Films Incorporated

Credits

Descriptions by
codyfinke and YingYong

Captures by
V of Doom, Gilblitz112, TrickyMario7654, and Nightspears

Video captures courtesy of
MachineryNoise, LogicSmash, Mitchell Hang, and TrickyMario7654

Background

Films Incorporated was a 16mm film supplier and home video company based in New York City that distributed various educational films for showing in school classrooms. They could have been founded as early as 1927. Later they were folded under Public Media Incorporated (PMI), being a subsidiary. The company shut down in the early 1990s.

1st Logo (194?-1956?)

Visuals: The logo starts at a screen saying "Distributed by" then fading into a screen with text saying: "FiLMS INCORPORATED" at the top left of the screen with the logo glittering everywhere on the screen, at the bottom left are the words "NEW YORK", "LOS ANGELES", and "CHICAGO". There is then a star that appears between "NEW YORK". "DALLAS and ATLANTA" appear at the same time which forms a star between the two, finally "PORTLAND" appears forming a star between that and "LOS ANGELES".

Technique: Traditional animation.

Audio: A triumphant trumpet fanfare.

Availability: Seen on a 1940s re-release of the cartoon Flip's Lunchroom.

2nd Logo (1956-1967)

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Visuals: On a gray background is an outline of a white box. A comet shoots a filled-in gray box on to it, which is tilted at an angle. Another comet shoots the letter "F" on to it, and another shoots the letter "I" on to it. After a few seconds, the words "FILMS INCORPORATED" wipe in from left to right below the box, and "Presents" in the Brush Script font fades in below.

Variant: A supposed "sepia" toned version exists, but lately it was confirmated that variant had a pink toned logo, this was seen on a surviving 16mm print of "Ship a-Hooey", produced by Paramount. "Sepia" means to a vintage brown logo.

Technique: Traditional animation.

Audio: A whimsical tune. Glockenspiel notes are heard when the comets appear.

Availability: Seen on earlier releases distributed by the company. Three such examples are "Kennedy vs. Khrushchev: Missile Showdown", "The Rocket Man" and "50 Years Before Your Eyes".

3rd Logo (1967-1970)

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Visuals: An abstract, bold, dark blue "f" next to a white "i" is seen on a tan background that looks like it is cross-stitched. A line also appears below to form "films incorporated" and "presents" wiping in, both with an indigo-colored font.

Variants:

• There is a variant where the background is not cross-stitched.
• A black & white variant was spotted on Lenin Prepares for Revolution.

Technique: Traditional animation.

Audio: An excerpt of “Small Parts Suite: Opening” by Wilfred Burns. Sometimes, it's silent.

Availability: Seen on The Philosophy of the Obvious, River People of Chad, and other films with Dr. Frederick Perls, as well as other releases from the era.

4th Logo (1968-1989)

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Visuals: On a blue, burgundy, or black background (depending on the film's condition), a white square zooms in. Then it spins around with a residue-trailing effect. The squares stop in the middle of the screen, changing into two squares, colors changing throughout. The two squares become outlined in white and transform into "fi", with part of the "f" red, while the rest of the lettering is white. The "f" extends as the dot of the "i". The text "A FILMS INCORPORATED PRESENTATION" in white with "FILMS INCORPORATED" bigger than the others, wipes in from the left under it.

Variants:

• A B&W variant exists.
• A blue variant of the BBC version exists.
• An in-credit variant was spotted at the end of The Okies: Uprooted Farmers.
• A sepia variant with a green background is seen on This Child Is Rated "X".
• A cyan variant was spotted on Victory at Sea.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: A loud, electronic warbling tune, and a chord-arpeggio while the "fi" forms.

Availability: Several other companies now distribute the movie library of this now-defunct company.

• Last seen on Ten Seconds That Shook the World on AT&T U-verse Screen Pack, but it is no longer available.
• Also seen on The Red Balloon and Sad Song of Yellow Skin.
• It can be found fairly easily on old PBS programs on the Internet Archive, mainly those originally presented by WNET.
• The B&W variant was found on the Argentinian film Piel de Verano.
• The entire jingle can be heard in the podcast Blowback (Season 3, Episode 1) about 24 minutes into the episode.

Legacy: This logo is infamous for scaring students at schools, thanks to the tune, alongside the flashing images.

5th Logo (1971?-1984?)

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Visuals: On a different-colored background is "Distributed in the USA by FILMS Incorporated, a subsidiary of" with the PMI logo and "Distributed in Canada by BBC Television Distributors".

Variants: The background colors can range from black to different shades of blue/green. The text can be white, yellow, or orange.

Technique: A still, printed image.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on FI's later releases, in collaboration with BBC Enterprises. Check websites like the Internet Archive for their films.