Deutschlandspiegel

Credits

Compiled by
NotPurpleHoodieBoi

Background

Deutschlandspiegel was a monthly film magazine. Deutschlandspiegel was produced on behalf of the Federal Press Office and served to present the Federal Republic of Germany abroad. The episodes, each about 15 minutes long, usually consisted of a series of self-contained short reports on various current topics, including aspects of politics, culture, business and social life.

The first episode of Deutschlandspiegel was published in November 1954, the last in December 2004. 603 issues were produced in total, which were dubbed into several languages according to their intended use, including Spanish, Japanese, English, French and Italian. From July 1970, Deutschlandspiegel, which had previously been in black and white, was produced in color. Until 1992, it was distributed in the form of copies on 16-mm and 35-mm film, then on VHS cassette.

Deutschlandspiegel was produced by the Remagen-based film production company Deutsche Reportagefilm GmbH, which was completely dependent on the Federal Press Office. As Deutschlandspiegel was intended for distribution abroad, it is virtually unknown in Germany itself, although it was produced without interruption for five decades.

1st Logo (November 1954-1967)

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Visuals:

• Opening: On a black background, three stacks of text:

DEUTSCHE
REPORTAGEFILM
G · M · B · H zeigt:

fade in, then out. This crossfades to another sequence, consisting of a reflective glass panel lighted in by a spotlight from upwards, featuring "DEUTSCHLAND" sitting atop of the panel. The panel adjusts to the left portion counterclockwise, and stands still. "Spiegel" from the downwards angle wipes in from the surface of the panel.

• Closing: On said sequence, "DEUTSCHLAND" is replaced by "ENDE", and "Spiegel" is omitted. There is a white rectangle outline below, with "EINE NDW PRODUKTION" included.

Variant: English and Spanish prints of the newsreels have the "zeigt:" text replaced either by "presents:" or "presenta:" respectively. For the closing, the English prints replace the former with "THE END", and below with "A NDW PRODUCTION". The Spanish prints replace the former with "FIN", and below with "UNA PRODUCCION NDW".

Technique: Live-action model work and stop-motion animation.

Audio: A moderate-sounding triumphant fanfare. The remaining theme for the closing.

Audio Variants:

• On the issue Nr. 32, a simpler/redone version of the triumphant fanfare is used, only involving the trumpets.
• Starting on the issue Nr. 100 onwards, a more patriotic-sounding version of the triumphant fanfare is used.

Availability: Shown on newsreels from the period, starting from the issue Nr. 1 to 147.

2nd Logo (1967-1970)

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Visuals: On a gray background, a white horizontal bar fades in, where "DEUTSCHLAND" scrolls over to the left as it stands still. A vertical bar wipes from the right, revealing masked footage of a plane taking off. When it finishes wiping in, "SPIEGEL" abruptly appears underneath the bar. After the footage ends, it changes to a slideshow of live-action footages, in respective order: a highway from a first-person view in a helicopter, a pedestrian crossing, a stream turbine, and a ballet performance.

Variant: On it's first day of usage (issue Nr. 148), a sequence was added in the beginning featuring the same gray background, with the stacked text:

DEUTSCHE
REPORTAGEFILM
GMBH ZEIGT

After that, the sequence normally crossfades to the main logo, with two differences - The plane footage is different, taking place on an airport. The highway footage appears after the pedestrian footage.

Technique: Traditional animation with live-action footage.

Audio: The sound of the plane taking off, culminating in a smooth jazzy tune.

Audio Variant: On it's first day of usage, the jazzy tune is extended, and the sound of the plane is omitted.

Availability: Shown on newsreels from the period, starting from the issue Nr. 148 to 189.

3rd Logo (July 1970-1975)

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Visuals:

• Opening: Starting from a teal blue background, the texts "DEUTSCHLAND" and "SPIEGEL" are revealed sliding between two split screens, in which both settle from up and down. The split screens reveal a still moving image of the Augsburg Town Hall in an upwards view taken off from a helicopter. A black bar wipes and extends over the image, revealing the name translation in 8 multilingual languages - Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, English, French, Italian, Turkish and Arabic -. Three footages then wipe in from three columns, from the center, the left and the right. In respective order is a pedestrian crossing, a ballet performance and a stream turbine. The split screens then close.
• Closing:
  • July 1970-1973: A black background is in between two teal blue split screens. On the background is "ENDE · THE END · FIN", and on the split screens are "Filmproduktion Günther Schnabel" and "cinecentrum Hamburg". Seconds later, the split screens close.
  • 1973-1975: A black background is shown containing "ENDE · THE END · FIN". Two teal blue split screens then collide. Then, the logo for Cinecentrum - an opal shaped "C" with a circle" standing on the middle -, alongside the company name underneath it, with "Hamburg" below all fade in.

Variants:

• A grayscale version of this exists.
• An English version of this exists on English prints. "THE GERMAN SCENE" replaces the two formers, with the replaced taken in place where the English translation formerly was.

Technique: Traditional animation with live-action footage.

Audio: A guitar/saxophone-infused combo theme, with vibraphone notes included. The remaining theme that shortly fades out for the closing.

Availability: Shown on newsreels from the period, starting from the issue Nr. 190 to 243 and 246.

4th Logo (1975-1983)

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Visuals:

• Opening: On a blue background, three shapes in a black outline wipe in. The shapes are, in respective order: a 9-sided irregular shape, a rectangle and a trapezoid. Each shape has three images, from respective order: a harbor in Hamburg(?), a refinery and the St. Johannes der Täufer church in Raisting, Bavaria. Seconds later, the shapes expand into a full row of rectangles, while from the bottom is an irregular-shaped transition wiping in, that contained an image of the Reichstag building from the period. Another irregular-shaped transition wipes in, revealing a blue filling color with the stacked "Deutschland Spiegel" inside, from the middle and arranged from the left. Another irregular-shaped transition fully wipes out the image and the text that leads to a sky blue background portion containing the name translation from said 8 multilingual languages, now reorganized. Another irregular-shaped transition leads to a slideshow of footages, in respective order: A Lufthansa plane taking off, a DB bullet train, a camera view of a radio telescope that pans upwards, footage of the World Cup and the inside view of a palace(?). The irregular-shaped transition wipes out the footage seconds later.
• Closing: A black background is shown containing "ENDE · THE END · FIN". Two blue split screens then collide. Then, the logo for Cinecentrum - an opal shaped "C" with a circle" standing on the middle -, alongside the company name underneath it, with "Hamburg" below all fade in.

Technique: Traditional animation with live-action footage.

Audio: A moderate-sounding patriotic triumphant fanfare. The remaining theme that shortly fades out for the closing.

Availability: Shown on newsreels from the period, starting from the issue Nr. 244 to 344.

5th Logo (1983-1994?)

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Visuals:

• Opening: Starting from a black surface is a printed sheet of a blonde woman smiling towards the screen, where the camera starts defocused before focusing normally. It then crossfades to a printed sheet of two infants standing face to face with smiling faces. The sheet then pans for a moment, revealing to be reflected from a transparent cube. On the middle, a masked bar wipes in, that contains the "Deutschland-spiegel" text model separated by two rows, standing from a visible black cloth. The camera pans through the text from counterclockwise, then it fades to two printed sheets of an old man and two construction workers that spin from the reflection of a transparent cube. It then crossfades to footage of a man running during the Olympics. The sequence abruptly changes to a close-up view of the blonde woman, where it spins from the reflection of a transparent cube. Another masked bar is wiped in, revealing the name translation from 6 multilingual languages in a dodger blue/blue color scheme on a black background. This crossfades to more four printed sheets, this including a confused infant, a businessman, then a nurse and a man in overalls working.
• Closing:
  • 1983-1985: A black background is shown containing "ENDE · THE END · FIN". Two blue split screens then collide. Then, the logo for Cinecentrum - an opal shaped "C" with a circle" standing on the middle -, alongside the company name underneath it, with "Hamburg" below all fade in.
  • 1985-1994?: A black background is shown containing "ENDE · THE END · FIN". Two blue split screens then collide. Then, the then-current logo for Cinecentrum - an opal shaped "C" with a circle" standing on the middle -, alongside the company name next to it (sans the "C"). There is a rhombus-like bar from the bottom, and the Studio Hamburg logo - a circle with four rounded quarter segmented shapes with the stacked "Studio Hamburg" on the middle, representing a filmreel, with the company's name next to it - below.

Technique: Live-action model work with practical effects.

Audio: A slow saxophone-infused jingle with violins and drums. The remaining theme that shortly fades out for the closing.

Availability: Shown on newsreels from the period, starting from the issue Nr. 244 until it's last years of usage.

6th Logo (1994?-2004?)

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Visuals:

• Opening: Against a perspective cloudy background with a foggy reflection underneath, there are 8 monuments colored in indigo dye. "DEUTSCHLANDSPIEGEL" in a transparent reflective scheme rises from the reflection in a 45° counterclockwise and downwards angle, where it starts panning and adjusting position. A glimpse of the waving Germany flag is shown when panning. It settles underneath the monuments.
• Closing: On the still shot of the beginning sequence, the Cinecentrum and Studio Hamburg logos are shown underneath separated by a short horizontal bar.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A news-like synth piece. The remaining theme for the closing.

Availability: Shown on newsreels from the period. Found on the issue Nr. 511, with others still missing in action at the moment.