SF Studios

Background
SF Studios is a Swedish film production company and distributor (both Swedish and international) based in Stockholm, Sweden and owned by the Bonnier Group. The largest film studio in Sweden, it was established on 27 December 1919 as Aktiebolaget Svensk Filmindustri (AB Svensk Filmindustri) or Svensk Filmindustri (SF), and adopted its current name in 2016. The company distributes titles from Warner Bros. Pictures, Sony Pictures, MGM and StudioCanal in that region as well as Finland, Denmark and Norway. SF's titles are also distributed through their subsidiaries in Norway (SF Studios Norge), Finland (SF Film Finland) and Denmark (SF Studios Danmark).

1st Logo (1920-1927)
Logo: On a black background we see the SF logo (a circle with two fancy, serif, letters).

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the "S" might be connected to the circle.
 * The logo has been spotted in sepia tone.
 * Sometimes, the film straight cuts to the logo. In other cases, it fades in.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare, as most films from this time are lost.
 * However, it has been found in Gyurkovicsarna, Uppsala Studentkårs Bal I universitetets Aula Anno Mundi 1927, Sollefteå och Ljusdal and Umeå / Östersund med Frösön.
 * It can be spotted on weekly newsreels. The 8.2.1926 newsreel is an example of this.

2nd Logo (1921-1964)
Logo: On a live-action background depicting Stockholm at sunset, we see the SF logo flipping from left to right. Then the whole set fades out.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the background is black.
 * Sometimes, the logo is half-superimposed in a background, then the background fades to black.
 * Usually, the logo is superimposed to a background.
 * An in-progress variant has been spotted on a few films.
 * Sometimes, the SF logo is transparent. These affect both superimposed and black background variants.
 * A variant exists where the background is blue and the emblem is red. This variant has a slightly different S.
 * An orange SF variant exists.
 * A variant with a small SF logo and a black background exists.
 * Sometimes, the black background variant cuts instead of fading in.
 * The logo's length can vary.

Technique: Pretty neat cel-animation for the early '20s.

Music/Sounds: None, or the opening/closing theme of the movie.

Music/Sounds Variant: A shortened version of the SF Journalen theme is used in journal films.

Availability: Rare.
 * This logo has been spotted on many films from the time, one example is The Phantom Carriage.
 * The black background variant has been spotted on several films, one being Husmors Filmer 1953.
 * The fully superimposed variant can be found on Snöstorm över Stockholm and a few other films.
 * The rare variant with blue background and red logo can be found on Stad Vid Färdeväg.
 * The orange SF variant can be seen on Paris D-Moll.
 * The small SF logo variant has been spotted on Souvenirs From Sweden.
 * A variant with music was spotted on Landstormens Lilla Lotta.
 * A slower version was found on Vår Randade Väg.
 * This logo was seen on week newsreels, one release being the 14.4.1936 newsreel.

3rd Logo (May 17th, 1930?-1932)
Logo: Same as the previous logo, but the background is black, the circle is thinner, and the letter "S" is slanted a little.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the logo's drawing is different, resulting in sharper edges of the letters and a slightly thicker circle.
 * On some films, it is zoomed out.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. It has been spotted in two films so far, these being De Blinda and Stockholmsutställningen 1930.

4th Logo (May 17th, 1930?-1932)
Logo: In a black background, we can see the two-ringed variant on top, accompanied with the text

LJUD OCH TALFILM

all in white, curved around the SF emblem. On the bottom, we can see the Tobis Sound System logo.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the theme of the movie.

Availability: Extremely rare.
 * It has been seen at the end of Tango.
 * The logo is usually seen at the start of films. One film that uses this is Stockholmsutställningen 1930.
 * This can be spotted on the 25.8.1930 and 8.12.1930 week newsreels.

5th Logo (December 10, 1939-December 8, 2000)
Logo: We see on a black background the SF logo, but modified. Most notably a more clearer font and a smaller ring on the inside. Basically, it's a remake of the 2nd logo.

Variant:
 * A fully superimposed variant exists.
 * The color of the logo may vary between films.

Technique: Simple animation.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie or silence.

Availability: Rare. It has been a plaster victim Found on Persona, Wild Strawberries, and The Silence. It also appears in the opening titles of Den Första Lingiaden. It has been found at the end of Johan Ekberg – Ett Reportage Om Ålderdomens Bekymmer och Glädjeämnen. It was last seen on Like It Never Was Before or One And A Million, as well as the trailer to Jakten på Nyresteinen on the Finnish VHS of Pippi i Söderhavet.

6th Logo (1955-1970)
Logo: In a white background, we can see the SF logo with two rings in red.

Variants:
 * An one-ringed black background variant exists.
 * Sometimes, we can see "En (filmtype) från SVENSK FILMINDUSTRI", along with the one-ringed version on the bottom. This version has been spotted in the CinemaScope/AGAScope prints.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the film or none.

Availability: Extremely rare. It has been spotted on Sofiaflickor I Grekland and Innan Vi Vill Ha Barn. The CinemaScope/AGAScope version was found on Staden vid Vatten.

7th Logo (1966-1986)


Logo: On a black background, a red laser quickly moves upward and briefly twinkles, bringing forth multiple lasers pulled upward to the top (like a curtain) which brings forth a background of diamonds, which sometimes change color, but are mostly white. A circle (with another circle in it) flips towards the viewer and inside the second circle is a masked jester that dances before the circle fully flips in and removes his clown mask to reveal several comedy and drama masks. When the last mask is removed, he reveals his face and turns around as the circle flips again and turns around showing the same jester, albeit facing his back at us and juggling the masks while moving his legs in odd places and the diamonds gain various smiles. The circle flips around once again and reveals the same "SF" from before in yellow, which is Svensk Filmindustri's logo.

Technique: Cel-animation.

Music/Sounds: A circus re-orchestration of the company's newsreels theme, which can be heard as far back as the late 1930's as seen here in an example from 1939.

Availabiity: Unknown.
 * It could appear on TV repeats of films distributed by the company when that logo was used on TV networks in Scandinavia (or at least Sweden).
 * It could also appear on Svensk Filmindustri's VHS tapes and on films from the time the logo was used.

8th Logo (1969-1971)
Logo: In a black background, we see the SF logo in white, but this time, the letters are not in a ring, as they are in a pillowy shape. Next to the logo, we can see "presenterar".

Variants:
 * An in-credit variant was spotted, where the SF is in a square-shaped plate.
 * Depends on where The Emigrants was released, the language is different.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only been spotted on The Emigrants, where in American prints is preceded by the Warner Bros. Pictures logo at the time, and Nej.

9th Logo (1984-2000)
Logo: On a black background, a blue laser slowly travels upward from the bottom-center of the screen in a straight line up to the top. Multiple blue lines start appearing, with some coming from the left of the laser and some coming from the right, which eventually reveal a red circle with another inside it that has the SF logo inside the second circle. The circle is shining, but stops when "SVENSK FILMINDUSTRI" appears below.

Variants: In 1994, the company celebrated their 75th anniversary by surrounding the logo with a blue ring with the company name and the years of service. One trailer had the "S" changed to a "D". This also is in use for the text. "SVENSK" is replaced by "DANSK".

Trivia: In the comments section of SF Studios Danmark's upload of the logo to YouTube, someone named Mats Kullander claims that he worked on the logo. He says the blue lines are supposed to represent curtains.

Technique: Scanimate.

Music/Sounds: A reworked version of the classic SF newsreel theme, composed by Peter Wiberg. A synthesized "wah" sound rising up slowly in pitch and a 6-note trumpet tune and a synthesized drumbeat, followed by some synthesized ding notes and another trumpet, and a longer horn tune with 4 timpani beats.

Availability: Uncommon. This can be seen on VHS tapes, DVDs and films the company produced. The 75th Anniversary variant was found on a 1994 VHS of The Good Son.

10th Logo (2000-2016)
Logo: On a black background, a blue light glows from the bottom and reveals a "SF" logo that rises up, surrounded by two rotating circles and eventually settles into place as the blue glow appears right behind, and "SVENSK FILMINDUSTRI" fades in.

Variants:
 * There's a brand called SF Norge for distributing theatrical movies in Norway, it uses the last seconds of animation (the shine) with the corresponding name below. This logo is also used on SF Film in Finland and Denmark.
 * Another variant has only SF FILM below.
 * For Blu-Rays, DVDs and recently distributed movies, the animation was completely ehnanced.
 * A black and white version exists.

Technique: 3D computer animation.

Music/Sounds: A shortened and remastered newsreel theme with majestic brass/drum tune.

Music/Sounds Variant: In some cases, it uses an abridged version of the theme in the previous logo.

Availability: Very common in Sweden and other countries of the Nordic region. Actively plasters old logos on current re-releases. Appears on films that SF distributed in Sweden, including the Irish film Song of the Sea (2016).

11th Logo (2016-)
Logo: There are two variants:
 * Underwater, we see blue and red rays shining and water rippling. We see bubbles rise up and fly freely. We pan up and zoom in (with some visible water spots) to reveal the full setting to be a forest at sunrise: there are pine (and other type of) trees with a few houses in front with grass and other trees and mountains in the background. We see red haze (explaining the red rays) swiveling through all this on the right, and the camera tilts a bit so the sun stays shining on the horizon. On the sky, we see a flock of birds flying north (The sun rises in the east). The haze now shows up to the right and moves like the filmstrips in the 1997 Medusa logo. The haze forms the "SF" logo from the previous logos and also "STUDIOS" below. The haze disappears and the logo shines.
 * Through some clouds, we see some mountains, as a flock of birds fly past. the camera moves down to the location of the first variant, except at midday, as as the haze flies up, the background fades to that of the first variant, and the logo ends the same way.
 * A short variant exists at the end of TV series.
 * At the end of some films, a horizontal print logo exists.
 * On the trailer for A Man Called Otto, the logo is in orange.

Special Variant: In 2019, the company celebrated their 100th anniversary with a variant that added two blue flashes and extra text at the end of the logo. The "SF" logo and text is pushed up to accommodate for the changes. The first blue flash had the text: - 1919-2019 -. The second flash had: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: We hear strings and 15 mallet notes, then we hear a re-orchestration of the newsreel theme.

Availability: Current. Can be seen on the company's newer releases. the second variant was uploaded to YouTube by SF Studios Norge. Also used as a de-facto home video logo.