Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment

Background

Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment was originally formed in 2006 as simply Vivendi Entertainment, and served as a distribution unit for many companies. Originally distributed by Universal Music Group Distribution, it was purchased by Gaiam in 2012, who renamed it to its then-current name. In 2013, it was bought yet again by Cinedigm Entertainment, and the same year it was merged into Newvideo.

1st logo (2006-2008)

Logo: We fade in on a light blue spotlight background, as two drops of water slide into view, forming a "V." A circle draws itself into view, and as the water turns into a solid "V," the logo blurs, drops of water fly across the screen, the circle fills itself in (with a dark blue backdrop), and "vivendi" (in its corporate font), with an underline and "VISUAL ENTERTAINMENT" below it, wipes in with a spark. As it does this, half of the circle is filled in by light blue, and the logo unblurs. The "v" shines twice.

Variants:

Sometimes, there would appear below, just the word "ENTERTAINMENT".
On Canadian releases, "CANADA" is added below "VISUAL ENTERTAINMENT".
On their website at this time, this logo was basically a combination of this and the next logo, with the background being a starfield, "VISUAL" being missing, the text being in white, and the "V" looking more realistic.

Technique: CGI animation

Music/Sounds: A rapid piano ditty.

Availability: Rare. Seen on early Vivendi releases.

2nd logo (2008-2012)

Logo: On a black background, a silver line is drawn by a spark, before rotating to reveal a circle. As the background becomes a starfield, a stylized "V" appears and spins in the middle of the circle. As everything shines and rotates into place, the text "vivendi", with an underline and "ENTERTAINMENT" below it, is wiped in by a spark, with "vivendi" in its corporate font.

Variant: An open-matte version exists.

Technique: Very nice CGI.

Music/Sounds: A tense string score, composed by FirstCom Music.

Availability: Fairly common. Can be found on DVDs from the company from the period, such as Call of the Wild 3D.