Understanding the design of Idents

BBC One: This indent consists of a close up short of a frog jumping into a magical world of nature and fairies – the shot pans across to a circular opening through the trees and undergrowth symbolizing the BBC One circle and ending with the a graphic circle and the BBC One logo appearing.

The magical theme is enhanced with soft and enchanting music, and the integration of animated (CGI) fairy like creatures. Within the advert, the only information we are given is the channel identity and what shows are coming up next. The ident lasts for 16 seconds, which is around average duration for a BBC One Ident. As for the pacing, it starts off very fast cut and then gradually slows down to show more detail. BBC One aims to appeal to a wide audience, it’s BBC’s flagship channel and the high production values seen in this ident reflects this, the piece is also eye catching in that it’s ambitious and beautifully made which appeals to both adults whilst also being family/child friendly in it’s magical theme.

This particular advert is entertainment led, as opposed to information led because it contains a lot more colour and vibrancy, rather than a lot of information. Overall this ident gives the viewer the impression that the channel is very cheerful and visually pleasing, therefore they have good production and a high budget, it also tells the viewer that they can show the programs to younger people as it looks very pleasant and non-threatening.

Channel 4

As with many of the Channel 4 Idents the camera leads the viewer thought a location to reveal the Channel 4 logo visible from a certain angle and made up from the different elements of buildings or objects in the ident. This one takes us through a modern, neon, oriental street setting eventually pulling back to reveal the 4 lit up in neon signs.

No information is given about the channel other but than information about what film, which is coming on next, the ident is fairly long at 42 seconds. The tone of this ident is reminiscent of films like Blade Runner, the bustling overcrowded streets of somewhere like Hong Kong, implying a more adult kind of programming is about to be shown, in actual fact the film introduced on this clip is a horror film.

Channel 4’s image is quite different from BBC One, it aims to attract slightly younger audience and likes to be seen as a bit edgy and innovative.

Channel 5

This ident starts with a child playing with two toys; a robot and a dinosaur, behind him there is a projection of the imaginary battle shown as an animation, when the robot character wins it flies out of the screen past the camera and the 5 logo appears. The ident lasts for about 18 seconds, the onscreen tempo varies in this indent as it starts off at a medium pace then gets faster as it progressed creating excitement an increased energy.

There is no channel information in the ident just an introduction into the next programme. The ident is a interesting combination with a big studio setting, childlike animation, neon 5 logo – it feels quite cool and young. And the programme coming up was introduced as ‘Neighbors’ classically watched by students in the daytime! Channel 5’s audience is quite young, arguably it’s reputation is a bit more tacky then Channel 4 but is also tries to be hard hitting and edgy whilst also populist.

ITV:

This ident simply shows footage of a crowd at a concert, it features two main characters one wearing a silly head dress and the other silly glasses. The footage is slowed down but it gradually speeds up as the rock track chorus kicks in and the crowd start to dance and jump. The ITV logo remains static and present throughout.

The voice over is from the well know presenter Dermot O’Leary who is synonymous with the X-Factor and is introducing another series and the beginning of the audition shows. The ident itself is 23 seconds long but it manages to give all the necessary information

This ident shows us the channel is up to date and can relate to a young audience. It shows the channel likes to have fun and is celebratory. The image being show is slowed down so although of young people dancing it is still quite gentle and not alarming or akin to a wild night club so would not alienate older viewers. ITV1 is a mass audience channel and likes to appeal to a wide demographic, this ident however is likely to appeal to a younger generation.

Sky One:

This Ident features dancing star Ashley Banjo, dancing in a warehouse with what appear to be ordinary people to a fun music track. The ident is a used to introduce a whole range of programmes – and as per the other channels nothing is said about Sky One in the course of the piece other than what is coming up next.

Interestingly Sky One use stars from their current shows in their indents – so Ashley Banjo has a number of programmes on Sky One at the moment, in this way Sky see the talent and their programme brands as being very important. The sky 1 logo itself is there but in a much less obvious way that for example on BBC One.

Sky One’s audience is broad and the key content on the Sky channels is sport, entertainment, lots of American acquisitions and an increasing amount of original scripted and comedy programming. The impression from this ident is that Sky is about entertainment and about ordinary people – it’s not a channel to watch Blue Planet on but rather one to watch ‘Got to Dance’ with Ashley Banjo!

What conventions are used and what do idents have in common

None Idents examined except Sky say anything about the channel explicitly, there is no voice over for example telling the viewers that BBC One or ITV is the best channel. In many ways the subject matter of the Idents is quite random and it’s hard to say exactly why one thing would have been chosen over something else. Why a jumping frogs and fairies or why an oriental neon cityscape? The imagery is however cleverly chosen and subtly effective in relying the message each broadcaster wants. BBC One is familiar, friendly, high quality and bit magical at times…. Channel 4 is cool, edgy younger and unexpected etc. In all the idents however having the logo on screen is key and having a voice over whose is also appropriate for the channel is important.

Sky One is the exception in that the idents on this channel often feature the stars the shows on the channel itself. Implying Sky feels it’s brand is as much connected the talent on screen as to the image of Sky itself.

When considering my ident design I feel that creating a logo that can work with in many different scenarios is vital and one that is easy to recognise is also key. In addition you want the ident to be short and crisp, to have an eye-catching idea and voice over artist’s voice to match the atmosphere of the piece and reflect the character of the channel.

BBC One’s Suite of Idents

The BBC One circle logo is probably the most recognised ident on British TV today. In such a competitive environment it is essential that broadcasters ensure viewers know what channel they are watching, so they can build up viewer loyalty and ensure their channel can attract viewers to new programmes and they can maintain a market share.

BBC One’s remit is to be broad and wide in it’s appeal, it is the main channel and is where most money is spent. It’s the place viewers go to watch big Saturday night entertainment and the likes of Dr Who, Eastenders, the Apprentice or epic natural history programs like Blue Planet. The BBC One circle is in every ident so is shown through out the day and between the whole range of programming on the channel. The theme across all the idents is usually quite ambitious, they are clever and creative and look quite expensive – from the circular helicopter-landing pad to the hippos swimming in a circle.

The themes are universal and they rarely feature people rather places, landscapes or weather – this all ties in with the holistic, ambitious, embracing character of BBC One. Arguably the circle logo may represent both the letter ‘O’ for one but also the world and universality of BBC One. Alongside this there is the need not to exclude viewers so there is sometimes humor and also fun to attract an audience across all demographics.