Unit 32: Assignment 2: Task 4

The final product of this work was the television ident, which was made using Plasticine to make the CBBC logo, as well as a witch, and three pumpkins.  

I personally think that the ident turned out very well, however, I believe that it could've been slightly longer, however there was nothing left for me to continue recording.

Unit 32: Assignment 2: Task 3

Legal Documents

Unit 32: Assignment 2: Task 2

Designing The Suite

Because my three idents are all based around seasons, and specific times of year

The first ident is based around Autumn, and thus features witches, and pumpkins. The ident depicts three pumpkins, a witch approaches them and waves her wand, some sparkles appear over the pumpkins, and form the logo of the broadcaster. I personally feel like this is the best idea, as I believe it to be the most thought out, and is the most solid idea, and would come back with the best results after production.

The second ident was based around winter, and thus features snowmen. The ident depicts two snowmen having a snowball fight, the snowballs begin to become larger and larger, until eventually they become large enough to knock each other other, the top parts roll of, and form into the logo of the broadcaster.

The final ident was based around spring, and thus features chickens, and baby chicks. This ident depicts a chicken walking into shot, laying 4 eggs, and then walking out of shot. The eggs then start to shake and hatch to show the logo. I personally think that this one would be the least successful of the three, as I believe that some of the shots, such as when the eggshells crack, would be a bit fiddly, and hard to pull off, and because of this, I think that the end product will not be as good.

Unit 32: Assignment 2: Task 1

Ideas Generation

I have mind-mapped and storyboarded a suite of three idents for the broadcaster CBBC, they all have a similar theme between the three being the seasons. First of all, we had to create a mindmap of ideas that would've been suitable for use on children's programming, so we came up with a few basic ideas, and expanded from that.

We had ideas such as animals, colours, cartoons, and toys, as these were all child friendly, and would fit in with the theme of children's programming. Once we'd mind mapped a few rough ideas, we then expanded into a few other ideas, and then from there created a suite of idents, and storyboarded them along the way throughout the creation process. The theme that all three share are seasons. I think it is suitable for children's TV channels such as CBBC, due to it being a very child friendly subject, it will also teach younger viewers about the general differences between certain seasons, such as winter being colder, and summer being hotter.

Originally, I had an idea about basing all of my idents around the theme of Halloween, which would feature things such as witches, jack o lanterns, and skeletons. However, I later believed this to be too narrow of a spectrum, and thought that sooner or later, I would run out of ideas, or my idents would soon become too similar, I also believed that it might scare some of the younger viewers.

Eventually, I decided on what I considered to be a more child friendly topic, which was seasons. I would then go on to design 3 idents that fit in with my chosen theme.

Unit 32: Assignment 1: Task 3

What is a Suite of Idents?

When a television channel designs a new ident, they don't just create one, they create a whole suite, which consists of several adverts, which all share a common theme that link them together. Having a suite of idents means there is more variety for the broadcaster to pick from, and also interests the audience more. Sticking to a certain theme helps create brand identity/loyalty.

Purpose of the Suite: Time and Place:

A suite of idents helps to ensure that the right ident appears next to the right type of content, as well as different idents airing at the same time of day, for example, if an ident for a children programme is to air in the evening, it will feature more calm and relaxed themes, to encourage the children to wind down and start to relax. 

Christmas usually signifies a time for a new suite of idents across all channels, usually these idents tend to be more jolly, and in the mood for Christmas.

Unit 32: Assignment 1: Task 2

Understanding the limitations of the television ident:

A television ident should be kept consistent as to keep with what the channel tends to put out, however this consistency can often be a drawback as it means that only a certain amount can be done with keeping consistency.

Typography: The style and appearance of printed matter.
When making a an ident for a television programme, the style of the font has to stay very similar to each other, for example, the BBC's idents tend to stay very similar, with a few slight similarities in font and design. However it is also a good thing as it creates a sense of consistency.

Colour: The property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light.

Most channels usually have a specific colour they tend to stick to when creating an ident. For example, BBC One tends to stick to using the colour red in it's idents, E4 tends to stick to using the colour purple in it's idents, and, when it was around, BBC3 used a neon pink in it's idents. It is also used so that you can easily identify the channel quickly.

Aspect-ratio: The ratio of the width to the height of an image or a screen.

All HD programmes, except for some, are delivered in 16:9 format, meaning that the picture will fit into a 16:9 screen, with no distortion. 

However, in some situations, a programme will not fit into these dimensions, and thus, a few alternatives have been thought up as a way around it.

Pillar-boxed HD Material:  

Some pillar-boxed material is acceptable at the discretion of the of the broadcaster where it has been acquired on a medium that has the capability to be transferred to a legitimate HD resolution.

Floating Images:

Short sequences of images surrounded by black borders, which may be used for artistic effect, and may also be used by older programmes which do not fit the required dimensions. 

Adhering to a desired tone:

Channels have particular idents to fit with the theme of their content, for example, because BBC4 is a more informative channel, with more documentaries and informative programmes, they have idents to fit in with the content, this is why many of their idents feature natural things, such as flowers, and landscapes. This means that they are able to keep in touch with what they're broadcasting, this also helps create brand identity, and loyalty.

Duration:

Most television idents are made long originally, which means that when they are broadcasted, they can either be kept at their original length, or trimmed down to a certain length to fit into a certain space, if you make it too short, it means it can only fit into a small space, and if there is a large space needed, it means that you are going to be unable to fill the space.

Here we see two idents that are the same, however one is short and one is long, which means that they can be used to fit into a small or large gap into broadcasting.

Unit 32: Assignment 1: Task 1

Channel Identification:
Television indents are used by a broadcaster as a way as a filler that gets slotted between programmes and adverts, and is also used as a way to display what programmes are coming up next in the schedule, these indents usually feature the channels logo as well as an interesting clip or image, and a narrator who usually reads out the schedule for the next few hours.

The first indent appeared on British television on BBC1 in 1953, and was used as a way for viewers to differentiate channels as commercial television began to grow and become more popular. The ident was nicknamed "Bats Wings", as it took the shape of a bat.

Nowadays, almost every major broadcaster has their own unique ident, which get updated regularly due to the constant advancements in technology.

In 1960, the first "BBC TV" logo was introduced, and would appear on top of a map of Britain split into the BBC's broadcast regions. However the most famous ident known simply as "The Globe" appeared in 1963, which would rotate as the BBC TV logo would appear, and a narrator announced "This is BBC television". Since then, all of the idents for BBC1 has featured a globe in it in some way.

BBC2 was introduced in 1964, and all of the idents from the channel have all made use of the number 2 in some way.

Idents in Modern Television:

In the early 90's, the emergence of satellite television meant that television idents became even more important for a broadcaster, as an ident could be used to identify a channel in an instant, and could also be used to show what kind of content would be shown on the channel, for example the kids channel CBBC has idents that usually features characters in some of it's programmes, as well as animations that would display the channel as quite childish, and playful.

Organisation of the Schedule:

An ident can often play an important role in terms of keeping a channels schedule organised, and can be used as an ideal opportunity to provide the audience with information for scheduling on that channel, as it often features a narrator reading out the schedule, keeping the audience up to date on what's upcoming on the channel. This information may be used to entice the viewer to continue watching that channel, instead of switching over to another channel instead.

Segmentation of the Scheduling:

Non-commercial channels, such as the BBC, do not have time between programmes that advertisements provide for commercial channels, such as ITV & Channel 4. Idents are therefore used to add time in-between programmes to:

• Provide information 
• Promote a variety of programming
• Regulate the scheduling
• Provide a break for studio workers

Television idents can also be used for a number of more complex reasons. Whilst idents can be used for simple identification of a channel, an ident is also a chance to provide the audience with information about the channel, and can also reflect the type of programmes broadcasted on the channel.

It is important to make sure that an ident sets the right tone and that it is appealing toward the target audience. A good example of this is when BBC Four arrived, it had built it's reputation on being more factual and informative, and thus, the idents reflected this to the audience. It is also important that the tone set is appropriate for the age group of the channel. For example, channels such as Cbeebies and CBBC are going to have different idents to channels such as BBC 1 and BBC Four, as they are aimed at a target audience of a younger generation.

Creating corporate identity:

Nowadays, television channels are no longer restricted to one country, such as the BBC having branches of it's broadcasting in America and Asia. This means that idents can be used to create a brand in a range of different locations. Consistency across the range of channels helps to create a brand identity that can be sold across the world.

Creating a brand and encouraging brand loyalty:

Building a "brand" for a particular channel is vitally important. It encourages an audience to stay loyal to that particular channel, or broadcaster.