Background: 1492 Pictures is the production company of director Chris Columbus. It is named after the year the explorer Christopher Columbus discovered America.
(July 12, 1995-)
Logo: We start by seeing a thick white line surrounded by red lens flares. As the lens flares disappear, the white line turns right, revealing a huge and detailed compass drawing with the numbers "1492" in it. The camera then zooms out in a box as the compass spins a few times around and disappears while the numbers "1492" remain in the background, which is a landscape of an ocean and clouds. The word "PICTURES" is seen below and in spaced-out letters to fit the width of the box. The waves move in the logo after it is completely formed.
Variant: At the end of The Help, the logo is still.
FX/SFX: Impressive animation.
Music/Sounds: A very dramatic and heroic orchestral fanfare, composed by Hans Zimmer. None for the still version.
Availability: Common. Seen on Nine Months, Rent, Christmas With The Kranks, Jingle All the Way, Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,Night at the Museum and its sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle of The Smithsonian, among others. This however doesn't appear on any of the eight Harry Potter films.
Scare Factor: Low.