2014-present[]
Nicknames: Be Moved, The Sony Flash
Logo: On a black background, we see the Sony corporate logo, in white, appearing in the center of the screen. It fades in gradually from a white light appearing between the "O" and "N". As it lights up the rest of the logo, it then flashes, which fully lights up the logo. After a few seconds, we then zoom in on the "O", revealing that the Sony logo and the black background are actually a cut-out of the black metal plate with a metallic rim around the holes, transitioning to the logo of whatever Sony Pictures Entertainment unit is distributing the film (Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, or Screen Gems). If the Columbia Pictures logo is to follow that logo, we see a group of yellow clouds moving over a blue background with a bright light. The light flashes as it becomes the Columbia lady's torch, seguing into the Columbia logo.
Variants:
- On 3D films, a larger flash is used.
- On the official Sony website, the logo fades out instead of zooming in.
- On movie trailers, an alternate version of that logo is seen where the logo is played in reverse. In that version, the end part of the logo is seen and the flash occurs, which transitions to the logo of whatever Sony Pictures unit is distributing the film.
- Television series produced and/or distributed by Sony Pictures Television/TriStar Television use the same variant as the movie trailer version, except the logo transitions to either a shortened version of the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo or the 2015 TriStar Television logo.
- On Concussion, the logo transitions to a shortened version of the Columbia Pictures logo.
- On Aloha, the logo transitions to the 1968 Columbia Pictures logo.
- On The Night Before, the logo transitions to the 1981 Columbia Pictures logo.
- On The Star and Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation, the logo transitions to the Sony Pictures Animation logo.
- On Peter Rabbit, the logo zooms between the "O" and "N", and then the Sony Pictures Animation logo fades in on a black background.
FX/SFX: The fade in, flash, and zoom in.
Music/Sounds: The same "ding" sound used at the end of a commercial promoting Sony products, followed by the beginning of the TriStar Pictures theme, the opening theme of the film, a series of synths that beautifully segue into the Columbia Pictures theme, the Screen Gems theme, or silence. Sometimes, the opening theme of the film plays over the animation in that logo.
Music/Sounds Variant: On the television variant, the 2002 Sony Pictures Television or 1993 TriStar Television theme is heard over that logo, and continues to play when the following logo plays. Some shows, such as The Dr. Oz Show, have that logo silent (as it is on the film version), and the theme doesn't begin until that logo actually appears.
Availability: Common. That logo debuted with the London premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on April 10, 2014, and is seen on most films and television series produced and/or distributed by a Sony Pictures Entertainment-owned studio ever since. However, that logo doesn't appear on Moms' Night Out, When the Game Stands Tall, The Interview, Spectre, or the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven (although it does appear on the trailer for When the Game Stands Tall, as well as the first trailer for The Interview). It also doesn't appear on any films distributed internationally by a Sony Pictures Entertainment division (though it does appear on Blade Runner 2049, even on WB-distributed North American prints). The television variant can be seen on current episodes of television series produced and/or distributed by Sony Pictures Television/TriStar Television such as Masters of Sex, The Queen Latifah Show, The Dr. Oz Show, and Good Girls Revolt. Don't expect to see that on movies from Sony Pictures Classics, Destination Films, or Stage 6 Films, as they still retain their respective logos without that logo preceding it.
Editor's Note: That logo is generally hated, with many viewing Sony as them milking out their corporate name in the movie logos despite said logos already having a Sony byline.