Entropy Films (Canada)

Background
Entropy Films was a film production company launched in 1985. It was formed by Ruth Dodd and Madelyne Dern and initially based in Steinbach, Manitoba. The company were hired by Sternwest Productions to co-produce television shows and make use of Canadian funding. Sternwest had attempted to acquire the company, succeeding in 1989, but due to Sternwest taking on a toxic work culture and preventing Dern and Dodd from handling their own work, they sabotaged their second film's marketing, leading to it becoming a financial failure and put Entropy up for sale. Entropy Films was acquired by British businessman and director Rod Livermore and refocused to producing genre films, arthouse films and lower budget productions. They had moved to Ventura, California and opened an office in Liverpool, but kept the Steinbach office open for cheaper filming options. Robert and Linda Dunn would join the company in 1998, with producers Dennis Friedman and Graham Vanzetti following suit in 2001. In 2002, the company formed a distribution agreement with Metropolitan Films, lasting until 2009. The company went on an indefinite hiatus, releasing two more films in 2017 before becoming dormant. Allen Media Group were in talks of acquiring Entropy but plans fell through due to the former's chairman Byron Allen accusing Livermore of dismissing him on racial grounds; this was later disproven with Livermore claiming to have derided the first run syndication market, focusing on Allen and Tyler Perry's contributions to syndicated television.

1st Logo (1986-1988)
Logo: We see a video of a pale muscular woman with a beastly face, snarling and moving toward the viewer. The video freezes as the text "AN ENTROPY PRODUCTION" is scrawled in.

Trivia: The footage was taken from the TV movie Betty: Fugitive of the Atom.

FX/SFX: The video and the text.

Music/Sounds: The sound of a roar or the closing theme of the program.

Availability: Appeared on the syndicated run of The Halloween Gang. It was removed on newer prints due to the aforementioned contemptuous circumstances and can only be seen on early VHS releases through Family Home entertainment. It also appeared on Betty: Fugitive of the Atom and the short-lived County Law.

2nd Logo (1989-1990)
Logo: We cut to the inside of a decrepit house. A woman in Victorian garb approaches a mirror and does some personal grooming. After kissing the mirror, she suddenly gains a more punk look before walking away. It cuts to the mirror where the kiss mark is sideways and some scuffs near it resemble a butterfly. “Entropy Films” is also scrawled onto the mirror in lipstick.

FX/SFX: It’s all live-action.

Music/Sounds: A hard rock tune, ending with applause.

Availability: Appeared on The H Word and Down to Size.

Editor’s Note: While the concept is bizarre, it ironically suits the name of the company; an entropy being something of an unpredictable nature. While having gratuitous nature, it’s surprisingly not to the same extent as more infamous logos like it.

3rd Logo (1994-1999)
Logo: We fade in to footage resembling an old film projection. Suddenly, we see letters in the word "Entropy" zoom out while spinning and leaving a trail effect. "films" does the same, but whole and without the trail effect. Both shift toward the bottom of the screen as the background turns blue and a butterfly appears by the word "Entropy". and turns green, while the open section beneath everything wipes away leaving a more defined blue color.

FX/SFX: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: An ambient theme with a harp glissando, otherwise it is silent.

Availability: Appeared on The Milkman, the 1995 remake of The Beast of Yucca Flats and Fisherman's Den.

4th Logo (2003-2017)
Logo: A pair of yellow eyes rapidly appear and disappear on a black background. Suddenly, various white butterflies rapidly fly by as the eyes reappear along with an illusion depicting a creepy face. As the actions get faster, a butterfly fades in. Its wings feature a design that resembles an owl's face, with the butterfly's body further pushing the illusion by resembling its beak. "entropy" is below in a Courier New font, which jitters.

FX/SFX: The butterfly and the text.

Music/Sounds: A series of whooshes and static sounds, ending with a vibraphone reverb.

Availability: Appeared on Inch to a Mile, Field Trip, Tonka: Search and Rescue and Channel 2, and was brought back for Elvis and the Devil and 7 Deadly Tales.