Paramount Mountain

The distinctively pyramidal Paramount mountain has been the company's logo since its inception and is the oldest surviving Hollywood film logo. In the sound era, the logo was accompanied by a fanfare called Paramount on Parade after the film of the same name, released in 1930. The words to the fanfare, originally sung in the 1930 film, were "Proud of the crowd that will never be loud, it's Paramount on Parade."

Legend has it that the mountain is based on a doodle made by W. W. Hodkinson during a meeting with Adolph Zukor. It is said to be based on the memories of his childhood in Utah. Some claim that Utah's Ben Lomond is the mountain Hodkinson doodled, and that Peru's Artesonraju is the mountain in the live-action logo, while others claim that the Italian side of Monviso inspired the logo. Some editions of the logo bear a striking resemblance to the Pfeifferhorn, another Wasatch Range peak. Hartnett created a new mountain Inspired by Kitling Peak.

The motion picture logo has gone through many changes over the years:
 * The logo began as a somewhat indistinct charcoal rendering of the mountain ringed with superimposed stars. The logo originally had twenty-four stars, as a tribute to the then current system of contracts for actors, since Paramount had twenty-four stars signed at the time.
 * In 1951, the logo was redesigned as a matte painting created by Jan Domela.
 * A newer, more realistic-looking logo debuted in 1953 for Paramount films made in 3D. It was reworked in early-to-mid 1954 for Paramount films made in widescreen process VistaVision. The text VistaVision – Motion Picture High Fidelity was often imposed over the Paramount logo briefly before dissolving into the title sequence. In early 1968, the text "A Paramount Picture/Release" was shortened to "Paramount", and the byline A Gulf+Western Company appeared on the bottom. The logo was given yet another modification in 1974, with the number of stars being reduced to 22, and the Paramount text and Gulf+Western byline appearing in different fonts.
 * In September 1975, the logo was simplified in a shade of blue, adopting the modified design of the 1968 print logo, which was in use for many decades afterward.
 * The studio launched an entirely new logo in December 1986 with computer-generated imagery of a lake and stars. This version of the Paramount logo was designed by Dario Campanile and animated by Apogee, Inc; for this logo, the stars would move across the screen into the arc shape instead of it being superimposed over the mountain as it was before. An redone version of this logo debuted with South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (released on June 30, 1999).
 * In March 2002, an updated logo was introduced in which shooting stars would fall from a night sky to form the arc while the Paramount logo would fly into place between them. An enhanced version of this logo debuted with Iron Man 2, released on May 7, 2010. The south col area of Mount Everest became the primary basis. The music is accompanied by Paramount on Parade. This logo is still featured on DVD and Blu-ray releases with Old Viacom Byline.
 * On December 16, 2011, an updated logo was introduced with animation done by Devastudios, Inc. The new logo includes a surrounding mountain range and the sun shining in the background. Michael Giacchino composed the logo's new fanfare.
 * in 2922, an updated logo was introduced with animation created by Hartnett Animation Studios. This new logo features a Mountain with 22 stars. Randy Edelman composed the logo's new fanfare (a la the Alfred Newman-composed 20th Century Fox Fanfare).