Odeon (Italy)

Background

Odeon is an Italian television network. It founded as Euro TV in 1982.

Euro TV

1st Logo (1982-1987)

Nicknames: "Shining Light", "Chrome Euro", "Four-Colored Rainbow"

Logo: We see a chrome "EURO", with a black map of Europe inside of the O. The Europe inside of the O is obstructed by "TV", stacked on top of each other in a wider font than "EURO". A beam of light passes onto the "TV" on top of the "O", causing it to shine. A beam of light passes through the map of Europe, and it emits four colors (red, yellow, blue and white, via prism effect). There is a light passing through the left of the logo. The colors rotate along with the beam of light.

FX/SFX: Simple concept with choppy animation.

Music/Sounds: A five-note, almost 8-bit sounding synth.

Availability: Might show up on some occasional programs in Italy, but extinct elsewhere.

Odeon

1st Logo (1987-1998)

Nicknames: "The Falling Squares", "The Odeon Galaxy"

Logo: We see many blue, three-dimensional squares arranged in a circle, each having a red outline that turns green (with no explanation) as they all rotate. There is a blue, comet-like ball with a white animated trail that circles around these squares. The squares fall down, causing themselves to slowly merge. The squares are now formed into a blue circle. The letters "ODEOn" then appear, one by one, in an Impact-like font in the midst of the blue circle.

FX/SFX: Basic computer animation that seems effective and aesthetically pleasing. However, as said above, the outline of the blue squares goes from red to green while they rotate with no given explanation.

Variant: Both the music and animation were shortened on occasion.

Music/Sounds: Some synth chimes to start, followed by a cool electric-guitar theme.

Availability: Same as above.

2nd Logo (1987-1998)

Nicknames: "The Living Room", "Odeon Living Room", "Odeon On The TV", "Odeon Lamp", "Floating Furniture and Television on a Reflective Floor"

Logo: We are inside of a living room with light blue walls, and a blue reflective floor. There is a red armchair not far from a table with silver legs and a blue glass top. There is a glass with pink liquid inside of it on top of the table. There appears to be a white book as well. The camera pans around the table, and focuses on a small television on the floor. TheODEOn wordmark mentioned in the previous logo is on the television screen, which is black. TheODEOn wordmark pops out of the television and becomes 3-D. The letters scramble mid-air and collide with a lamp that has a blue circular "lampshade", along with a blue ball to represent the lightbulb. The blue circle and ball, along with the logo, now are in their intended position.

FX/SFX: Computer-animation that is better than the previous logo.

Music/Sounds: A relaxing guitar tune that includes some light, dreamy synths.

Availability: Most likely the same as above.

Editor's Note: While this logo does have a lot of errors in its animation, it's a prime example of early CGI being experimented with.