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Maryland Public Television
Logo descriptions by gshowguy and mr3urious
Videos and logo captures courtesy of Skyoneer2007, cruisefx, TechnerVideo, Tlogos, & JHprod
1st (known) Logo
(1976-1980)
Nickname: "The Heptagon"
Logo: On a black background, a light-flare trail of a heptagon zooms and spins out to the center of the screen. When it stops, it comes into focus, and the text, arranged like this:
maryland center
for public broadcasting
appears below. The heptagon starts out blue, but then it fades to red, and finally pink.
FX: The heptagon trail zooming out...
Cheesy Factor: ...which is cheesy even by late 1970s standards.
Music/Sounds: A Moog synth jingle with an announcer saying "From the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting.".
Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on shows from this period, such as Wall $treet Week.
Scare Factor: Low; the announcer's voice may catch you off-guard.
2nd Logo
(1980-1984)
Nickname: "The Ulster Logo on Steroids"
Logo: On a black background, a glass model of a rectangle with a roundish "M" inside zooms outs from the right, flipping into place. The text "maryland itv" wipes in below.
Variant: On Consumer Connection, there is an in-credit version in which the logo (in white) fades in and "MARYLAND ITV" and a copyright date slide up from below.
FX: The logo zooming out and flipping.
Music/Sounds: A mellow horn tune described as "elevator music".
Availability: Seen on many shows of this period, like W$W, MotorWeek, Consumer Connection, and (I believe) Hodgepodge Lodge.
Scare Factor: Minimal for the regular variant, and none for the in-credit variant.
3rd Logo
(1968-1980)
Logo: Against a black BG with a gray border, a box displaying an abstract map of Maryland with various shades of purple with "MARYLAND" above it zooms in rapidly. Then, the map morphs into the letters "iTV" in fuschia. "State Department of Education" and "Division of Instructional Television" appear below.
FX: The zooming in of the map, the map morphing.
Cheesy Factor: The morphing is really choppy.
Music/Sounds: None, or a frantic orchestral theme.
Availability: Extinct on TV.
Scare Factor: Low.
4th Logo
(1984-1986)
Nickname: "Green MPT"
Logo: On a teal background, we see the new (at the time) MPT logo, with MPT in a futuristic font (called "Stop"), and colored green,
over the text "Maryland Public Television". They both zoom in slowly, and when they stop, the MPT logo shines.
FX: The zooming of the logo and the shine.
Cheesy Factor: The zoom-in is kinda rough.
Music/Sounds: A generic chime fanfare, ending in a flourish.
Availability: This was the most short-lived of MPT logos, so it's kind of a hard find. I'd consider this to be a placeholder logo.
Scare Factor: None.
5th Logo
(1986-1992)
Nickname: "MPT in Space", "My Public TV"
Logo: The letters "MPT", in the same font as before, but colored gold, zoom out and flip around on a purple/black space BG with stars brightly shining. It settles in front of a bluish globe with several light streaks shooting across it at an angle. Then, "Maryland Public Television" (also in gold) is wiped in by what appears to be E.T.'s glowing finger! (Well, it's really a pink-colored laser beam, but it does look like E.T.'s glowing finger. :-))
Variants:
FX: Top-notch CGI for 1986!
Music/Sounds: A 4-note synth-piano fanfare. The "long" version used a series of synth whooshes ending with three synth chimes and . The 4th variant uses a much more mellow synth theme that still contains the "MPT chimes". Sometimes, as a program outro tag, the closing theme would play over.
Availability: Pretty much extinct outside of old tapes.
Scare Factor: Low.
6th Logo
(1992-1999)
Nicknames: "The Globe", "Tons of Images"
Logo: We see a spinning globe against a globe against a sea at sunset between a flag of Maryland and the U.S., among other images. The globe brings forth a silver version of the MPT logo, coming from the right, while at the same time, bringing forth "Maryland Public Television" in the same font as the 1984 logo, but all in caps. When they settle in place, the globe zooms away. "PRODUCTION" fades in below. Often times, a closed caption (CC) bug appears in the lower left corner.
Variants:
FX: The globe forming & bringing forth the logo, and the background images.
Music/Sounds: A three-note synth-chime fanfare, which was also used by RTL in Germany. The local version used an extended version of the music with an announcer saying "This is Maryland Public Television, member-supported TV serving Maryland, Washington D.C., and northern Virginia.". However, it tends to have the closing theme of a show over it (as spotted on Kratt's Creatures, Zoboomafoo, and Wimzie's House, just to name a few).
Availability: Uncommon; might be seen if your local PBS station runs older tapes.
Scare Factor: Low.
7th Logo
(1999-2002)
Nickname: "Another Cursive M"
Logo: A cursive gold M is seen turning into place on the left against a black background, with the flag of Maryland (or is it Baltimore?) and a model globe spinning. Once it's in place, those images fade out as "A production of Maryland Public Television" fades in below, along with a black map of Maryland with gold outlines. The M shines.
Variant: Sometimes, on Zoboomafoo, this logo can be seen as a static image.
FX: The turning M and other images, and the M shining.
Music/Sounds: A three-note piano theme, or the end theme of the show.
Availability: Can be found on Zoboomafoo, Wall $treet Week, and MotorWeek.
Scare Factor: None.
8th Logo
(1999-2002)
Nickname: "Cursive M"
Logo: We see shots of several images relating to Maryland, ending with a Maryland state flag waving. Throughout the logo, you can see a shadow of the cursive M from before. Then, it fades to a black background, where we see the same gold colored M in a cursive font dropping down from the upper-left portion of the screen as a spark flickers below. Once it's in place, "Maryland Public Television" fades in below, and two flares, colored pink and gold, slide in and spin around the logo. As a local station ID, station information fades in below.
Variant: There is a shorter variant of this logo.
FX: The "M" flying into place.
Music/Sounds: Usually has the closing theme playing over, but on Bloomberg Morning News, it has a synth-guitar tune, sometimes coupled with announcer saying "This is member-supported MPT, serving Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington D.C.".
Availability: Only used locally, and can be found as an alternate for the previous logo. BMN and Wimzie's House both had this logo.
Scare Factor: None.
Videos and logo captures courtesy of Skyoneer2007, cruisefx, TechnerVideo, Tlogos, & JHprod
1st (known) Logo
(1976-1980)
Nickname: "The Heptagon"
Logo: On a black background, a light-flare trail of a heptagon zooms and spins out to the center of the screen. When it stops, it comes into focus, and the text, arranged like this:
maryland center
for public broadcasting
appears below. The heptagon starts out blue, but then it fades to red, and finally pink.
FX: The heptagon trail zooming out...
Cheesy Factor: ...which is cheesy even by late 1970s standards.
Music/Sounds: A Moog synth jingle with an announcer saying "From the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting.".
Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on shows from this period, such as Wall $treet Week.
Scare Factor: Low; the announcer's voice may catch you off-guard.
2nd Logo
(1980-1984)
Nickname: "The Ulster Logo on Steroids"
Logo: On a black background, a glass model of a rectangle with a roundish "M" inside zooms outs from the right, flipping into place. The text "maryland itv" wipes in below.
Variant: On Consumer Connection, there is an in-credit version in which the logo (in white) fades in and "MARYLAND ITV" and a copyright date slide up from below.
FX: The logo zooming out and flipping.
Music/Sounds: A mellow horn tune described as "elevator music".
Availability: Seen on many shows of this period, like W$W, MotorWeek, Consumer Connection, and (I believe) Hodgepodge Lodge.
Scare Factor: Minimal for the regular variant, and none for the in-credit variant.
3rd Logo
(1968-1980)
Logo: Against a black BG with a gray border, a box displaying an abstract map of Maryland with various shades of purple with "MARYLAND" above it zooms in rapidly. Then, the map morphs into the letters "iTV" in fuschia. "State Department of Education" and "Division of Instructional Television" appear below.
FX: The zooming in of the map, the map morphing.
Cheesy Factor: The morphing is really choppy.
Music/Sounds: None, or a frantic orchestral theme.
Availability: Extinct on TV.
Scare Factor: Low.
4th Logo
(1984-1986)
Nickname: "Green MPT"
Logo: On a teal background, we see the new (at the time) MPT logo, with MPT in a futuristic font (called "Stop"), and colored green,
over the text "Maryland Public Television". They both zoom in slowly, and when they stop, the MPT logo shines.FX: The zooming of the logo and the shine.
Cheesy Factor: The zoom-in is kinda rough.
Music/Sounds: A generic chime fanfare, ending in a flourish.
Availability: This was the most short-lived of MPT logos, so it's kind of a hard find. I'd consider this to be a placeholder logo.
Scare Factor: None.
5th Logo
(1986-1992)
Nickname: "MPT in Space", "My Public TV"
Logo: The letters "MPT", in the same font as before, but colored gold, zoom out and flip around on a purple/black space BG with stars brightly shining. It settles in front of a bluish globe with several light streaks shooting across it at an angle. Then, "Maryland Public Television" (also in gold) is wiped in by what appears to be E.T.'s glowing finger! (Well, it's really a pink-colored laser beam, but it does look like E.T.'s glowing finger. :-))
Variants:
- A long variant, which was used for local promos, showed the channel numbers and areas in which MPT served zooming across a close-up of the globe before the camera zoomed out and the usual logo animation continued as usual, with "Capture the World", in gold script, appearing above. An announcer said "This is Maryland Public Television, serving Maryland, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia. TV worth watching.". This was shown locally.
- During the early '90s, the announcer says "This is member-supported MPT. My public television.", and "My Public TV" would appear above the textless MPT logo, shining a bit. This was only shown locally.
- There is another variant in which "Maryland Public Television" is shown above and "Production" is shown below.
- There is another local variant used late in the logo's life in which some lines streak across the bottom of the screen and the station listings flip up on the lines after the network name fades in above. An announcer says "This is member-supported Maryland Public TV, serving Maryland, "Washington D.C., and northern Virginia.".
FX: Top-notch CGI for 1986!
Music/Sounds: A 4-note synth-piano fanfare. The "long" version used a series of synth whooshes ending with three synth chimes and . The 4th variant uses a much more mellow synth theme that still contains the "MPT chimes". Sometimes, as a program outro tag, the closing theme would play over.
Availability: Pretty much extinct outside of old tapes.
Scare Factor: Low.
6th Logo
(1992-1999)
Nicknames: "The Globe", "Tons of Images"
Logo: We see a spinning globe against a globe against a sea at sunset between a flag of Maryland and the U.S., among other images. The globe brings forth a silver version of the MPT logo, coming from the right, while at the same time, bringing forth "Maryland Public Television" in the same font as the 1984 logo, but all in caps. When they settle in place, the globe zooms away. "PRODUCTION" fades in below. Often times, a closed caption (CC) bug appears in the lower left corner.
Variants:
- There is an extended version only used locally. Against the same BG, we see a square with a pattern of the Earth on it, which morphs into a globe, playing the animation from the regular variant. This time, "Putting Maryland First" slides in from the top right in gold script, and a list of the stations it serves flashes in below. The MPT logo shines a bit.
- Another local version has an announcer saying "This is member-supported MPT.". At the end, "Fulfilling the Promise" flashes in above in yellow script, and at the same time, the station list flashes in below. The MPT logo shines a bit.
- Sometimes, this logo will appear superimposed.
FX: The globe forming & bringing forth the logo, and the background images.
Music/Sounds: A three-note synth-chime fanfare, which was also used by RTL in Germany. The local version used an extended version of the music with an announcer saying "This is Maryland Public Television, member-supported TV serving Maryland, Washington D.C., and northern Virginia.". However, it tends to have the closing theme of a show over it (as spotted on Kratt's Creatures, Zoboomafoo, and Wimzie's House, just to name a few).
Availability: Uncommon; might be seen if your local PBS station runs older tapes.
Scare Factor: Low.
7th Logo
(1999-2002)
Logo: A cursive gold M is seen turning into place on the left against a black background, with the flag of Maryland (or is it Baltimore?) and a model globe spinning. Once it's in place, those images fade out as "A production of Maryland Public Television" fades in below, along with a black map of Maryland with gold outlines. The M shines.
Variant: Sometimes, on Zoboomafoo, this logo can be seen as a static image.
FX: The turning M and other images, and the M shining.
Music/Sounds: A three-note piano theme, or the end theme of the show.
Availability: Can be found on Zoboomafoo, Wall $treet Week, and MotorWeek.
Scare Factor: None.
8th Logo
(1999-2002)
Logo: We see shots of several images relating to Maryland, ending with a Maryland state flag waving. Throughout the logo, you can see a shadow of the cursive M from before. Then, it fades to a black background, where we see the same gold colored M in a cursive font dropping down from the upper-left portion of the screen as a spark flickers below. Once it's in place, "Maryland Public Television" fades in below, and two flares, colored pink and gold, slide in and spin around the logo. As a local station ID, station information fades in below.
Variant: There is a shorter variant of this logo.
FX: The "M" flying into place.
Music/Sounds: Usually has the closing theme playing over, but on Bloomberg Morning News, it has a synth-guitar tune, sometimes coupled with announcer saying "This is member-supported MPT, serving Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington D.C.".
Availability: Only used locally, and can be found as an alternate for the previous logo. BMN and Wimzie's House both had this logo.
Scare Factor: None.
Hoa |
Latest page update: made by Hoa
, Nov 13 2008, 5:48 PM EST
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Hoa
2 words added view changes - complete history) |
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Keyword tags:
maryland
More Info: links to this page
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JHprod | Got the video | 1 | Mar 11 2008, 10:24 PM EDT by JHprod | |
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Thread started: Mar 11 2008, 10:21 PM EDT
Watch
When I look at the video at YouTube, I saw a 1976 MCFPB logo that I found. I decided to get that video & trim it in Windows Movie Maker & export it, then I upload that video to LiveVideo. That's it!
Here's the link (includes the MCFPB logo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81TdkoelKU4 |
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