Logos[]
1st logo (1998-2004)[]
On a black background, the word "ARTISAN", in a rectangular box with the leg of the "R" extended, fades in while it is zooming towards the screen. It stops at a distance and the word "ENTERTAINMENT" all in Trajan Pro appears underneath.
Variants[]
- In Artisan's very early days, a simpler version of this logo was used: just the word "ARTISAN" in a box with a very small "ENTERTAINMENT" underneath, zooming up quickly without a fancy "R".
- On Artisan prints of Suicide Kings, the early version is gold.
- A still version with the logo done in a "chrome" effect exists. This was only known to be used on the trailer for The Blair Witch Project, and to date has not been spotted on Artisan films.
- Trailers later used a shorter version of the standard Artisan logo.
- For home entertainment releases from 1999, the logo was shown before Artisan's trailers with a "www.artisanent.com" web address underneath.
- For the later version, the web address appeared underneath the logo occasionally.
- In 2002, the word "PICTURES" is in place of "ENTERTAINMENT" and inside a smaller box attached to the rectangle; the company byline "AN ARTISAN ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" is underneath.
- In 1999, the word "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT". Prior to 2000, this variant only appeared on Artisan's trailers.
- Films that plastered other companies' logos over with this logo would either slow down the logo's animation, or loop it at its still place, to match the length of the original logos' duration.
2nd logo (2003)[]
On a black background. a blue DVD spins in out of nowhere. A series of seven red lasers then strike the disc as it spins, before coming back with bigger blasts. As they do so, the letters of "ARTISAN", in the same font as before but in a bluish-chrome color, appear one-by-one at an angle. Then, the text rotates to the front, and the disc transforms into a chrome oval which then straightens itself into a rectangle over the text (with a cut at the bottom to fit the "R"). A shape spins underneath between the "R" and the "T", and after the rectangle appears, it spreads out to reveal "HOME ENTERTAINMENT", in an abstract font.
Variants[]
After the logo completes, an animation occurs depending on the DVD it appears on.
- On the 2003 "Extreme" edition DVD of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, after the logo completes, grey goo (representing T-100's liquid form) drops down from the lower-right of the box, which transforms into "T2" (reflecting the Terminator inside it), with the text "EXTREME DVD" ("X" is bigger than the rest of the text) underneath it. The camera does a big zoom-in on the text after it forms.
- On the 2003 DVD of Step Into Liquid, the logo starts when the Artisan text fully appears. After the logo finishes, a tidal wave appears in the background, with Kelly Slater surfing on it.
Music/Sounds[]
1st logo[]
Usually silent. Some films use their respective opening theme.
Music/Sounds Variants[]
Sometimes, the outcome of Artisan's plastering attempts would leave the original distributors' logo themes intact. Examples are the DVD releases of Cadence (with the Movie Group fanfare), Bad Lieutenant (with the Live Entertainment theme), and Stargate (with the 1994 or 1995 MGM roar).
2nd logo[]
A series of laser sounds and metallic bangs. The T2 variant has some liquid sloshing followed by a bang when the logo zooms in, while the Step Into Liquid variant has various synthesized sounds as well as the splashing of the tidal waves.
Scare Factor[]
1st logo[]
None. This is a very boring logo, unlike the next one.
2nd logo[]
Low to medium. It's very sudden, which might startle people, especially if they expected the last logo. Aside from that, this is, hands down, much better in terms of it's animation and music, and a fitting swan song to a company filled with many memorable logos.
Video[]
Artisan Home Entertainment Logo