SIDEN Film

Background

S.I.D.E.N. Film was an Italian film rental distribution company. The general manager of the company was Italian film producer Fortunato Misiano, who was also the founder of Romana Film.

1st Logo (May 19, 1952-December 28, 1955)

Visuals: Against multiple copies of what appears to be chroma-keyed footage consisting of a camera panning around a bunch of lights, a black box with a white border fades in front of the viewer and slowly zooms outwards for a short period of time. Once it stops zooming, "S.I.D.E.N." in white and an arched format appears within the box one by one. The text format gives space for a white outlined semicircle to wipe in below "S.I.D.E.N.", where "FILM" in a thin and chiseled format fades inside the semicircle. After a while, the text crossfades to "PRESENTA" in a thin format.

Technique: Live action and cel animation.

Audio: A harp glissando that lasts throughout the entire logo, and a triumphant trumpet fanfare once the box appears.

Availability: Seen on their earlier films they have distributed, those being Ergastolo, Desiderio 'e sole, Piscatore 'e Pusilleco, and Scapricciatiello.

2nd Logo (October 13, 1956-August 11, 1961)

Visuals: On a green background, there is a golden "S.I.D.E.N" appearing letter by letter, and a bunch of white lines connecting to said 3D text wipes in once that is complete. The lines turn the text into a 3D-like format. A star appears above the text and a white line draws around the text, forming a rounded box-like frame with "film" in a script font connected to the frame underneath. A white glow fades in against the logo once it is done forming. Lastly, "Presenta" fades in a 3D font.

Variants:

Earlier appearances have the logo in B&W and the glow being more faint and larger.
On some films such as Onore e sangue and Mina... fuori la guardia, the font for "S.I.D.E.N" and "Presenta" is thicker than usual.
- A colorized version exists on Maruzzella.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: A tense orchestral tune that goes like this: A sustained, high-pitched xylophone note with a brass note increasing by a pitch every time a letter appears which ends with a piano stinger and a xylophone ditty. A triumphant trumpet fanfare is heard at the end.

Availability: Seen on the later films they have distributed.

The thicker variants can be seen on Maruzella, Onore e sangue, Carosello di canzoni, Ricordati di Napoli, and Il Mondo dei Miracoli.
The standard variants can be seen on El Alamein, Il conte di Matera, and Il segreto dello sparviero nero.