Sterner Stuff

Background
Sterner Stuff is a production company ran by former bodybuilder and producer Julia West and screenwriter, producer and director Phil Sterns, based in Decatur, Illinois but also having offices in Oakville, Ontario. It was originally formed in 1987 as Sternwest Productions for general television and occasional film production. In 1997, the company launched under its current name to handle productions outside of television, keeping the Sternwest name for that. They would rebrand full-time to Sterner Stuff in 2001.

1st logo (1987)
Logo: On a black background, we see a picture of a victorian house in a blue frame. A light activates in one of the windows and "STERNWEST PRODUCTIONS" fades in below.

Variant: On local reruns of The Halloween Gang, text reading "PRODUCED UNDER LICENSE TO STERNWEST PRODUCTIONS" is below

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A three note fanfare.

Availability: Seen on the syndicated run of The Halloween Gang, and along with the Gecko Studios logo, plastered the Blessard Animation Productions logo on reruns of the first season in local syndication and home video releases through Family Home Entertainment. This was removed on more recent prints due to Blessard buying them back.

2nd Logo (1989-1992)
Logo: We fade into a black and white with balloons, helium tanks and party favors, along with a table holding a red box with horns on either side. The left side has the word "NO" and the right has the word "YES". By the bottom we see the word "STERNWEST". A hand comes in and squeezes the horn to the right, with "PRODUCTIONS" appearing in the first honk, and the environment gaining color at the second.

FX/SFX: Live-action.

Music/Sounds: Two horn honks.

Availability: Extinct. Appeared on the four part yearly special Commercial Corner on Nick at Nite and the unsold pilot for an American adaptation of Watch with Mother.

3rd Logo (1989-1995)
Logo: On a black background, a yellow skid-mark fades in with the word "STERNWEST" in a western font on it. "A" and "Production" are above and below the skidmark respectively.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The sound of tires screeching, ending with a cat yelp.

Availability: Appeared on No Air, The Milkman and the 1995 remake of The Beast of Yucca Flats.

3rd Logo(1993-1996)
Logo: We fade in to a room with a table, chair, waste basket and a window overlooking a giant field. Two portraits containing caricatures of Sterns and West are on opposing sides of the window. "sternwest productions" appears above in a typewriter fashion. Suddenly, a knife flies in from the right and hits the wall, causing the caricatures' expressions to turn into that of shock. The image shakes, implying someone fainted.

FX/SFX: Stop-motion animation.

Music/Sounds: Typewriter sounds, followed by the sound of the knife hitting the wall, a woman screaming and the thud.

Availability: Appeared on two TV movies, Hotter than the Sun and Dead and Aside, which both aired on Fox and I Saw Mommy Kill Santa Claus, which aired on USA Network. Also appeared at the end of the video board game War at Home.

1st Logo (1997)
Logo: On a grey background, we see the company name slide in. "STERNER" is white and "STUFF" is red, and a thick black outline surrounds each letter. "CHARACTERS CREATED BY" appears above in white, along with copyright information.

FX/SFX: The sliding.

Music/Sounds: A hip hop tune.

Availability: Seen on the video game Green Jean 2: Enter the Nega Jean for the SEGA Saturn, PlayStation and PC.

2nd Logo (1999-2009, 2017-)
Logo: On a black background, we pan across a rhombus at different angles. The rhombus contains various abstract shapes such as that of a filmstrip, a crescent moon and the "S" from the first logo. A spotlight forms from the right and illuminates the rhombus, which is set at an angle, as the image is boxed in. The interior becomes 2D.

FX/SFX: 3D animation.

Music/Sounds: A droning synth tune, ending with a muted reverb.

Availability: Appeared on the films Lockin and The Incredible Hulk vs. The Wolfman, the video game Green Jean and the Machinima series Grid Gen. Was brought back for 7 Deadly Tales and Turn Away and also appears at the start and end of newer prints of their old content streamed on YouTube, often following the FilmRise logo at the start.