Hoyts Distribution (Australia)

Background: This is the film and video distribution arm of The Hoyts Group, an Australian cinema operator. They dropped out of the distribution business in the mid 90s but reformed in 2002. They have had joint ventures with PolyGram and have a continuing partnership with Sony and also distributed all Cannon productions. Now they mainly handle distribution of Summit Entertainment films. In April 2012, Hoyts' distribution arm was acquired by StudioCanal and was rebranded StudioCanal Australia.

1st Logo

(1984-1990)

Nicknames: "Golden Hoyts", "Cheesy Hoyts", "Hoyts From Heaven"

Logo: We first start off with a yellow background. Then, with a flash, the word "Hoyts" in a blocky gold font zooms out. Sparkles shoot out below from left to right, causing the word "PRESENTS" to zoom up. The BG turns light blue, and the words sparkle and shine.

FXSFX: The zooming, sparkling, and shining of the logo.

Cheesy Factor: The animation is cheap. It looks like it was animated on an Apple II or Commodore 64. Also, the fanfare is very oversaturated, making it incredibly loud even though it shouldn't be that way.

Music/Sounds: A synth choir fanfare with sparkling sounds.

Availability: Rare; seen on old Aussie tapes from the period. Check eBay.com.au!

Scare Factor: Low to medium. It's a tame logo but the loud volume of the theme might put some off. However, it's follow-up only makes it worse...

2nd Logo (1985-1993)

Nicknames: "Rising Hoyts", "HOYTS!", "Now You're Really Seeing Things", "Hoyts From Hell"

Logo: Against a purplish background with a grid below, some orange, red, yellow, brown and gray buildings on the right, and a red sun in the distance, we see a 3D Hoyts logo rise up letter by letter, with each letter fading to blue, except the T, which is red. As the logo is fully formed, it jarringly changes into a 2D image with two spotlights circling it, and the background turns to black. Below are the words "A FILM FROM" and "HOYTS DISTRIBUTION" (in the same font as the logo).

Variant: During the 1980s, a variant of this logo was used at the end of TV spots for movies in Australia. The text "NOW YOU'RE REALLY SEEING THINGS", in gold, rises out of some CGI squares in the middle of a lighted version of the normal scenery. The camera pans across the text as the scenery darkens and the normal animation plays at the end, but below the finished product a marquee is shown with the text "STARTS [insert day here]".

FX/SFX: The letters rising up, the transformation into 2D, the spotlights. This was made by MAGI/Synthavision, in case you were wondering.

Cheesy Factor: While the CGI animation is impressive for its time, the change from the 3D Hoyts logo to the 2D image is very sudden and abrupt, and the spotlights on the Hoyts logo look like a bad GIF.

Music/Sounds: A loud, rising synth sound (think a warp-speed THX) ending with an echoing voice shouting "HOYTS!". The variant used a disco-like tune with a chorus singing "Now you're really seeing things, HOYTS!", only the ending doesn't echo as much and the rising sound isn't nearly as loud.

Availability: Extinct. Only appeared at the start and/or end of Hoyts-distributed movies on Australian TV, as well as on MAGI/Synthavision's 1984 demo reel.

Scare Factor: Nightmare. The fast pace, loud sounds and sudden "HOYTS!" voice are bound to startle more than a few. Minimal to low for the TV spot variant, because it's less abrupt and a bit quieter.

3rd Logo

(1988-1993)

Nickname: "Hoyts in Space"

Logo: On a space background, several neon red outlines of the Hoyts logo zoom out, followed by several more in blue, yellow, green, and white. They then flash and turn gold. A spot of light wipes in "PRESENTS" below the logo from left to right. The logo sparkles several times to the rhythm of the music, then flashes at the end.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The neon trails and light effects, which were starting to look dated around the time. The 3-D effect of the logo at the end also makes it look ugly.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced dance-pop tune.

Availability: Rare; seen on Aussie tapes from the period. This was also used in Hoyts cinemas at the time.

Scare Factor: Low; the neon and light effects may get to some. The music may be a favorite though.

4th Logo

(2002-2012)

Nicknames: "Glass Hoyts", "Hoyts of Splendor"

Logo: On a black background, red glass squares fly at the screen. Then, we move away from them, and we see the glass squares as a red line. The red line turns blue and we zoom out. Then, more red glass squares fly out of the blue line and form a line that zooms out. Above this line we see the Hoyts logo (in blue) and below the line we see the word "DISTRIBUTION". The logo shines.

FX/SFX: Everything in excellent CGI.

Music/Sounds: An extended whoosh.

Availability: Seen on DVDs distributed by Hoyts; mainly from Summit Entertainment. no longer in use after the StudioCanal acquisition.

Scare Factor: Low; the in-your-face animation and whoosh will get to some, and the jarring cut from the Sony logo on DVD releases doesn't help either, but this is a cool and professional logo.