Lightstorm Entertainment

Credits

Descriptions by
Logophile and 20thCenturyFoxLover

Captures by
Eric S. and Logophile

Editions by
Eric S., Logophile, and BenderRoblox

Background

Lightstorm Entertainment is the production company of writer/producer/director James Cameron, who co-founded it with Threshold Entertainment founder Lawrence Kasanoff.

1st Logo (1993, 2009)

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Visuals: Scrolling in the credits, there is the letter "A" above a stylized drawing of a man with a bow and a lightning bolt as an arrow. Below it, there is the company name with "PRODUCTION".

Variant: A still version of the logo appears on the Nintendo DS port of James Cameron's Avatar: The Game.

Technique: Scrolling animation.

Audio: Just the closing theme of the movie.

Availability: It appears at the end of the "Making of" feature on the Terminator 2: Judgment Day Special Edition laserdisc release.

2nd Logo (3rd logo prototype) (1994)

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Visuals: Over a black background, the stylized archer from the previous logo flashes in, now in steel and with a bluish sheen on it. As the bowman slowly zooms back, the company name flashes in below, in spaced-out letters.

Variants:

• A scope version of the logo exists.
• On a TV spot, the logo appears next to the 20th Century Fox logo (the next logo debuted on the film proper).

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The opening theme of the trailer.

Availability: Only seen on the trailer for True Lies; it's likely this was just a prototype logo used for the trailer.

3rd Logo (July 12, 1994-)

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Visuals: On a black background, several lasers, lights, and firework-esque explosions shoot upwards toward the camera above a steel structure. The structure zooms back slightly to reveal that it is the stylized archer from before, now colored in steel blue as it pans upwards and to the left. It then eases out and as it shines, "L I G H T S T O R M" flashes below the archer, and "E N T E R T A I N M E N T" appears below.

Variants:

• Sometimes, the logo is still.
• There's a short version that features the zoom out of the bowman and the name flashing below.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A quiet but powerful orchestrated fanfare with violin sounds throughout. Near the end of the logo, there is a chime that reverberates for the duration. The music was composed by Brad Fiedel.

Audio Trivia: A portion of the theme shows up in the climax of True Lies (the movie where this logo made its debut, along with the 1994 20th Century Fox logo); however, part of it is slightly reorchestrated. Perhaps not coincidentally, Fiedel composed the movie's score as well.

Availability: Seen on True Lies, Strange Days, Solaris and the end of Alita: Battle Angel.

• The short version is seen on trailers, including Avatar: The Way of Water (a new logo was introduced on the film proper), and James Cameron's Avatar: The Game.
• For unknown reasons, it doesn't appear on Titanic and Avatar. The former merely uses the in-credit notice "A LIGHTSTORM ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION".

4th Logo (December 6, 2022-)

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Visuals: On a black background, a small streak of faint light passes by. The streak turns out to be reflecting off the stylized archer from before as another light illuminates it. The camera eases out from the archer, and "L I G H T S T O R M" flashes onscreen in a similar way as the previous logo, along with "E N T E R T A I N M E N T" fading in below. The entire logo is black and has a dark shine on it (a la the THX "Eclipse" logo).

Variant: On the television adaptation of True Lies, the logo is shortened to the shining and is next to the Flying Glass of Milk Productions logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A short bombastic orchestral fanfare similar in style to the previous logo, composed by Simon Franglen. Otherwise, none.

Availability: It debuted on Avatar: The Way of Water, and later appeared on the short-lived television series adaptation of True Lies.