Strand Releasing

Background: Strand Releasing is a theatrical distribution company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Gregg Araki, François Ozon, Jean-Luc Godard, Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Fatih Akin, Aki Kaurismaki, Claude Miller, Manoel de Oliveira, Gaspar Noe, Andre Techine and Terence Davies.

1st (known) Logo

(1993-)

Logo: We open to a shot of smoke billowing from both corners of the screen. A black-and-white clip of the New York City skyline (with the Brooklyn Bridge) fades into view. As the smoke shot fades out, we see a red dot appear out of nowhere, flashing bigger and bigger, followed by alternating flashes of text placed horizontally on opposite sides of the screen. The shot of New York City soon disappears along with the red dot. The flashing text stops also and we are left with the words "STRAND RELEASING" in opposite colors ("STRAND in white lettering on a long black rectangle placed on the white part of the background; "RELEASING" in black lettering on a long white rectangle placed on the black part of the background). Smoke appears again, and the logo fades out.

Variants: FX/SFX: Flashing text, the smoke billowing in the background.
 * A still version of this logo can be seen on the website itself.
 * A silent version can be seen on a couple films and trailers.
 * The newer version was a bit darker as shown on films. Mostly on old and new films.
 * The Home Video variant had a website byline; not below the logo.
 * A brighter version was seen on a couple films and trailers.

Cheesy Factor: The animation is choppy, but the live-action is good though.

Music/Sounds: Muted trumpet with some bells thrown into the mix.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on films produced by this company, like The Prankster (2010), which airs on Encore Family.

Scare Factor: It depends on your point of view, ranging from High to Nightmare. The bright flashing with the animation and music might unnerve some, also causing headache and/or seizures. Not to mention the disturbing music and smoke coming out of nowhere. Nightmare if the audio's distorted. Due to it being even worse than the last variant