STV Studios

Background

STV Studios is the production amr of the STV Group plc. It was originally founded on August 31, 1957 as Scotish Television Enterprises by Roy Thomson. In 2000, they were reorganized into SMG Productions before being renamed to STV Productions in 2008. The "Scottish Television Enterprises" name was still used on several programmes until 2005. In 2019, the company renamed to its current name. Some of their most well known programmes include Taggart and Take the High Road.

Scottish Television Enterprises

1st Logo (1960-1965)

Logo: Essentially, it consists of the 1960 logo with the word "PRESENTS" underneath.

Variants:

On For A' That, the logo is aligned to the left.
On Enterprise '64: The Calculators, the logo is on a white background.
On the 5th Anniversary programme, "FROM SCOTLAND" is added on top of the logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening/closing theme of the programme.

Availability: Extinct. A few of these programmes are intact on STV Footage Sales site but are otherwise really hard to find thanks to early Scottish Television programmes being destroyed in a fire in 1969. Some programmes having this logo include For A' That and Enterprise '64: The Calculators.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1965-February 1970)

Logo: This is a still version of the 1965 logo with the word "PRODUCTION" added underneath "TELEVISION". It is also against a black background.

Variants:

On Cliff in Scotland, the logo is blue, "SCOTTISH TELEVISION" is positioned on top of the lion rampant and "NETWORK COLOUR PRODUCTION" is underneath it.
On Present Grandeur: Whisky Island, the logo scrolls in the end credits and then the background fades to black.
On Pierrot or Turquoise or Looking Glass Murders, the logo has the text "COLOUR PRODUCTION" added underneath.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Ultra rare. Like before, some of these programmes such as Pierrot or Turquoise or Looking Glass Murders, Cliff in Scotland, and Present Grandeur: Whisky Island are available on STV Footage Sales and may be brought up on said website's Twitter acount from time to time.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (February 1970-1975)

Logo: It is the same as the 1969 logo but with no announcer.

FX/SFX: Same as the 1969 logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1969 logo.

Availability: Ultra rare. This logo usually precedes original Scottish Television programmes such as Death of a Queen and North Sea Oil.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (1975-1985)

Opening Logo: On a black background, three stripes slide in from both sections of the screen. The left and right are light blue with evenly divided bars whereas the top and bottom have thicker bars on the left and right that are purple. They all intersect and form the logo from before. Simultaneously, "SCOTTISH" and "TELEVISION" emerge underneath and slide away from each other.

Closing Logo: The logo is still with "PRODUCTION" in a 70's font underneath. Additionally, a copyright notice is placed on the bottom of the screen.

Variants:

A variant exists where "PRODUCTION" is replaced with "PRESENTATION".
A still version of the opening variant exists. In this variant, the logo may be closer to the screen.
- On The Jazz Series, only the Scottish Television logo is seen.
On 1976 episodes of Garnock Way, the closing logo has the text "COLOUR PRODUCTION from SCOTLAND" in a stacked format and aligned to the left.
On 1979 episodes of Garnock Way, the logo is off centered.
On Devine Country, "FROM SCOTLAND" in the same font as "PRODUCTION" is added underneath.
On Scotsport, after the logo sequence, the background fades to a football stadium. Following this, the Scottish Television logo flips away.
On one programme, the logo is paired with the I.D. Television logo. Both logos are divided by a white slash.
A documentary variant exists where the Scottish Television logo is still and has "THE" and "DOCUMENTARY" above and below it respectively.

FX/SFX: The bars and text sliding.

Music/Sounds: The opening/closing theme of the programme.

Availability: Very rare. It can still be seen the first several series of Take the High Road as well as the first series of Taggart, Garnock Way and Devine Country. As with the previous logos, they are available on the STV Footage Sales website and either the logo on its own or within their opening titles are brought up on said website's Twitter account. It made its final appearance on the 1985 STV Christmas Promo Tape.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (1985-1989)

Logo: A still version of the 1985 logo where the thistle is smaller and "PRODUCTION" and the copyright notice are placed underneath "SCOTTISH TELEVISION".

Variant: On one programme, the logo is against a black background.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Can be seen on series 2 and 3 of Taggart, Shadow of the Stone, early episodes of the British version of Wheel of Fortune, and episodes of Take the High Road from this period. Later TV airings on either STV or Thames dating as later as the early 2000's has this logo intact.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (1989-1992)

Logo: On a black background, the thistle from the 1989 logo is shimmering with the text "SCOTTISH TELEVISION PRODUCTION (C)(year)" fading in underneath.

Variants:

On Laughlines, the thistle is shrunken and placed to the left of the text "A Scottish Television Production".
On A Guid New Year, the logo appears alongside the Grampian Television logo with the words "A GRAMPIAN TELEVISION/SCOTTISH TELEVISION PRODUCTION FOR" underneath.

FX/SFX: The cloud reflections on the thistle.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1989 opening logo. Otherwise, the ending theme of the programme.

Availability:

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (1993-1996)

Logo: A still version of the 1993 logo with "A SCOTTISH TELEVISION PRODUCTION" underneath.

Variants:

Sometimes, the ITV logo is seen underneath.
An alternative version for this logo was introduced in 1994 and features an outline of a rhombus around the thistle logo.
On modern prints of Doctor Finlay, the logo is cropped.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Uncommon. It can be seen on several programmes from this period, some of which are preserved on home media and streaming platforms. These include Doctor Finlay and episodes of Taggard and Take the High Road from this period. It was also used on series 3 and 4 of Finder's Keepers (the first two series were produced by TVS Television) and a VHS release of The Hurricanes.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (1996-2000)

Logo: Like several of the previous logos, it is a still version of the opening logo where the text has been reworded to say "A SCOTTISH TELEVISION PRODUCTION". Plus, a copyright notice containing the year in Roman numerals is seen.

Variants:

A widescreen variant exists.
Prior to 1998, the endcap features the thistle smaller with a rhombus around it just like the 8th logo.
Like the previous few logos, the ITV logo may be shown underneath.
In a few cases, the logo is paired with other co-producers, typically being moved to the right.
- On series 5 of Finder's Keepers, World Wide International Television's logo is shown.
- On Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, the logo is paired with the DIC logo.
On modern prints of McCallum, the logo is cropped.
Another variant features the logo with the words "A SCOTTISH TELEVISION ENTERPRISES PRODUCTION FOR ITV IN ASSOCIATION WITH FLEXTECH TELEVISION" and both the 1989 ITV logo and the Flextech Television logo also exists as well which was seen on The Stalker's Apprentice.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Uncommon. Like before, some of these programmes have become available on home media and streaming platforms including British prints of Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century and Art Attack. The latter has this logo intact on the Art Attack 5: Scrapbook British VHS tape, but is replaced with the Buena Vista International logo on international prints. Additionally, it has appeared on McCallum, series 15 of Taggart, and the last two series of Finder's Keepers. Although they were involved with season 2 and onwards of Rupert, their logo doesn't appear on said cartoon.

Editor's Note: None.

9th Logo (2000-April 27, 2003)

Logo: Against an ethereal blue background, the 2000 logo is seen with the text "scottish television production" below it.

Variants:

Sometimes, it is paired with other logos where they would appear on Scottish Television's on-screen logo.
On Rebus, a flat version of the logo is used with the box in dark blue.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Rare, can be seen on series 13 of Art Attack, series 1 of Rebus, and the last few series of Take the High Road and the British version of Wheel of Fortune. It was last seen on the series finale of Take the High Road.

Editor's Note: None.

10th Logo (September 30, 2004-2005)

Logo: On a blue rectangular panel background, the 2003 logo is seen with the text "scottish television production ©(year in Roman numerals)" underneath and a byline on the very bottom reading "an smg business".

Variant: On one program, only the logo is present while accompanied with the SMG logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Extremely rare. Only seen on High Times. By this point, nearly all of Scottish TV's original programmes used the SMG Productions name.

Editor's Note: None.

SMG Productions

1st Logo (2000-2006)

Logo: On a black background, we see the text "smg". "sm" are underlined, which the line leads into the "g". underneath is "tv productions".

Variant: On Art Attack, the logo has a black outline and is seen within The Media Merchants' logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Appears on the last several series of Art Attack, later series of Taggart, Sirens, Club Reps, among others.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2006-2008)

Logo: There is a turquoise quadrilateral with two round corners containing the stacked text "smg productions".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: So far, it was seen on Taggart: 25 Years of Murder.

Editor's Note: None.

STV Productions

1st Logo (2008-2009)

Logo: On a white background, the 2006 logo is seen without "stv" inside the larger "s". Rather, said text appears below the letter and is in dark blue while next to "productions". Underneath is the copyright year in dark blue and the byline "part of the stv group plc".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Unknown.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2009-2014)

Logo: Mainly consists of the text "stv productions". The latter word is in a different font and the "o" in said word has an arrow in it.

Variants:

Sometimes, the logo is placed on a custom background.
- On Gràdh a Bhàis, the logo is on a black-dark blue gradient background. A byline was also added, reading "From Scotland to the World".
A print version of the 2009 logo with the triangle can be shown in dodger blue color.
On Perez Hilton: Superfan, the logo is colorized with "stv" in dark blue and "productions" in cyan. It is also inside a white box.
On All That Lies Behind Me, "productions" is gray.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Can be seen on some original programmes from the company such as Fake Reaction, Gràdh a Bhàis, and the final few series of Taggart.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (2013-2020)

Logo: While "Productions" fades in one letter at a time, to the left is "tv" within a metalic triangle pointing right glowing cyan and yellow-green colors. Coming into view and sliding to the right, an "s" slides out of the triangle.

Variants:

On backgrounds with high contrast, "tv" is white and "Productions" is black.
On Britain's Biggest Warship, the logo is inside a white box.

FX/SFX: The letters sliding and fading in.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Fairly common. It has appeared on the revival of Catchphrase and the first four series of its celebrity series, plus The Victim, as well as many factual programmes like Inside Central Station and Britain's Biggest Warship.

Editor's Note: None.

STV Studios

(2020-)

Logo: A 2D version of the 2014 logo in teal is positioned above "Studios"

Variants:

In its earliest years, the triangle is in the style of the previous logo. This time, however, it is glowing teal.
- On series 3 of Inside Central Station, the "s" is just like how it was in the 2014 STV Productions logo.
On Elizabeth is Missing, the logo is white.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the programme.

Availability: Current. Appears on more recent episodes of the celebrity specials of Catchphrase as well as Bridge of Lies, Murder Island, Screw, among several others.

Editor's Note: None.