the end credits animation for the Scott Free film Robin Hood.

Variants :


 * On TV shows, the logo is cut to the last few seconds.
 * Some films starting with A Good Year in 2006 have the words "SCOTT FREE" eliminated, although others like Deja Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable (and it's trailer) had the normal version of this logo.
 * An in-credit version exists on The Pillars of the Earth.

FX/SFX : The animation, which appears to be done in oil paints or pastels. All of the animation is beautiful, but...

Cheesy Factor : ...the logo is somewhat incomprehensible, which is par for the course for Gianluigi Toccafondo's works.

Music/Sounds : The logo begins with dark whooshing sounds and deep drums, as well as a match-striking sound. A Native American-sounding wind instrument piece is then heard as the man turns into a bird. Otherwise, it's the opening theme of the movie, or, in the case of Black Hawk Down, none.

Availability : Common. It was first seen on Clay Pigeons and appears on all films from the company since then, such as Where the Money Is, Man on Fire, In Her Shoes, Domino, American Gangster, Body of Lies and Prometheus. However, it surprisingly did not appear on the movies The Fan, G.I. Jane, Enemy at the State, Gladiator, Hannibal, and The A-Team. The short version can be seen on The Company, The Good Wife and Numb3rs. The print logo for the company is a regular bird with "SCOTT FREE" in the same font as the last logo.

Scare Factor : Medium. The strange animation and sounds, and the wistful wind music might spook some, but this is one of the best animations ever used in a logo.