Sternlicht worked as visual effects artist on the television series The Twilight Zone (1985-1986, with Rich Thorne). The following years he worked as visual effects compositor for The Post Group on the thriller Blink (1994, with Don Lee and C. Marie Davis), the comic adaptation Tank Girl (1995), the fantasy sequel Batman Forever (1995), the fantasy comedy A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995), the horror film From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), the action thriller Broken Arrow (1996), and the science fiction blockbuster Independence Day (1996).