What is a suite of idents?
A suite of idents usually contains several different idents that have a similar theme that links them together. Having a suite of idents rather than one provides a variety and interest for the audience, the one single theme helps to create/maintain brand identity.
When a television channel designs a new ident they don't just design one, they create a suite.
The BBC Suite
The BBC usually tend to create a suite of idents like from 2002 - 2006 they had a Rhythm and Movement themed idents and from 2006 - 2010 they had a BBC 'Circle' theme. Both ident suites seem to range from 10 seconds of movement to 30 seconds however they enter a 'loop' which can stay looping a whole day if needed.
The video above is from the rhythm and movement ident theme, the suite theme is about movement and as you can see all the people in the idents are all moving in different ways. Notice how all idents have a red colour associated with them either through subtle clothing or objects in the background. This allows the audience to link together the channel to the ident easily and simply. This theme seems to be more upbeat and would make the people watching a bit more energetic and active.
The video above is from the 'circle' suite idents for the BBC, notice how the kites are red to show the colour theme for the BBC one channel and also how they fly in a circle to represent the BBC logo. Some of the suite idents are to be used in particular times of the day and I think the kites ident is to be used at around mid-day. Some idents in the suite are to be used during different seasons for example you can sometimes get a suite ident that features snow and santa that should be shown during winter and christmas and not to be shown during summer.
The circle idents seem more calm and relaxing than the rhythm and movement suite idents, the idents are meant to show how the TV channel is for example a calm and relaxing ident shouldn't be played during a workout channel. The circle idents show how the BBC One is a more calm channel to watch than before which would make the people watching a bit more relaxed and maybe want to just stay and watch the channel.
The BBC idents are entertainment led in my opinion rather than information led as the idents seem to have more visuals rather than information however a voice over can give you information. Some idents can show upcoming programs which will keep you on the channel however the BBC idents seem to not do that.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
Unit 32 Assignment One - Task Two
Television idents may have limitations when creating them for example:
Typography - The Art of Written Language, can be limited when creating idents for television channels as one particular set of font has been introduced into an ident you begin to associate a channel with a type of font like the BBC for example.
BBC One, Two, Three and Four have really similar idents with the typography however they still have certain differences despite the similarites for example BBC One has lower case letters the same with BBC Three whilst BBC Two and BBC Four have capitals. BBC Two and Three even have BOLD letters whilst the other two don't. Even though the typography of the idents are limited doesn't mean they can't be creatively different whilst having similarities.
Adhering To A Desired Tone - A channel tends to have the idents have the same tone, for example the BBC four idents have the peaceful four image show or CBBC has the green children style idents. This tone is to familiarise the audience to the channel and can be used to keep the appropriate audience for their channel to continue watching without turning to another channel. The peaceful suite of idents tend to be more popular with the working class people who seem to just want to sit down and relax after a long day of work for example and energetic suite of idents like the BBC One Rhythm and Movement suite would want the watcher to want to watch people move around and be more ecstatic. The BBC Four idents are more peaceful and would suite the more intellectual people that have had a long day at work and just want to relax and watch something calm. BBC Four follow a four image layout that people would move between and would disappear, the movements of the ident are slow and fluid and are often set in areas that would appeal to the more intellectual audience.
Colour - This can be really limiting when creating idents as a channel because once an ident has a coloured theme the colour begins to become associated with the channel for example BBC One has the Red theme and BBC Two has the Blue/Green theme. Other notable coloured channels is E4 which is purple or even BBC Sport which is yellow. This can be great for channels as when viewers have seen the channel before they will associate the colours with the channel and psychologically be reminded to watch the channel when seeing the coloured theme. E4 for example when having their idents shown on their channel they would always include the purple colour throughout the ident which is their coloured theme, this is so that when people notice the colour purple in real life or other channels they would be reminded to switch onto E4 to check what shows could be on to watch.
This allows for creativity when creating idents as they would have to include the coloured theme and can do it in creative ways. The BBC have done a great job by gently adding in the red theme in their idents by having people waving red cloth around for example.
In the video above you can see how all the idents of BBC one from 2002-2006 have a red coloured theme. In this video you also can notice how the idents are all pretty similar and have the same tone.
Aspect Ratio - Every ident is created to have the 16:9 aspect ratio, the reason for this is so that it can fit perfectly onto all the modern televisions without having the ident to be only half seen by having it distorted off screen. All modern high definition televisions can view the 16:9 aspect ratio without adding any black box to fill up space on the screen.
Typography - The Art of Written Language, can be limited when creating idents for television channels as one particular set of font has been introduced into an ident you begin to associate a channel with a type of font like the BBC for example.
BBC One, Two, Three and Four have really similar idents with the typography however they still have certain differences despite the similarites for example BBC One has lower case letters the same with BBC Three whilst BBC Two and BBC Four have capitals. BBC Two and Three even have BOLD letters whilst the other two don't. Even though the typography of the idents are limited doesn't mean they can't be creatively different whilst having similarities.
Adhering To A Desired Tone - A channel tends to have the idents have the same tone, for example the BBC four idents have the peaceful four image show or CBBC has the green children style idents. This tone is to familiarise the audience to the channel and can be used to keep the appropriate audience for their channel to continue watching without turning to another channel. The peaceful suite of idents tend to be more popular with the working class people who seem to just want to sit down and relax after a long day of work for example and energetic suite of idents like the BBC One Rhythm and Movement suite would want the watcher to want to watch people move around and be more ecstatic. The BBC Four idents are more peaceful and would suite the more intellectual people that have had a long day at work and just want to relax and watch something calm. BBC Four follow a four image layout that people would move between and would disappear, the movements of the ident are slow and fluid and are often set in areas that would appeal to the more intellectual audience.
Colour - This can be really limiting when creating idents as a channel because once an ident has a coloured theme the colour begins to become associated with the channel for example BBC One has the Red theme and BBC Two has the Blue/Green theme. Other notable coloured channels is E4 which is purple or even BBC Sport which is yellow. This can be great for channels as when viewers have seen the channel before they will associate the colours with the channel and psychologically be reminded to watch the channel when seeing the coloured theme. E4 for example when having their idents shown on their channel they would always include the purple colour throughout the ident which is their coloured theme, this is so that when people notice the colour purple in real life or other channels they would be reminded to switch onto E4 to check what shows could be on to watch.
This allows for creativity when creating idents as they would have to include the coloured theme and can do it in creative ways. The BBC have done a great job by gently adding in the red theme in their idents by having people waving red cloth around for example.
In the video above you can see how all the idents of BBC one from 2002-2006 have a red coloured theme. In this video you also can notice how the idents are all pretty similar and have the same tone.
Aspect Ratio - Every ident is created to have the 16:9 aspect ratio, the reason for this is so that it can fit perfectly onto all the modern televisions without having the ident to be only half seen by having it distorted off screen. All modern high definition televisions can view the 16:9 aspect ratio without adding any black box to fill up space on the screen.
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| As you can see in the picture above each ratio fits onto different television screens for example the 4:3 ratio was for box televisions from 1990 televisions. 16:9 is the ratio that fits for modern HD televisions. |
Monday, 8 September 2014
Unit 32 Assignment One - Task One
TV idents were first introduced in 1953 by the BBC to remind viewers watching the channel that they are watching the BBC, TV idents would be introduced in multiple TV channels in the years to come and would soon be changed as technology progressed and would be used for different purposes.
Almost every TV channel would have a television ident and are usually shown before and after a programme has finished. When idents were introduced they would usually consist of a little animation and were very basic and simple just to show the television channel name and logo.
As the years progressed and technology got better television idents would begin to change, they would even show snippets of upcoming shows that were going to start or even whats going to be on soon to keep the audience watching. The BBC would change their ident every couple of years whilst keeping with the same template (a circular image logo), they would have better animations and also introduce a smooth and soothing voice over telling you that you were watching the BBC channel. One of the BBC's famous idents were introduced during the 1960s which would have the globe as the circular image and the BBC name underneath.
Television idents purpose was at first to remind people what Television Channel they were watching, this was because when the idents were first introduced the televisions wouldn't either have a remote control or TV guides so knowing what channels you'd be watching would've been a challenge. As televisions and technology improved the idents would begin to change purpose and generally improve. In recent times idents would be used in a more smart way by enticing viewers to the channel, depending on the channel and what types of programs they air on the channel they would begin to have idents that suit the channel for example national geographic channels would have idents featuring animals and wildlife which tells the viewer that the type of programmes shown on this channel will be about wildlife whilst comedy central would have idents which are funny and vibrant which show that they will have comedy type shows. BBC four have the library ident that would include a woman in a library placing books on a shelf with a moving ladder. the library setting gives a very intellectual feel to the ident which is important for a channel like BBC four as they include intellectual programs.
Any audience members that do not enjoy the programmes shown on idents or the ident style can easily switch off and watch a new channel whilst any audience members that enjoy the show and style would stay on.
A television channel would use schedules to see what programmes would be on during each hour, for example a programme would start at 5 and end at 5:30 where another show would begin till 6. Schedules can sometimes lack behind or get ahead and that is where television idents would be used by taking up time in a channel's schedule for example when a schedule on a channel is at least a minute or thirty seconds ahead/behind they would maybe have an ident play right before or after a TV programme to fill up space on the schedule, this allows for a much smoother run on the channel and allows for a schedule that fits into an hour. Idents would often be too short or too long for the schedule they are meant to play into, to fix this idents are often cut short or made to be fit into a loop which could play for the extra couple of seconds. An example of a looping ident would be the BBC One ident where hippopotamus mammals would swim in a circle to form the BBC One logo.
Television idents would also be used to brand an identity to a channel or maybe tie in a particular brand with a channel for example the TV channel 'ITV' would use the programme 'X Factor' in its idents as a promotion for the programme as well as a promotion for itself by having the X Factor fans to check out the channel as well as the fans of the TV channel to check out the programme. Television channels can use brand loyalty in order to create merchandise related to their channel by using idents in order for advertisement, this can go with many different products and is an easy opportunity for channels using idents for advertisement. Using this advertisement the channel can gain more popularity and the product being advertised can also gain popularity. Television idents are used to create brand loyalty which makes the viewer more familiar with the brands; this allows for a marketing opportunities for large companies to show off their products or make them want to take a look at their products.
Television idents would also use events to promote the channel such as seasonal events like christmas or maybe even major events such as the World Cup on sports/news channels, audience that enjoy those types of events can familiarise themselves with the channel due to the idents.
ITV Christmas Ident 2013:
BBC Sports World Cup Ident:
Television idents could even have a continuous series of idents such as the BBC Sports ident above which show famous football sport players on an adventure to get to the Brazil World Cup. This allows a promotion opportunity for the channel to even use famous celebrities to gain viewers, fans of these football celebrity players can take a look at the channel that shows this ident. Television channels can package and re-package television idents that are often used to sponsor and promote larger events or new series of programmes.
Almost every TV channel would have a television ident and are usually shown before and after a programme has finished. When idents were introduced they would usually consist of a little animation and were very basic and simple just to show the television channel name and logo.
As the years progressed and technology got better television idents would begin to change, they would even show snippets of upcoming shows that were going to start or even whats going to be on soon to keep the audience watching. The BBC would change their ident every couple of years whilst keeping with the same template (a circular image logo), they would have better animations and also introduce a smooth and soothing voice over telling you that you were watching the BBC channel. One of the BBC's famous idents were introduced during the 1960s which would have the globe as the circular image and the BBC name underneath.
Television idents purpose was at first to remind people what Television Channel they were watching, this was because when the idents were first introduced the televisions wouldn't either have a remote control or TV guides so knowing what channels you'd be watching would've been a challenge. As televisions and technology improved the idents would begin to change purpose and generally improve. In recent times idents would be used in a more smart way by enticing viewers to the channel, depending on the channel and what types of programs they air on the channel they would begin to have idents that suit the channel for example national geographic channels would have idents featuring animals and wildlife which tells the viewer that the type of programmes shown on this channel will be about wildlife whilst comedy central would have idents which are funny and vibrant which show that they will have comedy type shows. BBC four have the library ident that would include a woman in a library placing books on a shelf with a moving ladder. the library setting gives a very intellectual feel to the ident which is important for a channel like BBC four as they include intellectual programs.
Any audience members that do not enjoy the programmes shown on idents or the ident style can easily switch off and watch a new channel whilst any audience members that enjoy the show and style would stay on.
A television channel would use schedules to see what programmes would be on during each hour, for example a programme would start at 5 and end at 5:30 where another show would begin till 6. Schedules can sometimes lack behind or get ahead and that is where television idents would be used by taking up time in a channel's schedule for example when a schedule on a channel is at least a minute or thirty seconds ahead/behind they would maybe have an ident play right before or after a TV programme to fill up space on the schedule, this allows for a much smoother run on the channel and allows for a schedule that fits into an hour. Idents would often be too short or too long for the schedule they are meant to play into, to fix this idents are often cut short or made to be fit into a loop which could play for the extra couple of seconds. An example of a looping ident would be the BBC One ident where hippopotamus mammals would swim in a circle to form the BBC One logo.
Television idents would also use events to promote the channel such as seasonal events like christmas or maybe even major events such as the World Cup on sports/news channels, audience that enjoy those types of events can familiarise themselves with the channel due to the idents.
ITV Christmas Ident 2013:
BBC Sports World Cup Ident:
Television idents could even have a continuous series of idents such as the BBC Sports ident above which show famous football sport players on an adventure to get to the Brazil World Cup. This allows a promotion opportunity for the channel to even use famous celebrities to gain viewers, fans of these football celebrity players can take a look at the channel that shows this ident. Television channels can package and re-package television idents that are often used to sponsor and promote larger events or new series of programmes.
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