Som Livre Video (Brazil)

Background: Som Livre Vídeo is the home entertainment distribution arm of Som Livre, one of Brazil's largest record companies with many important artists. It belongs to the local media corporation Grupo Globo, founded after and owner of Rede Globo, of which many of the soundtracks on their shows belong to artists who were/are signed to Som Livre. It distributes content exclusively in Brazil.

1st logo

(199?-2000)

Nickname: "Colorful S"

Logo: On a black background, we see three glowing arches (one green, one blue, one red) rotating around and overlapping. In the meanwhile the green arch and the blue one stick to each other, then the red arch joins and the arches stop glowing. At the same time the Som Livre logo appears, with a shadow text reading "SOM LIVRE Vídeo" zooming out. The S logo rotates and then settles, with the shadow text disappearing while a solid "SOM LIVRE Vídeo" text fades in above it. The logo shines afterwards.

FX\SFX: Rotating and overlapping arches that glow, shadow effects, fading, shining. All typical CGI effects...

Cheesy Factor: ...which look pretty cheap and outdated for the time it was used.

Music/Sounds: A weird futuristic synth tune, alongside whoosh sounds.

Availability: Seen on tapes and possibly also some DVDs from the period.

Scare Factor: Medium to high, as the slyly creepy music will not sit well with many.

2nd logo

(2000-2006)

Nickname: "Flashy Orb"

Logo: On a black background, a glowing ball appears suddenly in the center, moving towards the left. A flash occurs after the ball goes out of view. The glowing ball then reappears and then flashes, forming a glowing Som Livre logo which zooms in towards the viewer. The flash then dims out.

FX\SFX: The glowing ball and the flashes. Again, computer animation.

Cheesy Factor: The entire logo looks very cheap, outdated and simple, as if it was made in Adobe Flash. The first flash looks also unnecessary.

Music/Sounds: Weird synth sounds and tunes similar to those of the previous logo.

Availability: Somewhat more common than the previous logo. Seen on DVDs released during the period.

Scare Factor: Low to medium due to the weird synth sounds, but this logo is more cheesy than scary.

3rd logo

(2006-2009)

Nickname: "Blue Circles", "Saturn Rings"

Logo: On a white background, we see several shiny blue circles popping out alongside two trails in the same color that move in the opposite direction. Then the same process is repeated on a blue background with white circles and blue trails, then again on a white background with blue circles and trails. Then we see the trails joining and forming the Som Livre S logo, with another circle (which is part of the logo) popping out behind the trails. The text "SOM LIVRE" zooms out and then the white background becomes a rotating blue-white gradient background.

FX\SFX: The trail, the circles, the shining effects. Much better CGI effects than before.

Music/Sounds: The same synth sounds from the previous logo, alongside the sound of wind blowing.

Availability: Can be seen on DVDs from the period.

Scare Factor: None to low due to the sounds again, but this logo is an improvement from the previous logos.

4th logo

(2013-)

Nickname: "Guitar S"

Logo: On a white background, we see four blue glowing lines (which are meant to represent guitar strings) appearing and moving as if they were plucked. Then we zoom to the left and we see the lines becoming trails that move in random directions and then form the current Som Livre S logo. Then the logo zooms out and the Som Livre text fades in below it.

FX\SFX: The trails. Once again, computer animation.

Music/Sounds: The sound of guitar strings being plucked being repeated four times, of which each are higher-pitched than the previous plucking sound. Then we hear a cheering crowd, accompanied by whoosh-like sounds and lastly, a cliché rock guitar "end of the song" sound. A refreshing change from the sound FX of previous logos.

Availability: Current.

Scare Factor: None to low. The loud noises may startle a few, but it is a pretty harmless logo.