Franklin/Waterman
Background
This production company was owned by Jeff Franklin and Steve Waterman.
1st Logo (September 28, 1992-August 1, 1998)
Visuals: On a black background, 2 italicised yellow words slide in from both sides of the screen, "FRANKLIN" from the right side and "WATERMAN" from the left side. As they slide in and intersect with each other, a white thunderbolt drops down and as the words stop, rests in between them line a slash mark. The screen then flashes and the logo glows blue as footage from the Stunt Dawgs intro featuring Richard P. Fungus posing on top of a mountain as lightning flashes and the camera zooms out. The entire logo is positioned on the bottom of the screen.
Variants:
- On the 1st few episodes of Catwalk, the logo is moved up a bit to make room for the name "MARVELLOUS TELEVISION" in a different yellow font. The animation is also stiffer and the thunderbolt is different.
- Later episodes of Catwalk used the normal logo animation, but centred and without the Richard P. Fungus animation. The name is also now "MARVELLOUS PRODUCTIONS" and is also in a different font.
- On African Skies, the logo cuts off after a few seconds.
- On High Tides, the animation of Richard P. Fungus is blackened out.
- Starting in 1996, the logo was remade with cleaner animation. The thunderbolt is now surrounded by a white glow, which spreads to the rest to the text as the screen flashes. It also reveals "WORLDWIDE" in a Microgramma font. This was used on Born Free: The New Adventures, Born Free (1998), Mike Hammer: Private Eye, and The New Adventures of the Jungle Book. The former 2 shows had it moved up for a IAW notice to The Kushner-Locke Company, while the latter 2 had it on the bottom and had it lose its glow.
Technique: 2D animation.
Audio: A loud "swoosh" as the words pass by, and the sound of lightning when the screen flashes. Sometimes, the ending theme of the show is played, or none. The "WORLDWIDE" variant had it either with a long 3-note tune that extends to the other logos, or a different lightning sound.
Availability: Can be seen on tapes of Stunt Dawgs. It also appeared on the 1st season of Catwalk, African Skies, Boogie's Diner, and early episodes of High Tide. The later version appears on the titles listed.
2nd Logo (July 2, 1994-May 25, 1997)
Visuals: Same as the previous logo, but the entire logo is now centred, with the text and thunderbolt taking on a "3D" look to them. There's also a wide "2" attached to "WATERMAN". When the words and lightning bolt slide into place (with plainer-looking sliding), a flash of blue light appears behind the logo, revealing a dark blue wireframe of a 2.
Variants:
- A smaller, still version with a thinner-looking 2 in the text was used on the 1st episode of Mutant League.
- On Mutant League: The Movie, the logo is slightly faster, causing the music to trail off to the Electronic Arts logo.
Technique: 2D animation.
Audio: Depends on the show:
- Mutant League: A held-out synth drone with a cymbal in the background.
- High Tides: A short drum solo combined with a electric guitar riff (Achievement sound from Team Fortress 2)
Availability: Seen on High Tides and Mutant League, which are retained on home video releases.
3rd Logo (October 3, 1998-May 22, 1999)
Visuals: On a sky-like background, several shiny letters emerge from the screen at an upwards angle. The camera then zooms out as the letters tilt forwards, revealing "Franklin/Waterman WORLDWIDE", with "WORLDWIDE" much wider than the rest of the text. The background fades to black.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: What sounds like metal scrapping and thunder mixed into 2 sounds. Continues over into the Santa Ventura Studios logo.
Availability: Seen only on Air America (not to be confused with the 1990 movie of the same name), which is retained on its DVD release.