Background[]
Artist View Entertainment is an American film/TV distributor based out of Simi Valley, California. Founded in 1991 by Scott J. Jones, the company - which advertises itself as a full service sales agency - has distributed and licensed over 250 low budget feature films and shows spanning across many genres, mostly on home video, TV, and streaming. The company also attends various film festivals and conferences to showcase its upcoming projects, such as the Berlin, Cannes, and Toronto Film Festivals. Their website can be accessed here.
1st Logo (1991-1999)[]
Nickname: "Stone Plaque"
Logo: On a dark/light gray gradient background, a stone/marble-textured plaque reading "ARTIST VIEW ENTERTAINMENT" in silver (with the last word encased in a silver box below the other two) flies toward the screen with a fake-3D effect. It veers to the right, before straightening and positioning itself to the center of the screen. The logo remains still for several seconds before fading out.
SFX/FX: The plaque flying. Typical '90s fake-3D computer effects.
Music/Sounds: A synthesized whoosh is heard as the plaque flies, which turns into a digital harpsichord tune after the plaque positions itself. After a few seconds, a male announcer says "From Artist's View Entertainment".
Availability: Fairly common. Seen on VHS releases from the period, and can also be found intact on several streaming prints of older direct-to-video movies, such as the Crackle print of Copper Mountain.
Editor's Note: It looks cheap, even for 1990's standards. Also, the announcer incorrectly pluralizes "Artist", though this may have been said purposely.
2nd Logo (2000-Present)[]
Nickname: "The Mountain Cameraman"
Logo: On a black background, a flash of light appears, revealing a still picture of a cameraman's silhouette, wearing a fedora hat, filming a sunset with a large movie camera over a snowy mountain range. The picture slowly zooms back. The light reappears below it, revealing from left to right "ARTIST VIEW ENTERTAINMENT" (in the same style as the previous logo, except this time colored gold), then from right to left "FEATURE PRESENTATION" in the same gold color. The picture dims and stops zooming after the logo is completed.
Variants:
- On movies originally released theatrically or directly to streaming, "FEATURE PRESENTATION" is absent, though the light still appears in the same spot moving from right to left.
- A shorter variant exists where the logo fades out just as the picture stops zooming. This can be seen on Abducted.
- On earlier films released in widescreen, the logo is stretched to fit the aspect ratio.
- An HD version was made in 2020. It's mostly the same, except the logo is in true widescreen and doesn't dim, but rather comes to a stop smoothly.
FX/SFX: The light shining, the picture zooming back, the words being revealed. Simple Adobe Flash-like computer effects.
Music/Sounds: A whoosh for when the flash of light is first revealed, then a calming-yet-triumphant trumpet piece for the remainder of the logo's duration, ending with a bell sound on the final note.
Music/Sounds Variant: On the shorter variant, the final bell note is cut off.
Availability: Current. Seen on films and shows that are distributed by the company, including on home media and streaming services.
Editor's Note: A simple and effective logo with a relaxing soundtrack, though outdated these days as it's now been used almost unchanged for well over 20 years. Despite an HD version being made fairly recently, the differences are only very minor at most.