Video Collection International (UK)

Background[]

Video Collection International (formerly The Video Collection) was a UK video company formed in 1984 and established in 1985. Originally part of the Prestwich Group, based in New Southgate, London, it was subject to a management buyout headed by Steve Ayres as CEO and Paddy Toomey (ex-Woolworths) as MD. The vision of "Sell Through Video" was born with the strong Woolworths association driving the retail sales. The Video Collection was allied with ITV and Channel 4, and distributed many of their titles from their franchises; they also operated the Cinema Club budget label, as well as an American division in 1988, Strand Home Video. The company later sold Strand to the Handleman Company and was renamed to VCI in 1994 due to financial difficulties, and VCI itself was sold in 1999 to the Kingfisher group. In 2004, the company merged with BBC Video to form 2 Entertain.

The Video Collection[]

1st Logo (April 1985-1989)[]

Logo: On a gray background, several white lines appear. A black rectangle with "COLLECTION" (in a tall white font) at the bottom flips up from the bottom of the screen and "the" flies and flips from the top. Then "Video" in a red rectangle (written with "V" in a black serif font and "ideo" a skinnier, white italicized serif font), swoops from behind the "COLLECTION" box and plasters itself on it.

FX/SFX: The swooping and flipping. Not bad for 1985.

Music/Sounds: A 13-note synth theme, accompanied by 4 deeper synths and 3 synthesized chords when "Video" appears. This was actually taken from a weather jingle TVS was using at the time.

Availability: Seen on releases from the company from the time period, even after the second logo's introduction in 1986 until this logo was retired in 1989.

Seen on releases of cartoons (mostly Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears) in the UK from the time period.
It is also seen on the 1986 UK VHS releases of M.A.S.K.: Volume 1: The Threat of Venom, M.A.S.K.: Volume 2: The Power of Venom, Care Bears To The Rescue, Moschops, GoBots, SilverHawks, and Jane Fonda's New Workout, respectively.
This logo does not appear on the 1986 UK VHS release of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends for unknown reasons.

2nd Logo (October 6, 1986-September 4, 1995)[]

Logo: Over white marble-like tile flooring, we see parts of what looks like a giant computer/TV flying into the screen. Coming together, they spin around and zoom in to the screen. Then a red box appears via "blinds" effect and spins in 3D while a giant "V", rendered in 3D, spins from the left of the screen. While this is happening, the screen turns black. When the box and "V" come together, the screen turns light gray, although a black rectangle remains. The rest of "ideo" fades in and some lines pop from below the box and morph into the word "COLLECTION". Finally, the logo gains a shadow effect.

Variants:

The name of the company is translated depending on where the tapes were sold. For instance, on PAL tapes in Spain, the logo reads "Video COLECCION".
Another variant has the words read "Video Music Collection".
One variant (used as a print logo) has the red box read "VCI" (in the "Video" font) and the bottom of the black box say "Distribution", and the text is all in a different font. This variant is only known to appear on Silver Vision releases such as WWF Royal Rumble 1991 and WWF Wrestlemania VIII, and was also seen on the UK VHS of Garfield Gets a Life and Spider-Man Strikes Back.

FX/SFX: All early CGI, which also isn't bad for the time.

Music/Sounds: A quiet beeping sound, followed by a synthesized swoosh with some metallic clunks when the parts form the television, then a little synthesized organ-like ditty. It ends with two timpani beats.

Music/Sounds Variant: On some Spanish PAL tapes, an announcer can be heard. Translated from Spanish, he says: "Don't hesitate to join the millions in the world who "video-collect", and thanks to us learn, play, laugh, cry and know now what to do in their own time. The Video Collection: a new concept on video is born to you. Thank you for your confidence."

Availability: Seen on releases by the company from the time-period until September 1995.

It can also be spotted on many UK VHS releases of ITV programmes, mostly ones under the Central Video label.
It is also seen on earlier Thames Video Collection releases, such as the rare 1986 UK VHS re-release of Rainbow, but does not appear on later releases.
Its most famous appearances are on the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends releases in the UK from 1986 to 1995, although this logo does not appear on the 1986 UK VHS releases of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends: Troublesome Trucks and Other Stories and Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends: Coal and Other Stories, respectively for unknown reasons. This is most likely due to the fact that Screen Legends (and later Pickwick Video) were distributing the second season of the show on VHS separately at the time until the early 1990s.
It is also seen on several UK VHS releases of Ragdoll shows such as Playbox, Rosie & Jim, Brum, and Tots TV, respectively.
It is also seen on the Sesame Street UK VHS releases, such as Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!/Monster Hits and Sesame Street: Ernie's Big Mess and Other Stories, among others.
This logo debuted in 1986, on She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949).
This logo is also seen on the original 1994 UK VHS release of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends: Rock 'n' Roll and Other Stories.
This logo is also seen on the 1991 UK VHS release of Learn with Sooty: Have Fun with Numbers 2 Multiplication before and after the 1991 Thames Video logo.
This logo is also seen on mid-to-late 1980s UK VHS releases of Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears cartoons (also plastering the previous logo on the 1986 reissues).
This logo is also seen on UK VHS releases of The Dreamstone.
This logo, along with the 1991 Central Video logo is also intact on the Carlton UK VHS re-release of Rosie and Jim: Sailing and Other Stories as well, due to it being a direct reissue of the original release.
This logo is also seen at the start of the 1988 UK VHS release of Original Sylvanian Families, but not at the end of it for unknown reasons.
- The same case also happens on the 1994 UK VHS release of Children's Preschool Compilation which has the logo at the start, but not at the end of it for unknown reasons as well.
The last VHS release to feature this logo was released on September 4, 1995.
Some reissues of VHS releases during the VCI-era will either keep this intact, or (in the case of the 1995 UK VHS re-release of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends: Rock 'n' Roll and Other Stories, the 1998 UK VHS re-releases of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends: Percy and the Signal and Other Stories and Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends: The Runaway and Other Stories, and the 2002 Marks and Spencer UK re-release of Thomas & Friends: Thomas Goes Fishing and Other Stories) use modified masters using the 1995 VCI logo instead.

Video Collection International[]

(September 11, 1995-September 12, 2005)[]

Nickname: "Stacked VCI"

Logo: In front of a black background, there is a grey wire frame globe, a bright light emitting rays in the top left of the screen and some gray mist below, and in front of those, a metal object flips in, along with a red sphere. This is later revealed to be the "C" in "VCI", which flips around as it zooms out (with the sphere in the center). The letters "V" and "I" would later spin in and arrange themselves vertically.

Variants:

There are 2 DVD variants:
- The DVD logo, which is also metallic, forms in the top right of the screen. This variant appears in a 16:9 ratio and mainly appears on widescreen DVDs. However, the VCI logo itself is cheaply made, as the logo starts in stretched 4:3, then stretches out into 16:9 as the logo finishes.
- The VCI text fades out, the light glows and the DVD logo fades in. This variant was mainly used on fullscreen DVDs, as well as some widescreen discs.
On Sindy the Fairy Princess, after the logo ends, everything except the VCI text fades to black and the text moves to the left on the screen. The Optical Image logo fades into the right side and the word 'Presents' appear.

FX/SFX: Very good computer animation that still holds up very well today.

Music/Sounds: A synth chime theme is heard alongside some whooshing sounds, with mechanical sounds for the VCI text arranging. Near the end, there are two deep synth notes, ending with a clang and a final chime.

Availability: Seen on VCI releases in the UK from the time-period until September 2005.

This does not often appear on VHS releases from Thames Video, due to them mainly using their logo on its own, but appears on some of them (mostly through the 1996 and 1997 VCI Children's trailers).
BBC Video releases also do not use this logo, with the exception of some programmes that were distributed by BBC Worldwide such as Coupling and Have I Got News For You.

Standard:

Seen on the start and end of many VCI VHS releases from this time, including Phoenix Nights, Father Ted and later Thomas The Tank Engine releases, among others.
On DVD, the standard version is only seen at the end of Roo Reveals All (as part of the 2002 Cinema Club DVD release of The Last Polar Bears), the DVD release of Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles, and at the end of Rosie and Jim: Flashing Fire Engine and Other Urgent Adventures. This was because these DVD releases used upscaled VHS masters.
The last few seconds of it also make an appearance on the 2016 UK DVD release of Rosie and Jim: Bumper Pack, likely due to the master for the episode "Locks" being taken from the Rosie and Jim: Classic Collection master.
Despite appearing on the tape labels (and sometimes the covers) of direct reissues/later prints of The Video Collection-era VHS releases, it does not appear on them as they use The Video Collection's 1986-1995 logo instead.

DVD versions:

The 4:3 version is seen on almost every Thomas and Friends DVD release until the 2 Entertain merger. It is also mostly seen on fullscreen releases such as Lion of Oz (2000), The Wheels on the Bus, various Manchester United DVD releases, The Royle Family, Father Ted, and the 2000 UK DVD release of the 1996 adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels, among others.
- It is also seen as a closing logo on the Manchester United DVD releases.
- Some widescreen releases use this logo but the logo itself remains in fullscreen however.
The 16:9 version is seen on a majority of widescreen VCI DVD releases such as on all of the Brum and Engie Benjy DVD releases (the latter's DVD and VHS releases were later distributed by Granada Ventures as a result of Granada ending their partnership with VCI), the 2002 UK DVD release of Popstars: The Rivals, the 2003 UK DVD release of Clarkson: Shootout, and the 2004 UK DVD release of Lawrence Dallaglio, Balls and Mauls, among others.
- It is also seen on these Thomas & Friends DVD releases: "The Fogman and Other Stories", "Pulling Together!", "It's Great to Be an Engine!", and "Bumper Party Collection!".
- It also follows the 2 Entertain logo on the 2005 UK promotional DVD release of Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), despite only the 2 Entertain logo appearing on the packaging.
On later releases between June and September 2005, such as Fifi and the Flowertots: Fifi's Talent Show, the 2 Entertain logo appears on the packaging, but the VCI logo is used on the actual release.
It is also seen on DVD releases from Hat Trick Productions, Channel 4 Video, Gullane Entertainment, Granada Video and Ragdoll, respectively.
The last release to use this logo was the 2005 UK DVD release of My Family: Series 3 (which actually has the 2 Entertain logo on the cover, but the VCI logo is used on the disc).

Editor's Note: This is a great looking logo for its time.